Italian luxury brand Loro Piana announced the winners of the ninth edition of its Knit Design Award on May 14 during a special event at Casa degli Artisti in Milan. This year’s edition celebrated the heritage and creative potential of linen. Launched in 2016, the contest aims to support young designers while sharing the brand’s expertise in knitwear craftsmanship.

For the 2025 competition, Loro Piana invited 14 students from seven international fashion schools to reinterpret and elevate linen. Participants combined the material with Loro Piana’s traditional winter yarns to create original and versatile knitwear designs. An international jury reviewed the submissions and selected the winners: Irish designer Morgan Rachel Boyce and Italian designer Simone Rizzato, both graduates of Accademia Costume & Moda.

“Our project aimed to explore our connection to linen’s historical legacy. My family once worked in factories that produced linen parachutes for the Allies during World War II. When the war ended, those parachutes were repurposed into clothing for the community,” Boyce told FashionNetwork.com.

"Sometimes the linen fabrics recovered from the parachutes were used to create wedding dresses. We wanted to highlight linen as a durable fibre that lasts, and that can become a symbol of love even in dramatic situations like war," added Simone Rizzato. "Our goal was to uncover an unexpected heritage of linen to offer a unique result."

The winning project, titled “Parachute – A Falling Legacy,” tells a story of resilience and transformation. Themes of rebirth and reinterpretation are woven into the design and stitchwork. “The concept encouraged us to experiment with both lightness and structure, showcasing linen’s natural properties enhanced by the refinement of Loro Piana’s winter yarns, pushing the boundaries of knitwear. For us, the brief was an invitation to explore the dialogue between tradition and innovation for Loro Piana,” the designers concluded.

Loro Piana will produce the winning garment and present it during the upcoming edition of Pitti Filati in July.