The Swedish School of Textiles receives the top honor in the competition’s 10th anniversary edition
Loro Piana announced the winners of the 2026 Knit Design Award, naming The Swedish School of Textiles students Viola Schmidt and Halla Lilja Ármannsdóttir as recipients of the annual prize. The announcement was made on May 14 during an event at Galleria Rossana Orlandi in Milan, held under the patronage of Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana.
Now in its 10th edition, the Knit Design Award invites students from international fashion schools to engage with Loro Piana’s knitwear heritage through experimental design and technical innovation. This year’s theme, Knitting Light – Craft on the Evolution of Colour, explored the relationship between color, material, and light through advanced knitwear techniques and the use of cashmere yarns blended with innovative fibers.
The winning project, titled Glitsky – Mother of Pearl, focused on transformability and light reflection. Inspired by the iridescent effect created when sunlight interacts with crystallized clouds, the design translated these atmospheric references into a modular knitted garment featuring detachable diamond motifs integrated through a linking system. The project combined structural knitwear techniques with layered constructions intended to mimic reflected light.
As part of the award, the winners will receive a scholarship, a trophy, and a professional experience within Loro Piana’s knitwear workshops in Piedmont, where they will complete the final realization of the design alongside the House’s artisans. The finished piece will later be presented at Pitti Filati in Florence from June 24 to 26.
The jury was chaired by Loro Piana CEO Frédéric Arnault and included figures from fashion, design, and publishing such as Anna Dello Russo, Sara Sozzani Maino, Rossana Orlandi, Edward Buchanan, and Satoshi Kuwata.
Founded in 2016, the Loro Piana Knit Design Award was established to support emerging knitwear talent while reinforcing the Maison’s emphasis on craftsmanship, textile innovation, and the transmission of technical savoir-faire to future generations.
