PARIS — “Thank you for this day, thank you for the past three years,” said Marie Adam-Leenaerdt. “This is the first day of the rest of my life.”
On Wednesday evening, the Belgian designer was revealed as the winner of the Grand Prize of the 2026 ANDAM Fashion Awards at a ceremony in the Palais-Royal.
A Brussels-born and raised graduate of La Cambre Mode(s), the designer cut her teeth at Givenchy and Balenciaga before striking out on her own in 2023. She joined the Paris calendar the same year and was an ANDAM finalist in 2024.
“I think I am ready now for the next chapter,” the designer told WWD in an interview. “I’ve been working to refine the language and I understand much more the woman I’m designing for, the kind of singularity she is looking for — something chic, effortless, distinctive.”
This year’s jury president Alexandre Mattiussi, founder and creative director of Ami Paris, said “her work is proof that creativity, intelligence, passion and a distinctly contemporary vision continue to shape the future of fashion.”
In addition to being mentored by him, the Belgian designer scooped up the top prize and its cash award of 300,000 euros, which she told press she planned to use to grow her team, particularly on the sales side to develop wholesale. Production and a design assistant are also on the table.
Adam-Leenaerdt beat out this year’s finalists, which included Parisian brands EgonLab, Fidan Novruzova and Zomer.
Taking home the runner-up Special Prize was London-based French designer Pauline Dujancourt, who launched her womenswear brand in 2022 and has developed a specialty in knitwear.
Mattiussi called her work a reminder of “a simple truth: In a world where artificial intelligence and marketing are playing an ever-greater role, nothing will ever replace the sensitivity, emotion, and unique vision of a designer.”
Dujancourt told WWD she “really wants to go to Peru in order to train more knitters,” she said. “I want to bring my photographer so we can film the [process] and how I with these incredible women around the world.”
Meanwhile, she was keen to ask her new mentor about scaling up, given her “very specific way of working — human-based and handmade.”
Candidates for ANDAM’s grand prize can be of any nationality, but must own a French company or set one up during the same year as the receipt of the fellowship.
Self-taught designer Anthony Calydon, who launched his knitwear brand last year, scooped up the Pierre Bergé Prize and its 100,000-euro purse. He will be mentored by Frédéric Maus, director general of trade fair organizer WSN.
Other finalists for this category were Boyarovskaya, the nine-year-old label created by Givenchy and John Galliano alumna Maria Boyarovskaya with fashion photographer Artem Kononenko, and Maitrepierre.
In the accessories category, second time was the charm for footwear label Phileo. Launched in 2021, it was a finalist last year and beat this year’s contenders Mara Paris, the jewelry brand of trained architect Ayça Özbank, and leather goods brand Bonastre. In addition to the prize money, Paris-based Philéo Landowski will be mentored by Lacoste creative director Pelagia Kolotouros.
He joked that his “fear of having to do it again had skyrocketed. The jury is still as impressive as it was last year, the room is still as big.” He said funds were essential as emerging fashion businesses “lack time and to make up for [that] time, need people, need talents.”
In his case, that means hiring and consolidating offerings — all “very serious things in the next few weeks, three months,” he added. “So tonight I will enjoy myself then tomorrow, I’ll get back to work.”
This year’s other contenders were Mara Paris, the jewelry brand of trained architect Ayça Özbank, and leather goods brand Bonastre. In addition to the prize money,the Paris-based footwear designer will be mentored by Lacoste creative director Pelagia Kolotouros.
AI-powered data analytics platform Alphalyr and biobased dye and pigment producer Pili, respectively the winner and special prize recipient of the 2026 ANDAM Innovation Award, were also presented the star-shaped crystal trophies designed by Mattiussi at Wednesday’s ceremony.
In a brief speech, Alphalyr cofounder Bertrand Fredenucci insisted on the importance of the human hands that guide AI, the only way to truly tap into the technology’s opportunities.
France’s Minister of Culture Catherine Pégard called ANDAM “a cornerstone” of the broader commitment to the French fashion ecosystem, which “deserves to be supported in all its expressions, while continuing to foster its constant capacity for reinvention.”
“The history of fashion is also the history of our nation,” she said. “Through its achievements, fashion has become not only an extraordinary space for creativity, but also a powerful instrument of influence and a major driver of economic growth.”
Since its creation in 1989 by Nathalie Dufour with the support of the French Ministry of Culture and the DEFI, a body that promotes the development of the French fashion industry, and with the late Pierre Bergé as president, the ANDAM has recognized hundreds of laureates.
Among them are “many of the leading figures of contemporary global fashion, reaffirming its role as an essential springboard for talent from around the world,” added Pégard. “Each prize awarded represents a commitment to French creativity: a commitment to provide it with the means to emerge, to thrive and to shine on the international stage.”
ANDAM — the French acronym for National Association of the Development of the Fashion Arts — is supported by corporate sponsors, which include Ami Paris, Balenciaga, Bureau Betak, Chanel, Chloé, Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent, Galeries Lafayette, Hermès, Kering, Lacoste, L’Oréal, Longchamp, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Meta, Mytheresa, OTB, Saint Laurent, Swarovski, Tomorrow and WSN.
The French Ministry of Culture and the DEFI are also key historic public partners of ANDAM.