Since 2012, H&M has held an annual design competition for BA and MA graduates and the winner receives €50,000, a one-year mentorship from H&M and gets the opportunity to develop key pieces from their collection, which is then sold in store and online.
The 2016 H&M Design Award winner is Hannah Jinkins, a graduate from the Royal College of Art, London. Hannah was crowned the winner by an impressive jury, which held the opinions of industry professionals such as Kate Bosworth, Olivier Rousteing and Nick Knight.
Ann-Sofie Johansson, creative advisor of H&M said: “I was so impressed by Hannah’s collection. It is very contemporary, with a real understanding of a woman’s body. It feels like something very new in womenswear, which makes her such an exciting winner of the H&M Design Awards 2016.”
The 24-year-old graduate from London, was one of eight finalists who participated in a fashion show at The Orangery in Kensington Palace. Each finalist showcased four looks from their graduation collection to an audience, which included the power members of the global fashion media.
Olivier Rousteing, creative director of Balmain said: “Hannah is amazing. She has her own unique vision. She has such a strong energy, she’s modern, young and really knows what she wants. She works with a tough fabric, yet somehow manages to make it sexy and glamorous at the same time”.
The young and modern designer created a collection that saw a harmonised balance between tough fabrics such as raw denim and inner linings of silk. The new-age silhouettes that Hannah created for her winning collection are oversized yet feminine and show a real understanding of the female body.
Hannah Jinkins, winner of the H&M Design Award 2016 said: “I feel very honoured and proud to have won the H&M Design Award. When my name was announced it was very surreal and I felt quite emotional. I want to start my own label, and winning the award means I can follow my dream.”
The other seven finalist who were hoping to win the Design Award were; Milligan Beaumont, Jemma Beech and Gabriel Castro all from Central St. Martins in London, Ka Wa Key Chow from the Royal College of Art in London, Enoch Chung from SADI in Seoul, Patrik Guggenberger from Beckmans College of Design in Stockholm and Long Xu from The New School for Design in New York.
The H&M Design Award was founded in 2012 and its purpose was to underline H&M’s strong commitment to the future of fashion and offer a platform to underground design talent. Former winners include Stine Riss (2012), Minju Kim (2013), Eddy Anemian (2014) and Ximon Lee (2015). This award is only available to students who study at selected schools. Forty of the world’s most respected design schools including Central St: Martins in London and the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York are in the selected education establishments.