ANDAM Awards increases prize fund to 325,000 euros

By

Florent Gilles

Published
Jan 31, 2013

The 24th edition of the ANDAM Fashion Award’s has raised even more funds this year, thanks to its international sponsors. The ANDAM Fashion Award winner will receive a total of 260,000 euros, compared to 230,000 euros last year. For second place, the prize money this year is up 15,000 to 60,000 euros. With the elevated funds, the ANDAM – the French national association for art and fashion- beats the record for biggest prize fund in the industry, a record previously held by Catalan Mango for its annual Mango Fashion Award (El Boton), with a prize of 300,000 euros.

The organization - founded by the French ministry of culture and communication and the DEFI in 1989 - is headed by Pierre Bergé and this year will welcome FashionGPS as a new sponsor. FashionGPS is an American company that provides digital solutions for the fashion industry and who is becoming an increasingly important player at the various fashion weeks. “Being able to increase the fund was made possible by not only FashionGPS, but also by the loyal support of the ANDAM sponsors (LVMH, Les Galeries Lafayetter, Longchamp, TheCorner.com etc.),” says the association.

Renzo Rosso, president of Only The Brave who has supported the award over the last two years, will act as a mentor to the 2013 ANDAM Fashion Award winner. The previous mentor was Pierre-Yves Roussel, CEO of the fashion division at LVMH, who has been providing guidance for last year’s winner, Julien David. But how will the Italian demin king be able to show this years’ winner the ropes of luxury? “The objective of the mentoring program is to offer creative, strategic and commercial guidance, tailored to the identity of the winning brand,” explain Nathalie Dufour, Managing Director of the association. Aside from the creation Diesel, Renzo Rosso is one of the biggest entrepreneurs in the industry. His group, Only The Brave, includes Maison Martin Margiela and Viktor & Rolf. “Renzo Rosso has a very broad vision which spans from couture to ready-to-wear and to urban fashion; choosing him as this year’s mentor was a natural decision,” adds Dufour.

Applications are open until 29 March and finalists will be announced at the end of April. The winner will be elected by the jury and will be announced during Haute Couture Fashion Week in July.