ANDAM reveals eclectic 2021 prize jury

ANDAM, the French national association for the development of the arts and fashion, has adopted an eclectic approach in selecting the jury for its 2021 emerging designer competition. This year, the permanent jury, composed of 19 members representing the competition’s main sponsors, will be complemented by 14 personalities drawn from a multiplicity of countries and artistic spheres, including photography, music and cinema.

The ANDAM competition, now in its 32nd edition, was founded in 1989 by Nathalie Dufour to help emerging designers, under the auspices of France’s Culture and Communication Ministry and of Defi (the country’s Committee for the Development and Promotion of Apparel). The competition’s jury has never featured so many personalities from other fields, as opposed to the industry professionals and fashion insiders it customarily includes, as this year.

Of course, among this year’s 14 guest judges, there are many well-known fashion names. Like the former creative director of Céline, English designer Phoebe Philo, and Kerby Jean-Raymond, the designer who founded New York label Pyer Moss. Also part of the jury are fashion consultants Linda Loppa and Marie Chaix, journalists Suzanne Koller of M le Monde and Chioma Nnadi of vogue.com, critic Pierre M’Pelé, known as Pam Boy on social media, the founder of Net-A-Porter, Natalie Massenet, and Sally Singer, the head of fashion direction at Amazon Fashion.

Alongside them, composer, illustrator and actress Lou Doillon, Chinese singer Chris Lee, Thai rapper Lalisa Manoban, the vocalist and dancer of South Korean group Blackpink, and partners Juergen Teller, a photographer, and Dovile Drizyte, an art director.

There are also a few changes of note in the permanent jury: René Célestin, Xavier Clergerie, Thierry Guibert and Nadja Swarovski have left, replaced by the CEO of Balenciaga Cédric Charbit (appointed jury president and mentor of the future grand prize winner), the General Manager of WSN Frédéric Maus, the Creative Director of Swarovski, Giovanna Engelbert, and by Catherine Spindler, EVP branding and marketing at Lacoste.

Also part of the jury are Nathalie Dufour, founder of ANDAM, and Guillaume Houzé, image and communication director of the Galeries Lafayette group, the competition’s chairman since 2018. Because of the pandemic, most of the selection process will be carried out remotely and online.

ANDAM issued a call for applications in early February, and has raised the total prize money from €450,000 to €500,000. The deadline for submitting applications is April 27, and the finalists’ shortlist will be announced at the end of May. The competition's winners will be revealed by the jury on July 1 2021.

ANDAM reveals eclectic 2021 prize jury

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