Students Po-Chieh Chiu and Shanon Poupard win the Loro Piana Knit Design Award 2022.

Loro Piana has announced the winners of the sixth edition of its Knit Design Award, focusing on the creative interpretations of the maison’s iconic yarns. With its ongoing commitments to supporting young and emerging designers, Loro Piana set the theme of Rediscovery, unlocking a heritage of spirit in curiosity and inventiveness that leads to rediscoveries of everything around us.

The special projects, created by the student finalists were presented on June 21st in Loro Piana’s headquarters in Milan, with the jury consisting of CEO Damien Bertrand, as well as industry creatives like Sara Sozzani Maino, Head of Special Projects for Vogue Italia, Beka Gvishiani, founder of StyleNotCom, Chet Lo, knitwear designer, and Letizia Schätzinger, TikToker and content creator.

Students from six schools of fashion and design - North Carolina State University, the Institut Français de la Mode, Heriot Watt University of Edinburgh, the Politecnico di Milano, Shenkar College of Tel Aviv and Bunka Fashion College of Tokyo – were asked to reinterpret the Traveller Jacket and create a personal, knitwear version, delving into tradition and future, tailoring and experimentation. After an initial briefing, the young designers had the opportunity to see and learn about the maison’s extremely high-quality materials and know-how, and to observe and collaborate with the R&D team, participating in guided visits of knitting workshops to discover the entire production process at a first-hand level.

The winning pair was announced to be Institut Français de la Mode students Po-Chieh Chiu and Shanon Poupard, who have received an employment contract with Loro Piana, as well as the opportunity to collaborate and produce their finished ideas with the Loro Piana team, experiencing the stage-by-stage process and tricks of the trade from within. The finished Traveller Jacket garment will then be presented during Pitti Filati in Florence from 29th June.