LVMH, together with Confartigianato Imprese, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana and Fondazione Bvlgari, has announced the winners of the fourth edition of the Maestri d’Eccellenza Award. The ceremony took place at the Bvlgari Hotel Roma, reaffirming the importance of an initiative created to support, celebrate and pass on the skills that make Italian craftsmanship unique.
Promoted by LVMH Métiers d’Excellence, the award highlights different creative journeys, all united by the ability to transform a deep knowledge of materials into a contemporary vision. Alongside master artisans who preserve techniques refined over generations, the initiative also supports emerging talents and professionals who innovate while maintaining a meaningful dialogue with tradition.
The Maestro Artigiano d’Eccellenza award was presented to Carlo Colombo, co-owner of Tessitura la Colombina together with Mario Colombo. Founded in 1895 as a silk mill, the company has evolved across four generations, moving from handloom weaving to accessories and knitwear. At the heart of its identity is a textile savoir-faire that has been passed down over time while continually embracing innovation.
Lorenzo Seghezzi received the Maestro Emergente Artigiano d’Eccellenza award. The Milan-based designer, who founded his eponymous brand in 2021, offers a new interpretation of contemporary tailoring through a practice centred on corsetry. In his creations, technical research and meticulous handcraftsmanship transform the corset into a means of personal expression and self-determination.
Mirei Monticelli was named Maestro dell’Innovazione d’Eccellenza for her luminous sculptures and installations made from banaca, a natural fibre derived from abaca. Her work connects two places and cultures: in the Philippines, a community of weavers works with the material alongside the artist’s mother, while in Italy Monticelli designs and shapes each piece in her studio.
The jury also awarded a special mention to Daniel Mauceri of Arte Pupara dal 1978. Raised within the historic Vaccaro-Mauceri family, which has preserved the Syracusan tradition of the Opera dei Pupi for three generations, Mauceri creates and restores Sicilian puppets, papier-mâché religious statues and jewellery inspired by the decorative details of traditional armour.
His workshop is at once a theatre, museum and educational studio, keeping ancient techniques such as embossing, chasing, modelling and tailoring alive through a contemporary perspective.
“The Award offers a platform to Italian artisans who, with passion and dedication, pursue their craft every day, recognising the importance of their contribution to Made in Italy,” said Maud Alvarez-Pereyre, Group Chief Human Resources Officer at LVMH, reaffirming the Group’s commitment to protecting and promoting savoir-faire.
The three category winners will each receive €10,000 to reinvest in their businesses, together with editorial visibility and up to one year of mentoring from professionals at the Bvlgari Maison. The programme will also include dedicated visits to Bvlgari’s production facilities, offering an opportunity to explore the Maison’s manufacturing processes and encourage new forms of exchange and collaboration.
Held under the patronage of the Italian Ministry of Culture and supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, the 2026 edition also expands its storytelling through a series of audio features available on Spotify. Nine episodes give a voice to the finalist artisans, exploring the stories behind their works and the creative processes that brought them to life.
Rather than celebrating tradition as something static, the Maestri d’Eccellenza Award presents craftsmanship as a living language: one that crosses generations, welcomes new influences and continues to shape the identity of Made in Italy.
