DUBAI: In December, LVMH opened its applications for the LVMH Prize 2020 for Young Fashion Designers, and on Friday announced the 20 semi-finalists, who were selected by a panel of experts that include everyone from Gigi Hadid to LVMH Prize founder Delphine Arnaut. Among the 20 chosen semi-finalists who could be the next Marine Serre, Jacquemus or Grace Wales Bonner, is Casablanca founder—and Pigalle co-founder— Charaf Tajer. The menswear, Paris-based label is known for its ultra-wearable clothing made out of luxe silks and cashmeres that is inspired by Tajer’s Moroccan roots. His debut runway during Paris Men’s Fashion Week in 2018 was a love letter to his parents who met while working side by side in a clothing atelier in the fashion district of Casablanca. Tajer and the other designers will then be shortlisted into a pool of eight potential winners, after presenting their collections before a designer jury of international fashion experts, including Maria Grazia Chiuri, Nicolas Ghesquière and Marc Jacobs at the LVMH Paris showroom in March during Paris Fashion Week. The grand prize will be given on June 5 at the Louis Vuitton Foundation, with the winner receiving a $325,000 prize, a “one-year mentorship provided by a dedicated LVMH team, in all fields of expertise” and the chance to work at one of the many prestigious brands under the LVMH umbrella for a year, which includes Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Givenchy, Dior and more.