F or 30 years, the fashion and art world has been looking forward to a small port town in the south of France in spring. That's when the Festival International de Mode et de Photographie takes place in Hyères, where designers and photographers compete with the best of their creative guilds. And under the critical eyes of a truly top-class jury, which this year included Caroline von Monaco, model and muse Caroline de Maigret, ex-“Vogue” boss Carine Roitfeld and designer Anthony Vaccarello (Hyères Prize winner 2006). Incidentally, the creative festival in Hyères was founded in 1985 by the acting festival director and artistic director of the Villa Noailles, Jean-Pierre Blanc.
An accompanying exhibition entitled "The Formers" saw a reunion with twelve former participants whose collections have appeared at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin over the past three years, including Steven Tai, Satu Maaranen and Roshi Porkar. This time, too, Mercedes-Benz and the magazine "Elle" are inviting one of the candidates for the Hyères Festival to present a collection in Berlin.
Meanwhile, the festival was a double success for fashion made in Germany, because with the designers Annelie Schubert (Grand Prix of the Jury Première Vision) and Anna Bornhold (Chloé Prize), both fashion trophies went to Germany.
Schubert, who studied at the Kunsthochschule Weißensee in Berlin, convinced with a daring material mix of tweed and neoprene as well as with sculptural silhouettes and the strongly emphasized back parts of her designs. Classic apron shapes served as a model, which she interpreted with plenty of elegance. She can now show her next collection at the Hyères Festival 2016 .
Bremen-born Anna Bornhold inspired the Chloé jury with her bold use of – literally – multi-layered fabrics, the manufacturing process of which is similar to quilting, as well as elaborate embroidery. Nevertheless, her style remains more casual-modern than lush-romantic, which can be observed succinctly in a jumpsuit, which the jurors rewarded with extra applause.
It is to be wished that both designers remain true to their style, continue to perfect their craft and celebrate similarly great successes as the previous award winners Viktor & Rolf or Gaspard Yurkievich.
Photos: Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles "Une Vie de Mécènes"; Gregoire Alexandre
