Two students win the Loro Piana Knit Design Award 2026

The winners are Viola Schmidt, a student in the Master of Fine Arts programme in Textile and Fashion Design, specialising in fashion design, and Halla Lilja Ármannsdóttir, a student in the Master of Fine Arts programme in Textile and Fashion Design, specialising in textile design. They are being honoured for their Glitsky – Mother of Pearl project.

"We are so excited to win this Loro Piana Knit Design Award 2026. It’s just so great to be able to share this craftsmanship of knitting", said Viola Schmidt and Halla Lilja Ármannsdóttir in a post on Loro Piana’s Instagram.

As winners of the competition, Viola and Halla will receive not only a trophy and a scholarship, but also an internship at Loro Piana and the opportunity to further develop their project in the fashion house’s yarn and knitting workshops in Piedmont, in collaboration with experienced artisans. 

About the competition

The competition is held by the Italian fashion house Loro Piana and has grown in scope over the past decade, from three to eight participating schools. This year's competition was the tenth edition of the Loro Piana Knit Design Award 2026, and the theme was "Knitting Light – Craft on the Evolution of Colour."

Participating schools

• Accademia Costume & Moda
• Bunka Fashion College
• Donghua University
• École Duperré Paris
• Heriot Watt University
• Parsons School of Design
• Shih Chien University
• The Swedish School of Textiles