International Festival of Fashion & Photography – Hyères

International Festival of Fashion & Photography - Hyères

Running for nearly 30 years, the International Festival of Fashion & Photography – Hyères returns 25 – 28 April. Conceived by director Jean-Pierre Blanc back in 1985, the event combines fashion and photography competitions. Every year the glamorous show brings together 1o emerging fashion designers and 10 young photographers under the patronage of an international jury, highlighting some of the most important practitioners working in the visual arts today.

The International Festival of Fashion & Photography – Hyères is an important event in the fashion calender as a launchpad for the careers of many up-and-coming practitioners. The festival has previously displayed more than 300 first-time collections by new designers from all over the world and exhibited the works of over 130 young and innovative photographers. Every year works exploring the boundaries between art, photography and fashion are presented at the Villa Noailles —the landmark cubist villa built in the 1920s by Mallet-Stevens.

Offering opportunities to both artists and professionals, the four-day event attracts designers, industrialists, trendwatchers, agents, buyers, textile federations, distributors, gallerists, museum directors and department stores. The idea behind the festival is to both provide a platform for young artists and to offer audiences an insight into the visual art of the future.

The 10 selected fashion designers represent eight different nationalities and include individuals from Ukraine, Netherlands, France, Japan, Austria, Estonia, Belgium and Latvia. The photographers also hail from a variety of locations, such as France, Poland, Finland, Canada, Switzerland and Italy. All of the practitioners approach their creations in different ways but all with an attention to detail and a passion for visual complexity.

This year Chanel is the major partner and will provide support for the festival’s fashion activities as the official partner of the makeup cabin for the fashion shows. In addition, the prize-winner of the Grand Prix of the Jury Première Vision will have the chance to undertake a project with Chanel’s Métiers d’art united under Paraffection that will finance the development of 5 silhouettes in their ateliers with the value of 15,000 euros.

International Festival of Fashion & Photography – Hyères, 25 – 28 April, villa Noailles, Montée Noailles, 83400 Hyères. The exhibitions run until the end of May. For more visit www.villanoailles-hyeres.com.

Credits
1. Steve Hiett, 1978.