What do Simone Rocha, Molly Goddard, Virgil Abloh and Simon Porte Jacquemus have in common? They were all shortlisted for the LVMH Prize. Seeing as Grace Wales Bonner, Marine Serre and Marques Almeida have all won the coveted accolade in previous years, it's a clear indicator of the next generation of star design talent.

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Today, ahead of the announcement of 2018's winner, ELLE spoke to Delphine Arnault, director and executive vice president of Louis Vuitton, who founded the prize in 2013. We also spoke to three of the London based finalists to hear more about how they made the cut for ELLE's July issue, available now.

‘Admittedly, it isn’t the only fashion award,’ says Arnault. But the difference with the LVMH Prize is that LVMH, the €147.87 billion conglomerate behind the award, offers a hefty €300,000 cash prize and mentoring with some of the most important names in fashion. It also offers face-time with a judging panel of creative directors on the LVMH roster: bona fide design heroes including Clare Waight Keller of Givenchy, Jonathan Anderson of Loewe, Nicolas Ghesquière of Louis Vuitton and Karl Lagerfeld of Fendi.

‘One of our core values is celebrating creativity,’ says Arnault. So creativity reigns – in terms of business thinking as well as design. ‘I’m in awe, amazed at how connected and aware the candidates are,’ she adds. ‘They embody the future.’

With the current crop of finalists, it’s clear that this is the case. This year’s shortlisted designers, including Charles Jeffrey of Charles Jeffrey Loverboy, Samuel Ross of A-COLD-WALL* and Rok Hwang of Rokh, are all prime examples. They’re proof that successful business isn’t just about clothes; it’s about engaging a customer by building a whole world, communicating brand values through carefully considered imagery, and marketing it en masse to a digital audience.

Last year's winner, Marine Serre, with Rihanna.

It’s clear that, whoever wins the LVMH Prize in 2018, those who made the final cut will be steering fashion’s future. We meet three of the finalists to find out where they’ll be taking it.

ROKH

Korean-born, American-raised designer Rok Hwang came into fashion through music, moving to London to immerse himself in the music scene, before studying menswear at Central Saint Martins. Since specialising in womenswear on the prestigious MA design course, he’s worked as Phoebe Philo’s right-hand at Céline, and for Louis Vuitton and Chloe.

SAMUEL ROSS

The 26-year-old designer of London-based label A-Cold-Wall*, isn’t in this for the jet-setting – he’s intent on using fashion to convey ideas about craft, diversity and the experience of growing up in London, a city full of cold walls. His angular hoodies, multi-pocket coats and technical-fabric trousers manage to come across as both austere and expressive, in a way that appeals to the type of guy who checks cult menswear resale site Grailed the way you might check Instagram.

CHARLES JEFFREY LOVERBOY

The London-based Scot is the latest star to emerge from the design capital. With extravagant shows and a non-binary ethos, his Charles Jeffrey Loverboy collections carry what he calls ‘a stench of fantasy’. At his AW18 show, he unleashed a horde of painted figures to scream at the front row in a primal performance that critics compared to an Alexander McQueen show in its intensity. ‘The theatricality and the proposal of the show are just as important as the silhouette of the jacket,’ he says.

More in ELLE’s July issue, out now.