Congrats to Thomas Tait for nabbing the LVMH Young Fashion Designer Prize in its first year. The London-based Canadian’s haul of €300,000, plus a priceless one-year mentorship with the LVMH team, will go a long way in building the brand. But it’s surely also a bitter-sweet moment for Tait as it comes just over a week since the sudden death of Louise Wilson, his MA professor at Central Saint Martins.

No stranger to awards (read our interview with Thomas Tait after winning the Dorchester Prize), the designer scooped the bounty from a worthy international bunch who included Jacquemus, Simone Rocha, Suno, Tim Coppens, CG by Chris Gelinas, Gabriele Colangelo, Tillmann Lauterbach, and Vika Gazinskaya.

The winner was announced this morning at LVMH’s Paris headquarters. The jury, some of whom were present, included Nicolas Ghesquière (Louis Vuitton), Raf Simons (Dior), Marc Jacobs, Karl Lagerfeld (Fendi), Phoebe Philo (Céline), and Riccardo Tisci (Givenchy), as well as Delphine Arnault, Executive Vice-President of Louis Vuitton, who founded and chaired the award.

The jury also awarded two special prizes, to Miuniku and Hood by Air, each with a grant of €100,000 and a year-long mentorship.