What the 2023 LVMH and Karl Lagerfeld Prizes Represent for Setchu, Bettter and Magliano

Alongside fashion weeks and the countless number of shows, other high moments of the fashion calendar include the spread-out awards season – ranging from the LVMH Prize to ANDAM. Announced today at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, was the winner of this year’s LVMH Prize and the two Karl Lagerfeld Prize winners. Satoshi Kuwata’s Setchu took top honors while Luca Magliano’s Magliano and Julie Pelipas’ Bettter received the runner-up awards. But alongside championing the next wave of fashion talent, this year’s recipients not only represent a knack for revered design skills, but a focus on fostering environmentally equitable practices.

For Kuwata’s Setchu, the brand harbors an east meets west personality as the founder’s experiences as a designer and creative director alongside his international travels have birthed a cosmopolitan design approach. But what’s even more striking about Kuwata’s newfound success is that he essentially runs a one-man show – with no internal team whatsoever, just bits of help from colleagues here and there. “I’m the main crew and I’m doing everything myself, which is impossible to do,” said Kuwata. “The core thing now is setting up online components. After that, the next step will be accessories, sneakers and bags that can have more margins.”

As this year’s main prize recipient, the designer is now setting his sights on developing a team. Albeit a small one, assembling a team will help the designer to expand Setchu and establish a business that is in line with long-term success. “I want this company to be one of the Maisons of the group. I’m thinking of heritage and 30 years down the road.”

With the Karl Lagerfeld Prize, this year followed last year’s pattern and crowned two winners. For Luca Magliano’s Magliano, the designer is now most excited bout the providence of mentorship. Although Magliano and his team have crafted a solid cadence of subverting the classic since 2017, there’s still a great deal of growth that the designer envisions. Magliano looks forward to having another point of view on the brand’s designs and ideas to both expand its perspective alongside continuously refining its craft. “From a design point of view, the passion for classic alongside our contemporary interpretation has been key in propelling the brand.”

Finishing off this year’s winners is Julie Pelipas’ Bettter, whose core focus centers on upcycling and actionable sustainable practices. Pelipas’ brand gets its edge by crafting tailored garments from dead stock garments and utilizing customers’ body metrics for inclusive fits. As Vogue Ukraine’s former Fashion Director, Pelipa often saw that the buzz of “sustainably” remained limited to buzz, with very few actionable efforts. This lack is what led to Bettter’s birth and the multihyphenate creative’s aims to implement new technologies and practices that will drive environmentally equitable practices forward.

“Better winning the prize represents approval toward real actionable change in the industry,” said Pelipas. “Additionally, it means that the industry believes more sustainable technology is needed. I hope this will echo in all other levels of fashion. Not only with production but the perception of products, how we buy, how we communicate about fashion and more.” 

Head over to the LVMH Prize website for more info about this year’s winners.

In other fashion news, Lil Nas X co-curates Coach’s Winter 2023 collection.