The festival that breaks the barriers of the fashion world is held in Hyères. We present the winners of the 36th edition, which closed this Sunday.
The 36th edition of the Hyères International Fashion, Photography and Fashion Accessories Festival has come to a close with the long-awaited awards ceremony. In a mild climate with a relaxed atmosphere away from the elitist circles of the fashion capital, large and small in the sector have been meeting since 1986 in the modern town of Noailles, nestled on a hill in the Mediterranean village of Hyéres, the jury, the participants and the public meet if works as a mediator between all of them.
Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent shared the first prize of the International Wool Secretariat organized by Woolmark in 1954 and catapulted their careers with this recognition.
Jean-Pierre Blanc, a native of Hyères, founder and director of the festival, launched this contest to facilitate the exchange of weaving networks that allow the click to emerge outside the closed circuits of the Parisian fashion world. From his point of view, that of a young man from the provinces is an unfair profession reserved for a part of the population: children, nephews, and friends ‘of.’ And with this meeting, he has managed to get the right people, the young people who have studied to become creators and the consecrated people, to meet at the right time.
The implication that a festival of this type has can be decisive in a creator’s career. In the edition that has just taken place, the young British designer Ifeanyi Okwuadi received the Grand Jury Prize thanks to his menswear collection, which revises the classic suit inspired by the anti-nuclear mobilization of women in Berkshire (southern England) until the year 2000. The award given to Okwuadi consists of financial compensation, visibility at the Premiere Vision salon in Paris, and a collaboration project with Chanel’s Métiers d’Art.
The Latvian Elina Silina, who has presented a collection with a predominance of garments made in crochet and macramé, has collected the Chloé Award thanks to her long and flowing white dress. The Finnish Sofia Ilmonen has won the Mercedes-Benz Award for Eco-responsibility for her romantic dresses made with delicately assembled fabric fragments.
The Chanel le19M des Métiers d’Art Award rewards the best collaboration between the ten finalists and ten Chanel Métiers d’Art houses. On this occasion, it has been awarded to the Thai Rukpong Raimaturapong, who has worked together with Maison Michel on a colorful collection for men.
The Swiss Adeline Rappaz has won the Audience-Hyères Award, assigned by the non-professional attendees who attend freely and are offered the power to choose among the ten finalists.
Julien Dossena (creative director of Paco Rabanne), Anthony Vaccarello (creative director of Saint Laurent), Viktor & Rolf, Sébastien Meunier (artistic director of Ann Demeulemeester), and the duo Lisi Herrebrugh and Rushemy Botter (creatives of Nina Ricci) are some of the winners of previous editions of this contest.
The young talents who participate in Hyères know that the media coverage, the meeting with the established professionals of the sector that make up the jury, and the interaction with the public are relevant enough, even if they are not chosen as winners.