ANDAM finalists announced

The finalists for the 2013 edition of the famous French fashion prize have been announced.

ANDAM's previous winners include Hermès designer Christophe Lemaire, Met Ball favorite Anthony Vaccarello and gothic specialist Gareth Pugh.

The seven finalists of the ANDAM Fashion Award, who will be competing for a €250,000 prize are:

Alexandre Mattiussi of AMI - after learning his trade at Givenchy and Marc Jacobs, the menswear designer launched his own label in January 2011.

Olympia Le-Tan - the Anglo-French creative first unveiled her quirky literary inspired bags and accessories, before launching her ready-to-wear last March.

Yang Li - the China-born, Australia-raised, and London-trained designer creates stunning minimalist tailored looks.

Pedro Lourenço - one of Brazil's biggest young fashion stars, the prodigiously talented 22-year-old has been making waves in the Paris scene for a number of seasons.

Maison Rabih Kayrouz - the Lebanese haute couture specialist launched his first ready-to-wear offer in spring 2012.

Masha Ma - a former protegé of Alexander McQueen, and a Central Saint Martins graduate, Ma moved her collections from London Fashion Week and now shows in Paris.

Iris Van Herpen - the young Dutchwoman is one of Lady Gaga's favorite designers. Her recent collections have incorporated extravagant 3D printing techniques working with MIT's Media Lab.

"Thanks to the faithful support of our partners, the 2013 competition is an exceptional edition. I am very proud to gather together the major actors of our creative industry more and more coordinated to support the young designers" says Nathalie Dufour, director of ANDAM.

Alongside the cash injection the winner will also receive hands-on mentorship from Diesel owner Renzo Rosso, who will be on call for two seasons to provide "creative, corporate and commercial development"; two years of access and support from the Fashion GPS team; and €10,000 worth of Swarovski crystals.

Canada's leading department store, Hudson's Bay Company will also help out by stocking the winning Spring-Summer 2014 collection. The winner will be chosen by a high profile jury (including Emmanuelle Alt and Angelica Cheung, editors of Vogue Paris and Vogue China, and Sarah Andelman, the head of the exclusive Colette department store) in July this year.

Credit: APRELAXNEWS