H&M has announced the return of its Design Award, reviving an initiative that has historically positioned the brand as a patron of emerging fashion talent. Reintroduced after several years on pause, the award re-enters the global fashion conversation with an emphasis on creativity, sustainability and access, values that continue to shape how large retailers engage with the next generation of designers.
Now open to BA and MA students from more than 60 fashion schools across 25 countries, the relaunched award marks its most internationally expansive iteration to date. This year includes participants from eight new countries, among them South Africa, Australia, Mexico, Poland, Spain and Colombia. Locally, students from Stadio School of Fashion, Fedisa Fashion School and the Design Academy of Fashion have been invited to apply.
The award offers a €150,000 endowment to one winner, alongside a year-long mentorship programme covering sustainability and circularity, production, marketing and PR. The winning collection will also be produced and sold in selected H&M stores and online, a proposition that continues to blur the line between educational support and commercial integration. Eight finalists will each receive €10,000.
For Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M’s creative adviser, the relaunch speaks directly to a fragile moment in many young designers’ careers. “The award helps aspiring designers at a pivotal and expensive moment in their journey,” she says. “Now more than ever, that is a moment where young people need support and encouragement.”
Past winners, including Minju Kim, Richard Quinn, Stefan Cooke and Priya Ahluwalia, suggest the programme has functioned as a meaningful springboard, though its alignment with a fast-fashion retailer remains a point of ongoing scrutiny within industry circles.
The winner will be selected by a jury of fashion professionals, with previous jurors including Olivier Rousteing, Erdem Moralioglu and Nick Knight. Applications opened on January 29 with 20 semifinalists set to be announced in October.
As fashion education becomes increasingly global and increasingly expensive, the return of the H&M Design Award raises familiar questions about scale, access and authorship, while also reasserting the role major industry players continue to play in shaping who gets seen, supported and sustained.
