Photo: Firstview/MCV.Thomas Tait is overjoyed. His exact elation level as declared on Twitter: "Couldn't be happier!!!" And, with good reason. On Wednesday, Tait won the first ever LVMH Young Fashion Designer Prize. The Canadian-born, Britain-based talent bagged 300,000 euros (about $400,000) and a one-year mentorship within the luxury goods conglomerate to further develop his brand. Tait was chosen by a jury that included Karl Lagerfeld, Marc Jacobs, Nicolas Ghesquière, Humberto Leon, Phoebe Philo, Riccardo Tisci, and Raf Simons, along with LVMH executives Delphine Arnault, Pierre-Yves Roussel, and Jean-Paul Claverie. He beat out names like Suno, Simon Porte Jacquemus, Tim Coppens, and Simone Rocha for the award.
If you're unfamiliar with Tait, let's get you acquainted: At 24, he became the youngest graduate of Central Saint Martins' womenswear MA program. Following his London Fashion Week debut in 2010, he nabbed the Dorchester Collection Fashion Prize. Since then, he's become "known for his tailoring and dramatic, curving silhouettes," per Women's Wear Daily, which notes that Tait is swiftly adding clients to his wholesale roster. Aside from building his label, he also enjoys the film Strangers with Candy. Tait previously told WWD that as an up-and-coming designer, "[t]he reality is that you need to make your brand a commercial success, and you need working capital to meet your orders. That is the main struggle for me," perhaps offering a hint as to how he'll use his prize money. Either that, or funding a Candy reunion, but that must be awkwardly frowned upon.