Five years of illuminating talent: Silhouette Awards 2025–2026 winners announced

The Silhouette Awards have announced the winners of the 2025–2026 programme, celebrating exceptional emerging talent from across the global lighting design industry.

Now in its fifth milestone anniversary year, the Silhouette Awards is a global mentorship programme dedicated to identifying, celebrating, and supporting the next generation of lighting design talent. Launched in 2021 through a collaboration between Parrot PR & Marketing and Archifos, the initiative has already helped transform the careers of participants worldwide. Over the past four years, the programme has grown into a vibrant international community that champions creativity, knowledge-sharing, and forward-thinking design across the lighting industry.

The live-streamed winners’ announcement at the end of last week brought together the international lighting and design community to celebrate this year’s lineup of emerging professionals.

Each year, 20 outstanding mentees are selected through a competitive application process. Applicants share their journeys, achievements, and ambitions through a three-minute video submission – a format designed to make the process both personal and inclusive, allowing candidates to speak directly to the programme’s panel of mentors. 

This year’s award winners and their mentors are as follows:

• Stefanny Navarro González and mentor Adrian Moncada
• Diana Mellow and mentor Becky Yam
  Bettymaya Foott and mentor Courtney Mark
• Sofia Stefanopoulou and mentor Dan Lister
• Filippos Margaritis and mentor Dean Skira
• Olena Kondrashevska and mentor Emrah Baki Ulas
  Namita Narendra Nayak and mentor Ifthikhar Ilyas
• Ioanna Trikerioti Chatziioannou and mentor Iliana Zotou
• Emily Carolina Márquez Porras and mentor Ira Rothman
• Katerina Xynogala and mentor Juan Ferrari
• Daniele Guevara and mentor Kevan Shaw
• Maria Laura Polselli and mentor Krishna Mistry
• Min Li and mentor Mariel Fuentes
• Riddhi Bhootda and mentor Melissa Byers
• Anastasia Malisianou and mentor Poonam Mehta
• Mandy Liu and mentor Rebecca Ho-Dion
  Veera Saastamoinen and mentor Roger Narboni
• Mariia Ilina and mentor Steven Rosen
• Claudia Sagredo Carrasco and mentor Susanna Antico
• Xueqi Du and mentor Vasiliki Malakasi

A recording of the winners’ celebration event, which has already reached over 200 views in a short space of time, is available for viewing here: www.youtube.com/live/u7Z39BS3T0s?si=ZlpvbvJ04URvjRUY

Over the next six months, this year’s participants will engage in personalised mentorships designed to enhance knowledge, creative confidence, and professional development. While the programme supports emerging designers, it also benefits the mentors, enabling meaningful dialogue and strengthening collaboration across generations of lighting professionals. Many connections formed during the mentorship continue well beyond the official six-month period, contributing to a supportive global network that strengthens the lighting design community as a whole.

Eve Gaut, Co-Founder of the Silhouette Awards, said: “The overwhelming response to this year’s programme has been truly incredible. The collaboration between mentees and mentors is what makes this programme so special, and we are excited to see it continue making a meaningful impact across the industry.”

Katia Kolovea, Co-Founder of the Silhouette Awards, added: “Each year, we are inspired by the incredible talent that emerges through the Silhouette Awards. The passion and creativity we see in our winners reassure us that the future of the industry is in great hands.”

The Silhouette Awards team also extends sincere thanks to this year’s sponsors for their continued commitment to investing in future of the lighting design profession.

Power sponsors Huda Lighting, Core sponsors formalighting, Signify, Studio Due, Vode. Light sponsors ADO Lights, DALI Alliance, OneEightyOne, Ligman, Lucent Lighting, Pharos Architectural Controls and Vivalyte.

The Silhouette Awards has received widespread support from its supporters which includes A1 Lighting Magazine.

The 2025–2026 Silhouette Awards programme is now officially underway, with mentors and mentees officially introduced and beginning their six-month mentorship journeys. These partnerships mark the start of a collaborative process focused on knowledge exchange, professional development, and creative exploration.

As the Silhouette Awards settles into the fifth anniversary year, the milestone reflects the lasting impact mentorship has had in shaping careers. Building on this foundation, the programme continues to look ahead – expanding international reach and creating new opportunities to support and inspire the next generation of lighting designers.

To bring the community together further (this time in person), the Silhouette Awards will host a special gathering during Light + Building 2026. The event will take place on 12th March at 12:00 at the Design Plaza, Hall 3.1 B40, offering mentors, mentees (past and present), partners, and industry professionals an opportunity to connect, share experiences, and celebrate the programme’s continued growth and future ambitions.

The mission of the Silhouette Awards remains clear: to champion and elevate the next generation of lighting professionals. By building meaningful connections between emerging talent and industry leaders, the programme not only supports individual career development but also contributes to the future of lighting design as a whole.

The Silhouette Awards is a collaboration between Parrot PR and Marketing and Archifos.