Priya Ahluwalia wins H&M's 2019 Design Award

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Nov 29, 2018

Priya Ahluwalia, a fashion graduate from the University of Westminster, has been announced as the winner of the H&M Design Award 2019, receiving a cash prize of €50,000.

She was selected from a pool of 10 finalists by a panel of judges that included Christiane Arp, editor-in-chief of German Vogue; broadcaster and consultant Camille Charrière; Highsnobiety style director Jan-Michael Quammie; writer Charlie Porter; H&M’s creative advisors Ann-Sofie Johansson and Margareta van den Bosch and the winner of the H&M Design Award 2018, Stefan Cooke.

Born in London with Nigerian and Indian heritage, Ahluwalia presented a collection that combined both recycled materials and sustainable fabrics with a colourful approach and nostalgic aesthetic.

“Priya is unique, something very new and exciting. She is a designer marrying sustainability with wearability and fashion. Priya proves that forward-thinking fashion can be sustainable,” said Ann-Sofie Johansson, creative advisor at H&M.

“I feel absolutely ecstatic. I never dreamed this could happen. Winning the H&M Design Award will let me develop this idea into a business that has sustainability truly at its heart,” Ahluwalia commented.

Now in its eighth year, the H&M Design Award has been previously awarded to Richard Quinn, who became as one of London’s rising stars after receiving the inaugural Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design during London Fashion Week in February.

Last year’s winner, Stefan Cooke, joined the Fashion East collective and his collections are stocked in stores including Dover Street Market.

Other finalists for the 2019 award included Bo Xu, from the London College of Fashion, Erica Bergamaschi from Polimoda, Paolina Russo from Central Saint Martins and Guusje de Bruin from Artez.