South African Designer Lukhanyo Mdingi Wins the 2023 AMIRI Prize

South African designer Lukhanyo Mdingi has won the AMIRI Prize, earning a $100,000 grant and a year-long mentorship from the accolade’s founder and AMIRI creative director, Mike Amiri.

Mdingi was one of nine finalists for this year’s prize, which was opened to designers from across the globe for the first time. The eight other finalists were Abdel El Tayeb of France; Dorian Rahimzadeh of Iran; Ekwerike Chukwuma of Nigeria; Grace Ling, Keith Herron and Maxwell Osborne of the U.S., and Li Gong and Luke Zhou of China.

“This year’s talent was exceptional, and it was difficult to select a frontrunner, but Lukhanyo’s vision and approach stood out to all of us,” Amiri said.

His recent collections have seen him fine tune a singular aesthetic and sensibility, but just as commendable is the purpose behind what he does — for his wider community and culture — and this resonates with serious brand potential.”

Mdingi launched his namesake fashion brand in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2015, with the goal of championing the work of local artisans in the city. His work oftentimes highlights vivid color stories and sophisticated fabrications; and with each season, he carefully builds upon his wardrobe of confident statement pieces. Most recently, for his Spring 2023 collection, which comprises both menswear and womenswear, Mdingi drew inspiration from Burkina Faso’s street style.

Amiri established the AMIRI Prize in 2021 to aid young designers with unconventional trajectories in establishing their brands. Lou Badger, from Philadelphia, took home the inaugural trophy in 2021, before the award took a hiatus in 2022. Mdingi was selected as the 2023 winner by an esteemed panel that included Kidsuper’s Colm Dillane, editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, image architect Law Roach, stylist Lucia Liu, creative director June Ambrose, GQ China‘s Rocco Liu, designer Salehe Bembury, A-COLD-WALL*’s Samuel Ross and GQ‘s global editorial director Will Welch.