Ellen Hodakova Larsson, the Swedish designer behind the buzzy brand Hodakova, has won the 2024 LVMH Prize. The distinction not only places Larsson, 32, among a pantheon of former Prize winners including Nensi Dojaka, Marine Serre, and S.S. Daley, but also provides her with €400,000 and a yearlong mentorship with LVMH.
“We worked so hard to get this kind of recognition and show that this business model is working,” Larsson said following her win. Hodakova uses completely upcycled materials, sourcing from secondhand stores and other brands’s surplus materials. Larsson previously described the process of putting her collections into production as “a challenge every time” given her sustainable model—so the support from LVMH is welcome.
Born and raised on a horse farm an hour outside Stockholm, Larsson gained an appreciation for upcycling at a young age. Her mother, a fur seamstress, would take Larsson and her brother to the secondhand store, and the three would pick up items to bring home and give new life. “We grew up with the mind-set of, you can make whatever you want from nothing,” she told W earlier this month. Larsson would later head to art school in Stockholm before transferring after just one year to The Swedish School of Textiles, where she perfected her craft and solidified her brand’s ethos. It wasn’t long after she graduated that Hodakova was born.
Robert Pattinson, Duran Lantink, Michael Stewart, Ana de Armas, Natalia Portman, Ellen Hodakova Larsson, and Delphine Arnault.
Photograph by François Goizé
The Prize is another step in Hodakova’s recent upward trajectory. While the brand is still a small one, it’s received some attention lately, especially in the celebrity space. Greta Lee, Emma Corrin, and Cate Blanchett have all worn Larsson’s designs over the past few weeks, with Blanchett even repurposing her Hodakova piece for a second wear on Monday. Larsson has expressed that celebrity placement isn’t her priority, but she admits that it is important in the modern fashion world. It’s also a validating experience. “It’s super crazy that someone you watched in a movie when you were young is now wearing your pieces,” she says. “I feel honored for sure.”
In addition to Hodakova, LVMH also awarded the Karl Lagerfeld Prize to Duran Lantink, as well as the Savoir-Faire Prize to Michael Stewart’s Standing Ground. Both awards come with a €200,000 prize pot and a yearlong mentorship program. The latter honor is new this year, and focuses on the craftsmanship, technical expertise, innovation, and sustainability of a brand. For Stewart, the recognition will allow him to take Standing Ground to “the next level” by investing more in the brand, specifically “the craft, the innovation, the creativity, and the make.”
“Also, it will allow me to have a little bit of freedom to play and discover something really special,” he says.
It is notable that two of the three brands that took home this year’s prizes place a large emphasis on sustainability. The recognition of Hodakova, as well as Duran Lantink, is a nice sign of LVMH’s interest in environmentally mindful fashion. And Lantink hopes the next generation of designers takes note. “It’s already starting to become the norm,” he says.
