The Hyères Festival returns from October 13 to 16

The Hyères International Festival of Fashion, Photography and Accessories is attracting the crowds more than ever. Partners, houses and institutions are jostling to be there. The festival has an extensive program lined up and a string of sponsors that have come together for this 37th edition, which will be held from October 13 to 16 in the famous Villa Noailles, on the heights of Hyères.

A total of 30 finalists have been selected. They will be awarded on Sunday, October 16 by three separate juries in the fashion, photography and accessories categories, chaired respectively by Y/Project and Diesel's creative director Glenn Martens, Belgian visual artist Pierre Debusschere and Aska Yamashita, creative director of Atelier Montex, an embroidery house belonging to Chanel's crafts group.

The festival was founded in 1986 by it's director Jean-Pierre Blanc and is chaired by Pascale Mussard. The competition is considered the oldest competition in the world for young designers and has continued to grow in popularity. After two years of pandemic, it is back with a vengeance, supported by new partners and its original patrons. Chanel will be a major partner, financing three awards. The first being the "19M des métiers d'art" prize for the fashion category with a grant of 20,000 euros. Secondly another 20,000 euros for the photography grand prize and finally the accessories prize, including a collaborative project with Chanel's crafts group and 20,000 euros.

Also for accessories, since 2020 Hermès has been present through a specific prize focused on the creation of a particular accessory, this year, the belt, with a grant of 20,000 euros. Other major luxury groups have also supported the festival for several years, such as LVMH and Kering. The latter is organizing a workshop on sustainable development with the finalists of the festival.

This year, for the first time, one of its houses, Bottega Veneta, is participating in the event, offering a grant to the photography contest winner, who will win the chance to participate in one of the brand's campaigns. Bottega Veneta's creative director Matthieu Blazy will therefore be part of the jury. The competition will also be supported for the first time by the creative and technical production companies Sheriff Projects and Kitten, while American Vintage will present its own prize, launched six years ago, with a value of 15,000 euros.

Another new feature is the participation of "Atelier des Matières", created by Chanel in 2019 in Le Meux in the Oise region, to recycle unused materials and unsold finished products from the fashion and luxury sectors. This entity is launching its own prize in the fashion category, rewarding one of the ten finalists for making their design from only the materials made available to them by Atelier des Matières. The winner will receive a selection of fabrics and leathers worth 10,000 euros. This ecological prize is in addition to the 20,000 euro for the eco-friendly collection prize promoted by Mercedes-Benz since 2021.

The European Flax and Hemp Confederation is also joining the Festival for the first time as an official partner of the Première Vision Jury Grand Prize. As well as the Chinese brand Icicle, owned by the ICCF group, which also owns Carven, and Instagram. Icicle will offer mentoring to the winners, enabling them to understand and make the best use of the various features of the social network and Meta applications.

Also on the Festival program are exhibitions, concerts, film screenings, creative workshops, as well as the "Rencontres internationales de la mode" (International Fashion Meetings), which have been organized for the past 21 years by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, which this year is organizing three round tables on the themes of innovation and Metaverse with many speakers, including Gregory Boutté, head of digital at Kering; Launchmetrics CEO Michael Jais; Givenchy's legal director Isabelle Franchet; and the Metaverse Fashion Week director Giovanna Graziosi Casimiro.

The Hyères Festival returns from October 13 to 16

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