This is the first time that the Torsten and Wanja Söderberg Prize has been awarded to a Swedish fashion designer.

- Ann-Sofie Back is a unique representative of the acclaimed Swedish fashion scene that has grown stronger and stronger over the past fifteen years and is now of international class. From having been considered too narrow in her expression, Ann-Sofie Back has over time proven that her design ideas work for the individual discerning fashion consumer as well as for the mass market, says museum director Tom Hedqvist.

The award committee's motivation

"Ann-Sofie Back's art is characterized by intuition and paradox. In a constant struggle with the fashion system of which she is a part, she has explored everyday life and social stereotypes with unbroken integrity. With continuity and maintained distance, she has over time gained evidence of how, through her belief in an aesthetic of resistance, one creates both commercial and distinctive fashion."

The award was presented at a ceremony in Gothenburg on November 4, when an exhibition "Back. Everything must go!" by and with the laureate opened at the Röhsska Museum.

documentary film

In connection with this year's award, a short documentary is also shown where we get to know Ann-Sofie Back better. The film is made by Stavfel produktion, director and producer: Carl Johan Engberg.

Ann-Sofie Back
After studying fashion at Beckmans College of Design in Stockholm and Central St. Martins in London, she made her debut in 2001 with the main line Ann-Sofie Back, before launching BACK in 2005. Since 2009, Ann-Sofie Back divides her time between being creative director of her own company BACK and the H&M-owned brand Cheap Monday. BACK is internationally renowned for its avant-garde and distinctive designs, which are worn by Lady Gaga, Kate Moss, Robyn, Rhianna, Icona Pop, Titiyo and HRH Crown Princess Victoria, among others.

In spring 2014, Ann-Sofie Back was featured in the exhibition Swedish Fashion 2000-2015 at Sven Harry's Art Museum in Stockholm. On October 17, Swedish Television showed a design portrait of the laureate in K-Special.