Yu Prize 2021 Finalists: China’s most promising fashion talent

Wendy Yu is a globally known, award-winning Chinese investor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Based in Shanghai, Yu is the Founder & CEO of Yu Holdings and most recently, Founder and Creative Director, of luxury C-Beauty makeup range, YUMEE. In January 2020, Yu was appointed the Chinese ambassador of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM) as part of the formation of an international committee for Emerging Brands. In partnership with FHCM, Shanghai Fashion Week and Harrods, Yu launched the Yu Prize, an annual fashion prize to identify and support the journeys of emerging Chinese fashion designers. Wendy Yu announces Yu Prize 2021 Finalists, 16 Fashion Designers representing China’s most promising fashion talent, presented by Yu Holdings together with The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode and Shanghai Fashion Week.

The Yu Prize was launched by Wendy Yu, Founder and CEO of Yu Holdings, in October 2020, as a new annual initiative to support emerging Chinese designers and align with Yu Holding’s continued mission to ‘cultivate creativity’. Together with Paris and Shanghai Fashion Week, the shared vision is to discover unparalleled creativity, provide critical support for the domestic fashion industry in China and provide a platform for international exposure and collaboration. The vetting process was conducted by Yu Holdings, in conjunction with the Yu Prize committee including Madame Lu (Vice Secretary General of Shanghai Fashion Week), Pascal Morand (Executive President of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode), Sara Maino (Deputy Director of Vogue Italia and Head of Vogue Talents) and Michael Ward (Managing Director of Harrods).

“Our 16 Yu Prize finalists as a collective represent the best of the burgeoning Chinese creative and design landscape; they have deeply impressed us with their vision, aesthetic, quality, commercial sense and voice. As they aspire to reinterpret our cultural heritage and revive traditional know-how, we are seeing an obvious shift from Made in China to Created in China. As an ambassador of emerging talents for The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, I’m passionate about building bridges together across continents and strengthening our global eco-system, whilst supporting the Chinese creative class.” states Wendy Yu.  

The Yu Prize 2021 finalists are:

AT-ONE-MENT
CHENPENG
DANSHAN
DONSEE 10
8ON8
GARÇON BY GÇOGCN
OUDE WAAG
MING MA
REDEMPTIVE
SHIE LYU
SHUSHU/TONG
SHUTING QIU
SUSAN FANG
YUEQI QI
WINDOWSEN
ZI II CI IEN

The winner of the Yu Prize will be announced at SHFW in April 2021 and will benefit from the following rewards:

– Cash Prize of 1,000,000.00 RMB (€127,000.000 approximately)

– Showcase at Sphere Showroom at Paris Fashion Week and a celebratory event co-hosted by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode and Wendy Yu

– Showcase at Shanghai Fashion Week – Mentoring for 12 months by international industry experts, with a special focus on sustainability

– Business incubation at Yu Holdings – consulting, resource allocation, promotional and investment opportunities

– Retailing at Harrods

The jury will review the applications and creative assignments presented by the finalists to select the winners. All finalists will be exhibited at Shanghai Fashion Week in April 2021, where an official awards celebratory ceremony will also take place. The 2021 jurors for the inaugural YU PRIZE are:

– Andrew Bolton – The Wendy Yu Curator in Charge at The Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Arts Museum of Arts
– Edison Chen – Entrepreneur, Creative Director & Curator
– Simon Collins – Co-Founder and CEO of WeDesign.org, former Dean at Parsons, former Creative Director at Nike
– Herry Han – Founding Partner at Lightspeed China Partners
– Lauren Indvik, Fashion Editor of the Financial Times
– Yue-Sai Kan – Television Host and Producer, Entrepreneur and Humanitarian
– Judy Liu – Managing Director of Farfetch for Greater China and member of Global Executive Board
– Tasha Liu – Founder of LABELHOOD
– Patrick Lee – Group President of Capri Holdings Limited for Asia Pacific
– Madame Lu (Lv Xiaolei) – Vice Secretary General of Shanghai Fashion Week
– Pascal Morand – Executive President of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM）
– Chioma Nnadi – Editor of Vogue.com
– Sophie Phe – Vice President of the Rémy Martin House China (Partner Jury Member)
– Imin Pao – Branding and Creative Director Consultant
– Sara Sozzani Maino- Deputy Director of Vogue Italia and Head of Vogue Talents
– Philip Tinari – Director, UCCA Center for Contemporary Art and CEO, UCCA Group
– Giambattista Valli – Founder, Creative Director and President of Giambattista Valli
– Diane Von Furstenberg – Fashion Designer & Founder of Global Fashion Brand DVF
– Michael Ward – Managing Director of Harrods
– Jason Wu – Founder and Artistic Director of Jason Wu
– Lena Yang – CEO of WWD China
– Shaway Yeh – Founder of Yehyehyeh
– Wendy Yu – Founder and CEO of Yu Holdings
– Leo Zheng – Founder and CEO of Lighthouse Capital

For more information, please visit: www.yu-holdings.com/yu-prize