French accessories house Longchamp will this year participate in the ANDAM fashion and accessories awards. ANDAM, which is organised by the French Ministry of Culture, has been granting fellowships to those who have excelled in the creation of contemporary fashion and accessories for almost twenty years. This year, Longchamp will join the time-honoured tradition as a private partner. The firm is being represented at the awards by its artistic director Sophie Delafontaine.

Big names in fashion who have ANDAM to thank for their initial discovery include Martin Margiela, Viktor & Rolf, Jeremy Scott and Cathy Phill. Four new talents have been selected this year. The awards ceremony will be held in October, during the Semaine des Col lections in Paris . The four selected winners are: Richard Nicoll, who will receive a €52,000 prize from L'Oréal Professionnel, Swarovski and Galeries Lafayette; Bruno Pieters, the Belgian designer who will be awarded €36,000 by Pierre Bergé and the Yves Saint Laurent Foundation; Commuun, who will receive €40,000 from LVMH and Longchamp; and Toga, who has been awarded €20,000 to create a women's collection for spring 2008 for the Japanese department store group Beams.