Ukrainian designer Ruslan Baginskiy, winner of the Ukrainian Best Fashion Awards in the categories of Best Accessories Designer (2017-2020) and The Breakthrough Of The Year (2021), has become a finalist for the prestigious French ANDAM 2023 Fashion Award.

The ANDAM Prize (Association Nationale pour le Developpement des Arts de la Mode – National Association for the Development of Fashion Arts) was founded by Nathalie Dufour in 1989 as a joint project of the French Ministry of Culture and the organization Defi Mode. Initially, the association’s competition was exclusively for designers residing in France, but since 2005, participation has been open to international participants as well. Throughout the years of the prize’s existence, the association has supported talents such as Martin Margiela, Jeremy Scott, Gareth Pugh, Christophe Lemaire, Anthony Vaccarello, Glenn Martens, and many others.

This year, the Ukrainian designer Ruslan Baginsky has become the finalist of the prestigious fashion competition in the accessories category for the first time. The other contenders for the Accessories Prize are the Parisian jewelry brand Panconesi and the London-based jewelry brand Alighieri.

In addition to a monetary prize, each winner of the ANDAM Awards receives the opportunity to work with a mentor, a fashion industry professional who guides the designer and assists in brand development throughout the year. The mentor for this year’s accessories category winner will be a representative from the French house of Hermes, Guillaume de Seynes.

The final of the competition will take place in Paris on June 30th. In addition to the permanent jury, consisting of government and private sponsors and fashion professionals, this year’s additions include supermodel Gigi Hadid, Francesca Bellettini, President and CEO of Yves Saint Laurent, Riccardo Bellini, President and CEO of Chloe, Bruno Pavlovsky, President of Chanel, François-Henri Pinault, Chairman and CEO of Kering Fashion Group, and Sidney Toledano, Chairman and CEO of LVMH Fashion Group.