Nensi Dojaka Wins The Prestigious LVMH Prize

Emerging Albanian designer Nensi Dojaka has won the 2021 LVMH Prize, one of the fashion industry’s top honors for young talent. She competed against nine other finalists, to take home to the award, which bestows significant mentorship and financial backing to its winners. “I couldn’t believe that I had won — I felt shellshocked,” Dojaka said to the New York Times after receiving the prize. “But I am also delighted because I have a vision of femininity I want to share with the world.”

Dojaka, who is 28, is already a cult favorite designer. She’s known for her experimental asymmetrical garments, and uses elastic, tulle, and carefully-placed structured boning to craft intricately designed cutouts along the body. Her slip dresses, tops, breezy tunics artfully accent the chest without revealing too much, while she layers sheer fabrics to create new shades of black and nude against the skin. Educated in lingerie design, her work is an editorial take on the 2000s-throwback trend of tiny clothes. “I design based on small details,” she told W in 2020. “It’s not so much about a dramatic silhouette.”

“I love female bodies,” she said. “I love collarbones and backs. I think my little black dress did as well as it did this year because people feel excited to go out and celebrate again. They want to feel sexy and chic.” Indeed, several celebs have worn her pieces, including Emily Ratajkowski, Sophie Turner, and Bella Hadid, and influencers like Courtney Trop, who wrote that Dojaka’s clothes “[cover] nothing and everything at the same time.”