South African Designer Thebe Magugu Won the Coveted LVMH Prize

South African designer, Thebe Magugu, is taking the international fashion world by storm and that's an irrefutable fact. Earlier this year, he took home the top prize at the 2019 London Fashion Week and was crowned the winner of the International Fashion Showcase. Now, more recently, the 26-year-old is the winner of probably the most coveted fashion award for young designers—the Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH) Prize.

Magugu competed against 1700 other designers from all over the world and came out victorious. Not only has the Kimberley-born designer earned some serious credit out on these fashion streets, he's also received close to R5 million (USD 338 000) and will take part in a year-long mentorship program with a talented and one-of-a-kind team at LVMH.

Speaking about his glorious win, Magugu said that, "I can't say this has been two years in the making: this has been in the making since grade four. Every cell in my body has been geared towards my being a person in fashion and being a designer."

If you're not familiar with LVMH, just a few months ago, Rihanna made history as the first woman of color to create an original brand for the group. Her Fenty fashion line became the first brand since 1987 to join 70 other luxury brands, including Christian Dior and Givenchy, under LVMH.

According to Vogue, Delphine Arnault, the Executive Vice President of Louis Vuitton and founder of the LVMH Prize, described Magugu saying, "The creativity of his designs is great—the colors, the cuts, it's very feminine. We saw the talent, and we also saw the challenges—in export for example. It's great to find talent with a huge potential."