As the ANDAM cocktail got underway in the gardens of the Palais Royal last night, the mood was buoyant but more restrained than usual, and conversation kept circling back to a familiar refrain: the need to reconnect with emotion in fashion.

“The great strength of this ANDAM is that all the candidates have a lot of talent, but it’s not only that,” offered Jean-Jacques Picart, a member of the jury for every one of the 37 editions thus far. “ANDAM has become rich; it’s a really big prize,” he went on. “In the beginning it was a little bit like a fashion club. Now, the jury is full of young faces, and old ones like me, as well as CEOs. There are always those who focus mainly on scalability, but the most important thing here was that there’s this feeling of creativity in Paris, of fashion that can only come from here, not New York or Milan. Those cities excel at business, but Paris fashion has always been all about emotion.”

Marie-Adam Leenaerdt, winner of the Grand Prize for her three-year old namesake brand, was nearly speechless. “It’s just the whole thing,” she said. “But I think I’m ready for the next chapter. I’ve been refining my language of chic, but effortless, distinctive… and now I’m ready. This is the first day of the rest of my life.”

Fighting back tears, Pauline Dujancourt confessed she was bowled over that the fashion industry would rally behind a young brand based not only on hand-craftsmanship, but also fostering women’s financial independence half a world away, in Peru.

“As a woman who designs for women with the help of other women, it’s extremely important,” she said, recalling that it was her grandmother who first taught her to knit as a child. “She made all the clothes for her six children and was just extremely humble. I’m thinking of all the women in the world who knit and sew for their families, for the people they love, in the humblest, most modest way. For me, that’s worth celebrating. I hope to be able to shine a light on their talent. Crochet, especially, is something that could never be done by a machine.”

Anthony Calydon grew up beading alongside his mother, a maker of jewels for Swarovski. “I used to help her a lot, and that led me to fashion,” said the 23-year-old designer, who launched his line of Made in Paris ruffle-hemmed hoodies and accessories two-and-a-half years ago.

Nathalie Dufour, ANDAM’s founder and director, said that this year’s jury was particularly focused on human skills and intelligence. “It’s important not to get swept up in things that are just neatly packaged and uniform. We hear a lot about success stories, but everyone realizes it’s essential to stay tuned into very human sensibilities.”

Alexander Mattiussi of Ami, this year’s jury president, lingered to catch up with old friends like Olivier Guillemin, a winner of the very first ANDAM Prize, alongside Martin Margiela, in 1989. Cradling his “new baby,” a year-old rescue pinscher named Abi, Mattiussi said, “In my role as president of the jury, I just wanted each and every one of the candidates to feel that we are here for them, we’re with them.”

Mattiussi credited Picart for reorienting the room to what fashion is all about. “Jean-Jacques pointed out that in a world built on algorithms, likes, and buzz, that we should all vote from the heart, and I think that’s what happened. ANDAM’s not a bank, it’s not an investor, it’s like a big family. We’re giving the winners this purse, and they get to use it as they see fit. The whole point is, we believe in them and this prize can change your life, because it definitely changed mine.”