LONDON — Faustine Steinmetz has been named winner of the annual Swarovski Collective Award, WWD has learned. The London-based designer will receive a 25,000 euros, or $27,292, prize.
Launched in 1999 by Nadja Swarovski, the Collective supports 150 emerging and established designers, as they aim to use the Austrian-made crystals in inventive ways. This is the third edition of the prize. Previous winners were Rosie Assoulin and Peter Pilotto.
Steinmetz said winning the award made her feel validated as a designer. “It gives you opportunities to do things as a young designer — with, obviously, the money as well. That’s so important,” said Steinmetz.
She plans to funnel the prize winnings into her production and, in particular, bring more weavers on board. Steinmetz currently produces her range in Africa and designs in London, and said she is keeping an open mind in terms of other geographic areas for production.
“At the moment, we are working on setting up production in different countries that have fair trade,” said Steinmetz, adding that she’s open to exploring new locations, providing she can find sustainable production. “We are looking for places where we can trust people and make sure that things are done the right way. For us, that’s
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