APOLDA EUROPEAN DESIGN AWARD 2026

The APOLDA EUROPEAN DESIGN AWARD, established in 1993, will take place for the twelfth time in Apolda in 2026 and is one of the oldest and most prestigious fashion design awards in Germany. The competition has developed into a springboard for young and talented fashion designers and can look back on a number of successful winners.

The aim of the APOLDA EUROPEAN DESIGN AWARD is to support and promote young European fashion designers. The competition is an initiative of the Apolda region in Weimarer Land / Thuringia. The history of knitwear and textile manufacturing is an important part of the regional identity and should be preserved and communicated in order to keep the cultural heritage of this craft alive.

Since 2002, only renowned European colleges and universities with graduates from the field of fashion have been invited to participate in the competition. Through this clear commitment to quality, the APOLDA EUROPEAN DESIGN AWARD has become a springboard for young European fashion designers.

An important part of the competition is the APOLDA DESIGNER NETWORK. In the interest of stronger networking of design, production, and marketing strategies, participants are called upon to produce their own fashion clips about their submitted collections as part of this project, which will be published online. A communication and presentation platform is being created that sustainably promotes contacts between the elite of young fashion designers and renowned companies in the fashion industry through the use of digital media. In 2026, the successful concept of the APOLDA EUROPEAN DESIGN AWARD will be further developed and continued with selected colleges and universities and their fashion graduates. We wish you every success in the competition.