At a reception held at the Plaza Athénée in Paris, the Dorchester Collection announced that its hotel on Avenue Montaigne will host the 2012 edition of the Dorchester Collection Fashion Prize. The third edition kicked off with Anndra Neen presenting her Autumn-Winter 2012 jewelry and accessories collection in the prestigious Avenue Montaigne setting at the height of Fashion Week – an exceptional opportunity granted as a bonus to the $40,000 prize money.
Anndra Neen combines the creative talents of two sisters, Phoebe and Annette Stephens, whose jewelry and accessories have been receiving rave reviews since their success last fall. The New York Times and Vogue.com have devoted several articles to them, and they are already on the 2012 Hot List of the British edition of Vogue. Like Anndra Neen, the 2012 winner will have the opportunity to stay at a Dorchester Collection hotel in Paris or Milan for Spring 2013 Fashion Week.
The Dorchester Collection Fashion Prize 2012 is endowed with a €30,000 prize, which a jury of experts will award to the most promising designer of luxury ready-to-wear or accessories, to accompany the exhibition of their brand. Candidates for the 2012 edition of the Dorchester Collection Fashion Prize must be based in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg or Switzerland, and have been carrying out a recognized creative activity under their own brand for at least two years. Entries can be downloaded from the Dorchester Collection website (www.dorchestercollection.com) from April 2, 2012, and must be submitted by May 31, 2012.
A few words about the Dorchester Collection Fashion prize and its objectives:
– Encourage new designers in the fashion world,
– Encourage the winner through the prize,
– Potentially develop an exclusive collaboration between fashion players and the Dorchester Collection,
– Strengthen the historical and contemporary links between the Dorchester Collection hotels and the fashion world,
– The prize offers €30,000 and 2 nights at the Plaza Athénée in Paris or the Principe de Savoia in Milan,
– Be open to designers based in the following countries: France, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland.
Judging criteria
– Must be able to propose collections and have an established company/brand for at least 2 years
– Collections can represent: ready-to-wear (men’s, women’s, children’s) and accessories (jewelry, shoes, leather goods)
– The designers’ company/brand must be established in one of the countries in which the prize is eligible
– The winning designer must demonstrate style and originality in relation to the qualities of luxury, passion for excellence and innovation that correspond to the Dorchester Collection.
The 2012 jury is currently made up of Alexandra Golovanoff, Jean-Jacques Picart, Chantal Thomass, Lorenz Baümer, Nathalie Rykiel,Harumi Klossovski de Rola, Elisabeth Salzman and Kenzo Takada.

The Dorchester Collection will set up a jury of experts from the fashion world, who will award the prize to the candidate who has demonstrated the greatest aesthetic qualities and originality, as well as the ability to arouse critical curiosity and manage success. The work presented must also echo the spirit of the iconic hotels in the Dorchester Collection, and in this sense, inspire a sense of individuality, luxury, style and craftsmanship. The Award continues to raise its profile and spotlight international creative talents, such as Thomas Tait in 2010 and Anndra Neen in 2011.
The world’s leading fashion capitals are home to hotels in the Dorchester Collection, whose rich heritage inspired the creation in 2010 of the Dorchester Collection Fashion Prize – the first prize of its kind offered by a luxury hotel chain. The competition takes place in a Dorchester Collection hotel. For 2012, it will be the Plaza Athénée, which lends itself ideally to the planned events, so rooted is it in fashion history. Inspired by its elegance, Christian Dior, who set up his first haute couture atelier not far from the palace, peppered his collections with references to this illustrious venue, with suits bearing evocative names such as “Plaza” and “Athénée”. The couturier often chose the Plaza Athénée, which he considered his “second home”, to photograph his models.
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