On May 14, Loro Piana, the Italian brand renowned for its finest cashmere and wool, announced the winners of the 9th edition of its Knit Design Award 2025. This year’s theme, “Winter Legacy – Translating Linen into Heritage Knitwear”, challenged young designers to reimagine linen, a material traditionally associated with summer, as a timeless and functional fabric for winter knitwear.
The top honors went to Morgan Boyce and Simone Rizzato, students at Accademia Costume & Moda in Italy, for their collaborative project titled “Paracadute.” Their innovative design blended traditional winter yarns with linen, drawing inspiration from Loro Piana’s advanced spinning techniques and craftsmanship to propose a new vision of winter knitwear.
The winners were announced at an event held on May 14 at Casa degli Artisti in Milan, supported by Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana. In addition to receiving a trophy and a scholarship, the award recipients will have the opportunity to complete their design at Loro Piana’s knitwear facility in Italy’s Piedmont region. The finished pieces will be showcased at Pitti Filati, the premier international yarn and knitwear trade show, in July 2025.
The project explored the potential of linen as a material for all seasons. By merging it with Loro Piana’s iconic yarns, the students created silhouettes that were both timeless and versatile. The results showcased how linen, typically viewed as a light, airy fabric, can be transformed into a material of both softness and structure suitable for winter collections.
The judging panel included Loro Piana CEO Damien Bertrand; Gilles Denis, Editor-in-Chief of Le Point; Pauline Dujancourt, Founder and Creative Director of her namesake label; Anna Dello Russo, fashion stylist and former Vogue Japan Editor; Satoshi Kuwata, Founder and Creative Director of SETCHU; Antonio Mancinelli, journalist, author, and lecturer; and Kimberly Drew, curator and creative strategist.
Launched in 2016, the Knit Design Award reflects Loro Piana’s vision of nurturing future generations of talent. The program partners with prestigious design schools around the world, providing emerging designers with opportunities to explore the Maison’s iconic yarns and develop their creativity and material knowledge.
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