Hyères Festival to start on Thursday at hundred-year-old Villa Noailles
Nicola Mira
For the third consecutive year, the Hyères international fashion, photography and accessories festival is being held in October and not at the end of April. It will kick off on Thursday October 12, and will close on Sunday October 15 with the award ceremonies for the prizes in the emerging designer competition’s three categories. As always, the festival’s public sessions will be hosted by Villa Noailles
Thirty finalists will vie for prizes at the 38th edition of the festival founded by Jean-Pierre BlancPremière Vision, the 19M prize for craftsmanship excellence, the Mercedes-Benz prize for the most sustainable collection, and the Atelier des matières prize sponsored by Chanel
Eleven designers (including a duo) from seven countries have been shortlisted for the accessories awards, including four from France: Mathilde Hiron, Thomas Manil, Victor Salinier and French-Spanish duo Marcel Mariotte & Jovien Panné. They are competing for the Accessories Grand Prize and the Hermès prize for fashion accessories. Notably, Swedish fashion category finalist Petra Fagerstrom and French accessories finalist Victor Salinier were shortlisted in 2022 for ITS
The 10 finalists of the photography category include Clara Chichin, Quentin Lacombe from France, Thaddé Comar (France-Switzerland) and Rebekka Deubner (France-Germany). They are competing for the 7L Photography Jury Grand Prix, a new designation for the main prize, sponsored by the 7L Bookshop, founded in 1999 by Karl LagerfeldAmerican Vintage
On Sunday October 15, the prizes will be awarded by the three separate juries of the fashion, photography and accessories categories, chaired respectively by French designer Charles de Vilmorin
The programme includes exhibitions that will stay open until January 14, 2024, concerts, film screenings, creative workshops, and the 22nd edition of the ‘Rencontres internationales de la mode’ (international fashion meetings) organised by the French Fashion and Haute Couture Federation. This year, there will be three round-table debates on generative AI, covering major themes like the new tools available, the ethical, social and juridical challenges, and the creative opportunities AI affords.
One of the exhibitions will focus on the festival’s history. It is called ‘Hyères, 1986. The fashion festival’s origins’, and will showcase at Villa Romaine an unprecedented selection of archive material on the event’s early days. Finally, to mark the centenary of Villa Noailles, designed by architect Robert Mallet-Stevens for Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles, the festival will feature an exhibition and documentary on the viscountess de Noailles, a pioneering philanthropist who, in the 1930s, offered support to artists and intellectuals, writing in her famous modernist villa a significant chapter of Europe’s 20th century cultural history.
