16. 3. 2016
The best designers of 2015 have been announced. The prestigious awards were distributed in eleven categories. Fashion designer Liběna Rochová was the overall winner, receiving the Grand Designer of the Year 2015 Award. Architect and designer Bořek Šípek was inducted, in memoriam, into the Hall of Fame. Designers Držmíšková and Hák won the Discovery of the Year Award.
The tenth CGD Awards gala evening was dominated by fashion designer Liběna Rochová and her Partitury collection, which met with great acclaim last year. Inspired by Milan Grygar’s work, her individual models combine art and fashion, representing the best of original fashion design that shirks trends, seasons and the fashion industry. This conceptual collection resulted in Rochová taking home the Fashion Designer of the Year 2015 Award and being crowned overall winner with the Grand Designer of the Year 2015 Award.
Czech-German theatre director Thomas Zielinski chose Glamour as the key theme for the ceremony: “I wanted to celebrate the awards and their tenth anniversary. Ten years is a long time – the awards have become deeply rooted in the history of Czech design. This year, I was inspired by glamour, sequins, Sinatra and show business. For me, personally, the gala evening was a way of saying goodbye since I decided last year that the tenth year would be the last I would direct. The gala evening for me brings not only joy but also responsibility and I think that ten years is enough.” Zielinski made his mark on the gala ceremony, imagining it in the style of a theatre production never before seen in the Czech Republic. Dressed in a sequin tailcoat, Roman Zach, the evening’s long-time host, made a moving speech at the evening’s end about the latest events in the Czech visual arts. The stage was surrounded with fringed gold lamé curtains reflecting the ever-changing glittering light. The most popular music and dance numbers of the night included singer Tonya Graves and a dance performance choreographed by Jana Burkiewiczová, featuring music by Jan Acher and a piano solo by virtuoso Michal Nejtek.
Once again, the Czech Grand Design Awards have demonstrated that the Czech art and design scene is brimming with variety and dynamism in bestowing recognition on both established figures and the up-and-coming stars of tomorrow. The best projects were selected by the Academy of Design of the Czech Republic, which is made up of Czech and foreign curators, gallerists, journalists and academics. Three entities in each category were short-listed for the finals from a total of 134 nominees. The finalists presented their work at the Czech Grand Design 2015: Finals exhibition in the National Technical Museum. The exhibition runs until May 1, 2016.
The Czech Grand Design 2015 Awards - Winners:
Designer of the Year – the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic Award
Olgoj Chorchoj / TIM collection of lights and bell glass covers (Bomma), Pocket pocket knives (Mikov)
Fashion Designer of the Year
Liběna Rochová / Partitury collection
Jewellery Designer of the Year
Helena Lukášová / jewellery designed for the A/W 2015 You Are What You Wish For collection (Denisa Nová)
Graphic Designer of the Year
Tomáš Brousil, Petra Dočekalová, Zuzana Lednická and Radek Sidun / TYPO 9010 - České digitalizované písmo 1990–2010 (published by BiggBoss)
Photographer of the Year
BoysPlayNice / Photos of Nejen Bistro (Mar.s Architects), Dům pro Markétku (Mjölk architekti), Gran Fierro (Formafatal), Škoda Superb (Dolce Vita), Collection #1 product photos (Nastassia Aleinikava)
Store of the Year
Nanovo / store opening and overall concept
Producer of the Year – The Ministry of the Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic Award for Industrial Design
Mikov / Pocket collection of pocket knives (Olgoj Chorchoj)
Discovery of the Year
Markéta Držmíšková and Petr Hák / Sequence storage system and porcelain collection
Public Award
Belda Factory / Český ráj collection
Grand Designer of the Year – Erste Premier Award
Liběna Rochová
Hall of Fame
Professor Bořek Šípek, in memoriam