MILAN — On the first day of Milan Fashion Week, LVMH Métiers d’Excellence and Thélios hosted the awards ceremony of the “Maestri d’Eccellenza Prize” craftsmanship competition, dedicated to Italian master artisans, revealing an all-female lineup of winners.

The event was held on the 39th floor of the Palazzo Lombardia skyscraper with a 360-degree view of the city.

Launched in 2023 and developed with Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana and the Confartigianato association, the initiative is aimed at raising awareness of the importance of local craftsmanship and its preservation; attracting media attention to the cause, and offering financial aid to some of its practioners.

On Tuesday, it was revealed that the fourth edition will see the group’s eyewear manufacturing arm pass the baton to Roman jeweler Bulgari, which is also owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.

In particular, the prize aims to celebrate artisans from all backgrounds across three categories: honoring experienced talents who have distinguished themselves for the quality of their work throughout their career; emerging artisans developing a promising and ongoing project; as well as professionals who have distinguished themselves with their capacity for innovation, preserving historical knowledge and skills while reinterpreting them in a modern way.

Selected from among nine finalists, the three winners in these categories were Domitilla Biondi, Marta Benet Morera and Lucia Massei, respectively. 

The jury, presided over by director Ferzan Ozpetek, exceptionally bestowed a fourth award or special mention to Elham M. Aghili.

The physical award — a glass cloche — was created by last year’s special mention prize recipient Francesco Ballestrazzi.

Each winner is rewarded with 10,000 euros to be reinvested in their respective businesses, and up to a year of mentorship from Thélios experts.

”LVMH reaffirms its commitment to preserving and promoting savoir-faire and craftsmanship,” said Maud Alvarez-Pereyre, group chief human resources officer at LVMH.

“This mission remains central to our Mestieri d’Eccellenza project. The award serves as a springboard for Italian artisans, who passionately safeguard their craft every day, making a fundamental contribution to Made in Italy,” she offered.

A former visual communication and digital design professional, Biondi, also known as Paper Poetry, has been mastering the art of the low relief on paper and ceramic through the use of scalpels since 2016.

A goldsmith and painter trained at Florence’s Accademia di Belle Arti art school, Massei creates jewels combining different techniques, for example on overpainted crocheted and embroidered cuffs crafted from titanium, copper and gold threads.

Benet Morera combines ceramics and textiles in her work, for example weaving clay as if it were leather, in a celebration of imperfection via the organic, irregular shapes of vases and other objects.

The winner of the special mention award, Italian Iranian artisan Aghili creates sculptures and installations inspired by Persian culture and oneiric gardens using deadstock yarns.

The international jury picked the winners from more than 350 applicants, who enrolled since last February’s launch of the prize’s third edition.

“We looked at material, the level of creativity and innovation. They happened to be all female” but the choices were all based on merit, Alvarez-Pereyre explained about the selection process.

“Creativity and craftsmanship are at the heart of the desirability of the maisons and our products. That’s the reason why they’re having that role of exposing it and making sure it’s very well known to everybody, of safeguarding it also.…It’s core to the maisons, but it’s also core for something wider, and we do it in the group, because we feel we have a responsibility, especially here in Italy,” she said.

The jury included Toni Belloni, adviser to LVMH and chief executive officer and president of LVMH Italy; Alessandro Zanardo, CEO of Thélios; Altagamma’s general manager Stefania Lazzaroni; Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana’s president Carlo Capasa, in addition to Alvarez-Pereyre.

Italy is home to six of the more than 75 brands within the LVMH portfolio, including Bulgari, Acqua di Parma, Pucci and Cova, in addition to Loro Piana and Fendi. The luxury giant employs 18,000 people in the country.