On the opening day of Milan Fashion Week, the regional administration of Lombardy in Milan hosted the third edition of the LVMH Maestri d'Eccellenza awards, promoted by LVMH in collaboration with Confartigianato Imprese, the National Chamber of Italian Fashion, and Maison Thélios.

During the ceremony, the four winners, selected by an international jury from over 350 applications from all over Italy, were announced: Domitilla Biondi, Marta Benet Morera, Lucia Massei, and Elham M. Aghili. The award celebrates the very essence of Made in Italy: artisanal mastery, creative talent, and a passion for know-how.

“LVMH is confirming its commitment to protecting and promoting artisanal expertise and craftsmanship. This mission is central to our project. The award is a springboard for Italian artisans, who passionately defend their craft every day, making a fundamental contribution to the Italian fashion industry,” said Maud Alvarez-Pereyre, head of HR at LVMH.

The Master Artisan of Excellence award went to Domitilla Biondi. She stepped away from a career in visual communication and digital design in 2013 to follow her passion. Since 2016, Biondi has dedicated herself full-time to paper poetry, her own innovative artistic technique, carving bas-reliefs on paper or porcelain with a surgical scalpel, a combination of meditation and craftsmanship in action.

Marta Benet Morera won the Emerging Master Artisan of Excellence award. Benet Morera is an artisan and multidisciplinary artist whose work combines ceramics and textiles, blending traditional techniques and natural materials to create idealised shapes. Her practice celebrates imperfection as beauty and embraces sustainability, paying close attention to contemporary influences and aesthetic research.

Lucia Massei has been recognised with the Master for Excellence in Innovation award. She chiefly works with precious metals, pigments, and silk, mostly employing traditional techniques. She trained as a jewellery artisan as well as studying painting at the Florence Academy of Fine Arts.

The Masters of Excellence jury recognised Elham M. Aghili with a special mention. The Italian-Iranian artist, whose work blends art, fashion, and design, uses an artisanal technique she has developed herself to weave together yarns recovered from offcuts and the residual stock of yarn manufacturers. Inspired by Persian culture and oneiric gardens, she creates installations and wearable sculptures that mix natural iconography with her own hybrid culture.

Each winner will receive a cash prize of €10,000 to be reinvested in their business, and will be offered a mentoring period of up to one year with professionals from Thélios. The winners will have the opportunity to visit the Thélios factories to study the manufacturing process and the know-how of its artisans and technicians. The winners were selected by a jury composed of experts from within and outside the group, chaired by director Ferzan Ozpetek.

At the end of the award ceremony, Bulgari was announced as the partner of the award's fourth edition, which will be held in 2026.

Photo: Domitilla Biondi