The ANDAM Fashion Awards, the French competition that has launched some of the most significant careers in contemporary design, has named its 2026 finalists — a roster of 11 emerging and established talents competing across four prize categories. The announcement, made late last week, sets the stage for a July 1 jury session that will award the Grand Prix of €300,000 and the Special Prize of €100,000, alongside the Innovation Prize and the Accessories Prize, cementing another chapter in the award’s 36-year history as a bellwether for fashion’s next wave.
The Innovation Prize, carrying €50,000 in funding, was awarded earlier this cycle to Alphalyr, a company using artificial intelligence to optimize fashion’s value chain — a signal that ANDAM’s definition of fashion innovation now extends well beyond garment construction into the technological infrastructure of the industry itself. The Accessories Prize finalists include Phileo, a jewelry brand returning for a second bid, and two additional names that will be announced ahead of the July ceremony.
The headline contenders for the Grand Prix and Special Prize categories include five names that represent the breadth of contemporary European design. EgonLab, the Paris-based label founded by Florentin Glémarec and Kévin Nompeix, returns as a finalist for the second consecutive year with its tailored, deconstructed approach to menswear and womenswear. Zomer, the Rotterdam-based brand founded by Danial Aitouganov and Imruh Ashad, brings its vibrant, color-saturated aesthetic back to the jury room. Marie Adam-Leenaerdt, the Belgian designer who has built a cult following for her intellectual, sculptural approach to tailoring, makes her Grand Prix debut alongside Fidan Novruzova, whose namesake label explores the intersection of Azerbaijani textile traditions and avant-garde construction, and Pauline Dujancourt, whose work with sustainable materials and modular design has drawn increasing industry attention.
The ANDAM jury, chaired this year by 2013 winner Julien Dossena of Paco Rabanne, represents a cross-section of fashion’s institutional power — buyers from the world’s leading department stores, editors from the most influential publications, and executives from the LVMH and Kering spheres whose endorsement can transform a young brand’s trajectory overnight. The finalists receive business development support and mentorship in addition to the prize money, a component that has become increasingly important as the economics of independent fashion have grown more punishing.
For the finalists, the true prize extends beyond the cheque. ANDAM alumni include Martin Margiela, Viktor & Rolf, and Christophe Lemaire — names that have defined the vocabulary of modern fashion. To be named a finalist is to enter that lineage, to be recognized by the industry’s gatekeepers as a designer worth watching. For EgonLab and Zomer, returning for a second round, the pressure is compounded by expectation. For Marie Adam-Leenaerdt and her cohort of first-timers, the opportunity is simply to be seen. Both outcomes, in the end, serve the same purpose: ensuring that the next generation of talent has a stage on which to stand.
