Amiri announces Cape Town-based designer Lukhanyo Mdingi as the winner of the 2023 edition of The Amiri Prize. Selected from a group of nine finalists by founder Mike Amiri and a panel of contemporary visionaries and entrepreneurs. The prize includes a year-long mentorship with Mike Amiri himself and a grant of 100,000 USD, an astounding leap platform for a young designer working in today’s competitive playing field. We featured Mdingi in our round up of young designers profiles in Crash 97 The Situationist Issue. At the time he stood out to us as one to watch for his exquisite designs, and an ethos emblazoned with community empowerment and heritage.

Human relationships have been at the beating heart of the namesake label: since its inception in 2015, Mdingi has been quietly working away at creating a conscientious label that focuses on building strong foundations and encompasses community-driven design and production. Under the aegis of the Ethical Fashion Initiative, Lukhanyo Mdingi worked closely with the CABES Community in Burkina Faso and immersed the label within the robust and collaborative weaving communities of Ouagadougou. This initiative ignites the importance of a collective: extending to a considered and mindful approach that is woven within each fabric, a lineage of rich heritage. Each collection is an ode to the sincerity and provenance of the artisan behind the craft. 

The AMIRI Prize was launched in 2021 as a fashion award and incubator encouraging greater inclusivity in the industry, highlighting up-and-coming talent from fashion and fashion-adjacent fields. Mike Amiri created the prize to celebrate the unique and varied voices shaping our future and to establish a support system outside the often inaccessible establishment.

The other designers selected for the finalists include:

Abdel El Tayeb, El Tayeb Nation

Dorian Who, Dorian Who

Ekwerike Chukwuma, WUMAN

Grace Ling, Grace Ling

Keith Herron, Advisry

Li Gong, 8ON8

Lukhanyo Mdingi, Lukhanyo Mdingi

Luke Zhou & Mike Huang, LUKEWARMPEOPLE

Maxwell Osborne, anOnlyChild

The jury and selection panel included:

Colm Dillane, Founder and Creative Director, KidSuper  

Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, Editor & Stylist  

Law Roach, Image Architect  

Lucia Liu, Stylist/Founder, theBallroom  

June Ambrose, Creative Director / Designer, Puma  

Rocco Liu, Editorial Director, GQ China 

Salehe Bembury, Designer  

Samuel Ross, Founder and Creative Director, SR_A SR_A Ltd. & A-COLD-WALL* 

Will Welch, Global Editorial Director, GQ USA 

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@amiri