Hello Fashion Pioneer,

After submissions from students and recent graduates across 21 countries and 45 design schools, an eight-member international jury selected the winners. This is who they chose, and why it matters.

^{_{#1 WINNER}}

Tiia Jaakkola

Kolding School of Design, Denmark

Tiia's collection took post-consumer denim waste and filtered it through Finnish mythology and contemporary streetwear. The jury's response was decisive: this was the clearest, most disciplined submission of the competition. One material, one mood, one palette, one story — carried across every single look without losing a thread. 

^{_{#2 WINNER}}

Akriti Awatwani

Istituto Marangoni, Italy

Akriti's collection explored structure, negative space, and the tension between what is present and absent in a garment. Clean tailored silhouettes, visible construction, real design discipline. The jury called her presentation one of the most cohesive and well-structured of all 15 finalists. 

^{_{#3 WINNER}}

Andre Fonseca Vieira

Faculty of Architecture Lisbon, Portugal

Andre's streetwear preppy images felt — in the jury's own words — like they could be published in a real editorial shoot. A familiar aesthetic made credible through discipline and clear commercial thinking. 

^{_{THE FULL TOP 10 TALENT}}

The complete results.

From an emotionally charged response to war, to raffia sustainability, to a virtual world built from gaming and cosplay — the full top 10 showed the breadth of what designers are doing with AI tools today.

The tools that made this possible are open to everyone.

Design Forward exists to show what is possible when emerging designers get access to AI creative tools. The platform that produced these collections is available to students, educators, and professional designers. Start exploring.