Stockholm, Sweden (BBN)- The winner of the 2013 H&M Design Award is Minju Kim, a 26-year-old student at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, a company announcement said on Tuesday.
Minju won the chance to present her collection with her own show at the Mercedes-Benz Stockholm Fashion Week, as well as a prize of €50,000. Minju also won the opportunity to develop pieces from her collection to be sold in selected H&M stores this autumn.
Minju was chosen by a grand jury which included fashion designer Jonathan Saunders, editor-at-large Tim Blanks, stylist Leith Clark, photographer Sølve Sundsbø, blogger and photographer Hanneli Mustaparta, fashion journalist Kristopher Arden Houser, H&M’s Creative Advisor Margareta van den Bosch, and H&M’s Head of Design Ann-Sofie Johansson.
“I still can’t believe it that I have won the H&M Design Award 2013. It’s so amazing to be able to show at Mercedes-Benz Stockholm Fashion Week, and to experience what it’s like to have a show all to yourself. It’s such an amazing opportunity, and such a big surprise,” says Minju Kim, winner of the H&M Design Award 2013.
“I am so happy that Minju Kim has won the H&M Design Award for 2013. Her collection was amazing, full of creativity, happiness and the joy of exploring different shapes and details. Minju kept it all together with a strong sense of design and craftsmanship,” says Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M’s Head of Design.
“Minju had everything. From the first little detail to the last elaborate outfit, it was incredibly coherent, and with an attitude to life that was so joyous. I just felt good looking at her clothes. You can see how people would really be seduced by Minju’s designs,” says Tim Blanks, Editor-at-large, Style.com.
Minju is a designer from South Korea who is now in her final masters year studying fashion at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. She won the H&M Design Award 2013 with her BA collection titled “Dear My Friend”, inspired by Japanese Manga cartoonist Junji Ito. The inspiration may be fantastical, but the work that went into the collection was incredibly serious. The H&M Design Award judges were impressed by Minju’s determination to make each piece as perfect as she could. When Minju graduates next year, she plans to gain experience through internships at established brands, before setting up a label of her own.
The winner of this year’s H&M Design Award People’s Prize was announced today as Alba Prat, who has studied at Universität der Künste, Berlin. The prize has been decided by visitors to the H&M Design Award website, who have been voting since January 16 for their favourite collection. Alba Prat receives a month’s internship at Jonathan Saunders in London, giving her the chance to gain invaluable experience with one of fashion’s hottest designers.
Now in its second year, the H&M Design Award aims to encourage and support young fashion talent at the very beginning of their careers. Graduates from nineteen design schools in eight countries, including this year Italy and France, competed first to be local winners, before showing their work to the grand prize jury.
BBN/SSR/AD-29Jan13-9:48 pm (BST)
