Two Fashion alumni, finalists of Hempel Award 2025

Abril Molins and Ada Martínez, alumni of our Bachelor’s in Fashion Design, are finalists in the 33rd edition of Hempel Award, the international contest for young designers organized by the China Fashion Association. LCI Barcelona is the only Spanish school represented in the final, which will take place on October 27 in the city of Hangzhou.

This year’s edition revolves around the theme Topophilia – Neighbor, a reflection on the emotional bonds we form with the places we inhabit. The competition invites participants to explore how affection, identity, and a sense of belonging can be expressed through fashion. Garments, conceived as containers of memory and emotion, become a way to narrate our relationship with the environment and a creative response to the growing sense of placelessness in the digital age.

Don’t miss our alumni’s projects:

Abril Molins – Ebbing

Topophilia — a place felt, not seen. A sun-warmed scent, rain on wood, a fading warmth. Memory as tide, softness as vessel. What slips away shimmers. What we hold, endures.

Ada Martínez – Átame, Donna

My collection is the reflection of my emotional journey. Each piece embodies a “place” where my heart has lived and grown.

Italy: I dreamed of an elegant, romantic man with a seductive accent. Yet reality taught me that this ideal could also wound. For me, Italy blends refined lace and sheer layers that reveal disillusionment.

1990s Manhattan: amid bright lights and bold styles, I found my voice. Each look is a declaration of freedom, an homage to Donna and my own rebellion against the norm.

My singlehood: it lives in the emotional filter of Valentino the dog. I learned that loving is also choosing. These details — pins, embroidery, symbols — stand for my strength to decide what I deserve.

So, my collection doesn’t just dress bodies — it tells my story: idealization, discovery, conscious selection. It’s an intimate map I wear.

A total of 33 finalists from around the world will compete in Hempel Award 2025 grand final, and we are proud that two of them are alumni from LCI Barcelona. Year after year, this prestigious Asian competition recognizes the talent nurtured in our classrooms and gives it international visibility. Congratulations and best of luck to both!

Discover our Bachelor’s in Fashion Design.