The Azzedine Alaïa Foundation continues its educational mission and support for emerging talents with a new partnership with Orveda. Their partnership offers two prizes each year, affording two young, under-represented fashion designers, a new space to explore and share their perceptions of Beauty with the world.

The name of the young talent winner of the first edition is Luke Radloff, representing the new generation of fashion talent in Africa, chosen by a jury comprising Carla Sozzani (president of the Azzedine Alaïa Foundation), Olivier Saillard (director of the Azzedine Alaïa Foundation), Marco Pecorari (director of the Parsons School in Paris), Sara Sozzani Maino (brand ambassador of National Chamber of Italian Fashion and Condé Nast Cncc Creative Advisor) and Nicolas Vu (ceo & co-founder of Orveda).

“Self-taught virtuoso, Azzedine Alaïa never stopped learning throughout his life in an insatiable quest for perfection. Self-improvement governed his research and his work. A great couturier without equal, he traced each pattern himself, cut each model, moulding the shapes during days and nights of working in solitude. Through his Foundation he wanted to share and transmit his knowledge to new generations," said Carla Sozzani, president of the Azzedine Alaïa Foundation. "The project with Orveda will make one of his dreams come true; today the mission of his Foundation. Luke Radloff perfectly embodies the values and missions of the Foundation: social responsibility and support of the values of craftsmanship."

"Science and technology is at the basis of everything we do at Orveda; we are driven by the power of human intuition, creativity and artistic expression. That is why alongside Orveda’s cutting-edge technological innovation we are also deeply committed to supporting and working with the Arts," commented Nicolas Vu, ceo & co-founder of Orveda. "The aim of Orveda’s collaboration with the Azzedine Alaïa Foundation is to provide a new arena for underrepresented contemporary creatives to explore and unleash their unique perceptions of luxury and beauty."

Luke, and all subsequent winners, is offered a one-month training programme and privileged access to the Foundation’s archives. They also benefit from the support of a reference tutor in collaboration with the Parsons School in Paris.

Photo: Luke Radlof, the young talent winner of the first edition of the Azzedine Alaïa Foundation x Orveda Prize. Courtesy of Luke Radloff