Fashion Design alumni win reinstated Frans Molenaar Prijs

After an eight-year hiatus, the Frans Molenaar Prize returned this year as an important incentive for emerging fashion designers in the Netherlands. Established by couturier Frans Molenaar, the award has offered young makers a platform - and financial support - since the 1990s to strengthen their practice. For this new edition, students from AMFI’s The New Mode Collective shaped the show, bringing the prize closer to a new generation.

Winners: Ülkühan Akgül & Batuhan Demir

The jury awarded the prize to the duo Ülkühan Akgül and Batuhan Demir, both alumni of the bachelor’s programme Fashion Design at ArtEZ. Their approach to fashion as an interaction between design, performance and social research convinced the expert jury unanimously. For the prize, they combined two recent collections and developed a new scenography in which themes such as power, vulnerability, exploitation and social identity came together in a visually compelling way.

With the prize money, they are developing a shared collection that will be presented during Amsterdam Fashion Week. It marks a next step in their joint practice, in which they have long worked with a mix of craft, digital techniques and world-building.

Batuhan Demir, Frans Molenaar Prijs 2025, photo: Peter Stigter

Jury impressed by more ArtEZ students

Alongside the main prize, other ArtEZ talent stood out in the line-up of seven designers:

Britt Kloosterman: her work departs from plants and flowers, exploring in form and material the connection between humans and the natural world. The jury appreciated the poetic layering of her work and its solid craftsmanship.
Mayar Shakeb: her collection explores encounters between cultural traditions and contemporary technologies, marked by a keen eye for detail and a strong visual language.
Sun Ho Min: designed from a dream image centred around a dragon. That visual force translated into expressive silhouettes and a compelling narrative.

With their diverse perspectives, these makers showed - according to the jury - the breadth and innovative character of the Dutch fashion field, and the strong social positioning of the new generation of designers.

About the Frans Molenaar Prijs

The Frans Molenaar Prijs was for many years considered one of the most important incentives for emerging designers in the Netherlands. The award supports innovative craftsmanship and helps young makers further professionalise their practice. With the return of the prize, a new generation once again gains access to this platform. Including a striking number of ArtEZ designers.