The LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers was announced on 21 November 2013, and its first winner, Thomas Tait, was named in 2014. Since then it has been the quickest way to learn which names are coming. This year the 13th final took place on 4 September 2026 at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, where Julie Kegels won the prize and Zane Li of Lii took the Karl Lagerfeld Prize. Numero's finalist list included Lii, Ponte and Institution, all making menswear as well as womenswear. The labels below come at it from other angles, but they run on the same instinct: a small team, a clear idea, and clothes that make sense at once. Begin with Graphpaper, started in Tokyo in 2015 by Takayuki Minami around a redefinition of basics, and its Selvage Denim Jacket in blue is that idea in one piece. Fortela's Buddy Denim Jacket comes from Alessandro Squarzi in Milan, whose label name flips the Italian tela forte, strong cloth. Put either over a plain white tee and you are done. What I would skip is the SAGE NATION Fossil ruched panelled blouson on a day when you want a jacket that disappears, because the panels are meant to be looked at. I went deeper on a related idea in Italian Menswear: The Labels Behind the Softer Side. I went deeper on a related idea in Japanese Menswear: The Labels Shaping Men's Style in 2026.

New labels tend to be best at knitwear, because a good sweater explains a brand in thirty seconds. YOKE, Norio Terada's Tokyo label, launched with Autumn/Winter 2018, won the Tokyo Fashion Award in 2022 and was chosen for Fashion Prize of Tokyo 2026, so the brown alpaca sweater is a safe bet to wear now. Begg x Co goes the other direction: Alex Begg began making scarves in Paisley in 1866, and the Brennan cashmere sweater in navy comes from a Scottish mill with that history. COMME DES GARÇONS HOMME launched in 1978 under the tagline Good Sense, Good Quality, and the black wool zip-up cardigan is a calm piece from a house that is rarely calm. Then there are the hoodies, which are where the fun is. Paly Hollywood's Chelsea Hotel red hoodie is distressed and printed, in a Los Angeles label that nods to the pre-millennium Viper Room look. Homme Plissé Issey Miyake's July pleated zip-up hoodie in green is the cleaner answer. What I would skip is the Paly Hollywood distressed hoodie for a client lunch, because the whole point of it is looking slept in.

Shirts are the easiest way into a new label, because the fit tells you more than the logo ever could. Casey Casey began in Paris in 2008 under British-French designer Gareth Casey, whose background in ceramics, painting and sculpture shows in the tactile Cooper cotton-twill shirt in white and the Felix brown cotton-jersey T-shirt. COMME DES GARÇONS SHIRT launched in 1988 and first focused on shirting made in Paris, so its white cotton-poplin shirt is the original idea of the line. Junya Watanabe started as a patternmaker for Rei Kawakubo and launched his own line in 1993, which explains why the blue striped jersey tee is so carefully cut. Graphpaper's set of two white cotton-jersey tees is the practical buy, and Fortela's Amish waffle-knit henley is the texture to try. Homme Plissé's Rustic Mesh pleated shirt in purple is the one to wear alone with plain trousers. What I would skip is the ADON Tundra printed gray tee under an unbuttoned blazer, because the print will clash with the lapel.

Trousers are where new labels are most confident right now, and most of them are wider than you expect. Homme Plissé Issey Miyake launched in 2013, and its pleating cuts and sews the garment first, then pleats it between paper using heat, so the pleats are permanent and machine washable. The navy tapered pair is the easy start. YOKE's wide-leg garment-dyed pleated cotton-twill trousers in black and SAGE NATION's wide-leg pleated cotton-drill pair are for a roomier silhouette; Sage Toda-Nation started the London brand in 2020, in his final year of university. Junya Watanabe's beige garment-dyed cotton-gabardine trousers are the straight, quiet option. For jeans, Graphpaper's black selvage tapered pair and Fortela's blue John straight-leg suit most outfits. Pair wide trousers with a fitted knit on top. What I would skip is the TOTEME Kick slim-fit jean when the rest of your outfit is oversized, because the slim leg makes the proportions look accidental.

Accessories are how you try a label before committing to it. norda, founded in 2021 by Willa and Nick Martire, is a Canadian trail-running brand, and its Toolbox holdall in black uses Dyneema, the same bio-based fiber it put into its first shoe. Literary Sport is a Toronto running-wear label that launched in 2024 and was started by runners and readers, which explains the name; the Langston beanie in black is a good place to begin. Begg x Co's Brennan ribbed cashmere beanie in gray is the softer version. NAHMIAS, founded in Los Angeles in 2018 by Doni Nahmias, named its white trucker cap after his hometown of Summerland, California. Oakley began in 1975 in Jim Jannard's garage, and the Sutro Lite D-frame in black is a clean way to wear that sporty history with a coat. What I would skip is the Fortela printed blue bandana when your shirt is already patterned, because it is the busiest small thing in the grid.

The point of buying from a new label is to be early, and the way to be early is to keep it simple. Pick one piece from a name you have never owned, wear it with things you trust, and see whether it holds up in a month. I would start with a jacket or a pair of trousers, because those are the pieces where a young label shows its taste most clearly. Then add a sweater, and finally a tee or beanie to round the outfit off. Do not buy a whole look from one label unless you are sure; the best new brands read better as a single idea in an otherwise familiar outfit. The LVMH Prize has shown across thirteen editions that talent turns up in unlikely places, and this year's final in September was proof again. Keep an eye out, and let a few of these names move from the radar to your closet.

Keeping an eye on new labels works well when you can try them in small doses, so here are a few more entry points. The Fortela Josh checked cotton shirt and the SAGE NATION Chisholm poplin shirt are easy first purchases, and the NAHMIAS jersey T-shirts, one with a scribble print and one with the Miracle Sportwear logo, do the same job with less commitment. If you want a jacket, YOKE's wool and cashmere-blend felt blouson is the one I keep coming back to, and the Homme Plissé Issey Miyake Plissé blazer is the sharper choice. The SAGE NATION Wiral ribbed-knit cardigan and the Begg x Co Adrien polo sweater cover the knit, with TOTEME's straight-leg jeans and ribbed cashmere beanie to finish. What I would skip: the Comme des Garçons Homme wide-leg pleated trousers if you are only ready for one bold piece.