BORN Awards Reveal Varied Winners

Christian Louboutin as guest creator of “Feu” at the Crazy Horse in Paris. Photo by Dominique Maitre/WWD.

How do you compare a storied luggage brand founded in 1849 to a provocative 3-D video starring stilettos by

Christian Louboutin

? At the third-annual

BORN Awards

, which were held last weekend at the

Courchevel 1850

resort in the French Alps, a panel of judges found themselves faced with this very challenge. Their job: to whittle down 13 cutting-edge creations by world-renowned artists and designers to just three winners. They selected:

One Time Memorable Achievement Award




Feu


, the Crazy Horse Paris 3-D video featuring Christian Louboutin

Best Design & Lifestyle Creation



Shamballa Jewels

, a collection of jewelry inspired by spiritual symbols

Best Craftsmanship Creation


Luxury French luggage brand

Moynat

The awards festival at Saint-Bon-Tarentaise in the French Alps, in the Tarentaise Valley, Savoie, Rhône-Alpes region.

Judges also gave special mention to sculptor

Richard Orlinski

for his monumental statues exhibited throughout the Courchevel 1850 resort and to the opening ceremony of the

2012 Olympic Games

in London directed by Danny Boyle.

The BORN Awards recognize the talents of exceptional designers from around the world. This year it has grown to include, for the first time ever, the deliberation of judges to choose the winners. According to Jean-Christophe Chopin, who created the BORN Festival in 2010 as a means to “put design on the same level as the exceptional,” future competitions will become even steeper. For example, next year BORN will roll out a new program called BornCreation, where categories will be divided into subcategories in the areas of architecture, fashion, and music.

“The goal is to support and encourage creation in all its forms,” Chopin says. “Men and women have ideas and when they realize them, we should celebrate that.”