The award celebrates the world’s most exciting design talent, providing significant financial and mentoring support to emerging voices whose work demonstrates exceptional creativity, innovation, technical skill, and a desire to challenge convention and make sustainable choices.

The initiative is testament to H&M Group’s belief in the power of upcoming talent and new ideas to shape the future of fashion. This year, after a period of hiatus, the Award returns stronger than ever, with an even more global vision.

The award is now open to BA and MA students from over 60 participating schools, from 25 countries. This year welcomes students from 8 new countries, including India, Australia, Mexico, Poland, Spain and Colombia – making it the most dynamic version of the award yet.

“I'm thrilled to be relaunching the H&M Design Award. It connects to the heart of everything the H&M Group values: new talent, fresh ideas and a democratised vision of fashion. The Award helps aspiring designers at a pivotal and expensive moment in their journey, when they are undertaking their studies, before starting their careers or businesses. Now more than ever, that is a moment where young people need support and encouragement. So, I am especially proud that this year's award is our most global and inclusive yet.” - Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M.

“The H&M Design Award is an important and inspiring initiative. It was an incredible opportunity to connect with industry figures and to have a platform that showcases your work to a wide audience, both throughout the process and in store when the design collaboration launched. The award continues to look to the future, encouraging and supporting the designers of tomorrow.” - Richard Quinn, Designer and winner of the H&M Design Award 2017. 

The winner of the H&M Design Award will be selected by a distinguished jury of professionals from across the fashion industry. The winner will receive a €150,000 endowment, alongside a dedicated year-long tailored mentorship. This mentorship covers critical areas such as sustainability and circularity, production, marketing and PR, equipping the recipient with the knowledge and industry-access needed to build their career. In addition, the winner’s collection will be produced and sold in selected H&M stores, worldwide and online. Furthermore, eight finalists will receive a €10,000 endowment.

Applications for the H&M Design Award will open from 29 January 2026, on designaward.hm.com. Candidates are invited to submit their portfolios digitally. 20 semi-finalists will be chosen and announced in October.

Previous winners of the H&M Design Award include Minju Kim, Richard Quinn, Stefan Cooke, Priya Ahluwalia and Sabine Skarule. Previous jurors include Imran Ahmed, Olivier Rousteing, Erdem Moralioglu, Nick Knight, Lily Allen and Camille Charrière.