Image courtesy of I Want To Be A Roitfeld

Back in May we reported that the ANDAM prize fund finalists had been announced by Anna Wintour and the rest of the jury - Mark Fast, Turkish designer Hakaan Yildirim, former Mugler designer Alexandre Vauthier, Francesco Scognamiglio, former Christian Lacroix and Balenciaga designer Bouchra Jarrar, and Calla Haynes, who worked for Oliver Theyskens for five years at Rocha, as well as Nina Ricci.

Fighting off the tough competition to claim the prize of €220,000 was Hakaan Yildirim, who when asked to comment from Istanbul replied with his collaborator and good friend Mert Alas, "This is so magical. We are honoured." Hakaan's first show in London took place only last February, and caused quite an unexpected stir on the fashion scene, bringing Carine Roitfeld, Kate Moss and Emmanuelle Alt to the front row, whilst Natalia Vodianova, Lara Stone, Maricarla Boscono and Natasha Poly walked.

Besides this astonishing turn out on the first day of London Fashion Week, Hakaan had only previously been known in the press for dressing Rose Byrne for the premiere of Damages, and so little known designer was hailed a "Turkish delight" for his glamorous first showing in London, a collection of which was even compared to the work of Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy. Alongside the prize money, Hakaan will have the opportunity to show in Paris, as well as help setting up his own French company.

"We've felt the pressure to help France," Nathalie Dufour, founder of ANDAM explains about the change, "This year's six nominees included three French brands, but we want to be able to award talent wherever we find it, so we thought having the winner establish themselves by opening up a French company was a logical step." Congratulations to Hakaan, we look forward to seeing what you offer next.