The 41st International Festival of Fashion, Photography and Accessories – Hyères took place in France from October 15 to 18, with the final list of winners announced on October 19.
Founded in 1986, the Hyères Festival is Europe’s longest-running fashion competition for young professional designers. Its permanent home is Villa Noailles in Hyères, France, and each edition features three separate competitions dedicated to fashion, photography and accessories.
This year’s edition was the first under newly appointed General Manager Hugo Lucchino and President Valérie Duport. The fashion jury was chaired by Chloé Creative Director Chemena Kamali, while Cecilie Bahnsen, founder of the eponymous Danish designer label, chaired the accessories jury. French photographer Camille Vivier headed the photography jury.
Shanghai-based Chinese independent designer Yui Chen (pictured below) won the fashion competition’s top honour this year. A graduate of Parsons School of Design’s Paris campus, she received the Grand Jury Prize for her Food Cover collection.
Her winning collection featured colourful dresses inspired by the domed food covers placed over fruit baskets. Some pieces drew directly on the covers’ materials and shapes, while others combined black leather with white fabrics. Oversized bows and layers of ruffles adorned different looks, leaving a strong impression on the jury.
Mexican-German designer Dieter Vlasich Obermann won the le19M Métiers d’art Prize. Sponsored by French luxury house Chanel, the award recognises the best collaboration with the craft houses at Chanel’s craftsmanship hub, le19M. Dieter Vlasich Obermann’s woven straw boots placed particular emphasis on craftsmanship and decorative details.
Dutch designer Rachel Luurssen (pictured below) received the L’Atelier des Matières Prize for designs that reinterpreted the elegance of a bygone era through a contemporary lens. The award recognises outstanding ready-to-wear looks created using recycled materials, with fabrics and leather sourced from ready-to-wear and leather goods inventories through Chanel’s circular initiative, L’Atelier des Matières.
Introduced this year, the Supima Prize is sponsored by festival partner SUPIMA, the organisation representing American Pima cotton growers. Entrants were required to create a piece using SUPIMA cotton. The inaugural award went to Paris-based Chinese designer Xiao Xu (pictured below), whose eclectic menswear collection, Uncanny, ranged from sheer latex knit tops and suits with metal embellishments to patent leather looks.
Spanish designer Brais Albor drew enthusiastic applause at the event for his collection for plus-size wearers, winning both the Jury’s Special Mention and the People’s Choice Award.
In the accessories competition, Austrian designer Sassa Ann van Wyk (pictured below) won the Grand Jury Prize for her headwear. Daniel Cheruzel received the AZ Academy Prize for accessories shaped like hooks or bat wings. Italian designer Matteo Artuso won the People’s Choice Award for a leather goods collection inspired by moments around the dining table.
In the photography competition, Chinese photographer Xueling Chen (pictured below) won the newly introduced Pull&Bear Fashion Photography Prize for Leaving the Garden, a series exploring the transition to adulthood.
Italian photographer of Peruvian descent Valeria Sarto (pictured below) won the American Vintage Prize for The Barons, a series tracing her family history. Finally, Julien Rahmani received the People’s Choice Award for Softball, which documents South Asian communities working in Saudi Arabia and the unfair treatment they face.
| Sources: Official press release, Villa Noailles website
| Image Credit: Villa Noailles official Instagram
| Editor: Luxeplace
