The Festival d’Hyères, celebrating its 39th year, continues to be a renowned platform for emerging fashion talent. Past winners have included celebrated names like Viktor & Rolf, Anthony Vaccarello, and Julien Dossena, cementing the festival’s reputation for discovering the future of fashion. This year, the event attracted a stellar jury, led by Courrèges’ artistic director Nicolas Di Felice, along with model Jeanne Cadieu and photographer Carlijn Jacobs, among others.
The festival has witnessed a growing focus on sustainability, driven by the Mercedes-Benz Sustainability Prize. This initiative offers mentorship to promising designers, guiding them towards more responsible and eco-conscious practices under the guidance of experts from Estethica, Orsola de Castro and Tamsin Blanchard. This year’s prize was awarded to Logan Monroe Goff for his innovative upcycled motorsuit design, while the Grand Prix of the Jury Première Vision went to Dolev Elron.
Let’s meet the designers who captivated the festival this year:
Gaëlle Lang Halloo
presented a collection that celebrates French streetwear and football culture, reimagining iconic pieces like jerseys, tracksuits, and scarves. Recognizing the global influence of football culture, Lang Halloo aimed to explore its untapped potential in fashion. Sustainability is a core principle for her, both as a moral obligation and a way to connect with younger generations. She embraces it as a creative constraint, opening new avenues for innovation and implementing sustainable production methods during her Mercedes-Benz mentorship program. Inspired by Grace Wales Bonner and Martine Rose, who seamlessly blend cultural influences with fashion, Lang Halloo strives to merge streetwear with high fashion, using diverse narratives to challenge conventional norms.Dolev Elron’s
collection, titled “Casual Turbulence,” delves into the distortion of hyper-masculinity archetypes. It starts with denim, specifically the five-pocket jeans, a garment that has evolved from a symbol of rebellion to an everyday staple. Elron’s collection explores the familiarity of this globally recognized garment, using it as a platform for disruption. Sustainability for him means acknowledging the responsibility to minimize waste and make conscious choices throughout the design and development process. His collection utilizes production-waste denim fabrics supported by Berto, showcasing a commitment to sustainable practices.La Cage
drew inspiration from a man they regularly saw in their neighborhood, a figure who embodied a unique style with a worn-out beige suit, a faded felt hat, and a wrinkled shirt. They imagined his life, career, and achievements, using this inspiration to create their collection. La Cage works with various antique materials, emphasizing the beauty of wear and patina, both authentic and artificial. Their creation is limited by the availability of vintage resources and deadstock, resulting in unique pieces or series with slight variations. They believe in the power of collaboration, emphasizing that fashion is a collective effort.Logan Monroe Goff
explores the transition from youth to adulthood in his collection titled “Asphalt Cowboy.” This crucial period, where individuals choose their future while maintaining their youthful essence, is the core theme. For Goff, sustainability revolves around building community, creating a system for responsible practices within a specific group of people. He believes in collective efforts, demonstrated by his upcycled motorcycle suit design, a response to the waste generated by unusable wrecked suits. Goff embraces the slower pace of life in Hyères, recommending Vola Café for a relaxing drink.Romain Bichot’s
collection, “Call Me If You Get Lost,” takes us on a night-city stroll, using common objects found on the streets as its starting point. It explores the blurred lines between objects and garments, questioning their categorization and gender. Sustainability is not an option for Bichot, but a necessity. He utilizes only deadstock fabrics and designs his clothes for longevity, embodying a long-term approach to sustainability.Tal Maslavi
examines the modern obsession with instant gratification in their collection, comparing it to the fleeting sugar rush after indulging in sweets. Each piece takes the wearer on a journey, reflecting the excitement of the unknown and the tension between fleeting thrills and self-discovery. Maslavi incorporates surplus fabric from Rick Owens’ previous season, avoiding waste. For the Mercedes-Benz Prize, they upcycled a vintage bag, demonstrating their commitment to exploring upcycling further in future work.Lilian Navarro’s
collection, “Cargo Culte,” reflects the world’s globalization and the assigned value of seemingly worthless objects. The journey of a banana box, traveling thousands of kilometers to be repurposed, serves as a key inspiration. Sustainability for Navarro means mindful consumption and creation. This translates into intelligent cutting techniques that minimize waste and the reuse of leftover materials to create new elements like pockets, collars, and shoulder pieces.Fabian Kis-Juhasz
aimed to find a contemporary form for saccharine femininity, exploring lingerie and corsetry techniques in a fresh and unexpected way. His “big girl dresses” evoke excitement and nervousness, a type of dress that might face disapproval but is ultimately purchased anyway. Kis-Juhasz believes in well-made and durable clothing, advocating against the fast fashion trend of discarding garments too quickly. He finds inspiration in Meadham Kirchhoff’s “A Cautionary Tale.”Julie Mouly-Pommerol
draws on the double meaning of “nature” in her collection, “Métamorphose.” It refers to both our inner selves and the plant world, expressing the need for self-assertion despite societal constraints. For the Mercedes-Benz Prize, she upcycled two of her grandmother’s shirts into a dress, highlighting the transformative power of giving old garments a new life and story.Kenshiro Suzuki
uses his landscape photography, inspired by aimless strolls outside the city, to guide his collection. He uses linen material and natural dyes to embody his photography’s mood and attitude. Suzuki’s commitment to sustainability is evident in his use of almost entirely cellulose-based materials, ensuring biodegradability or recyclability. His designs are crafted for longevity, ensuring they stand the test of time. He recommends trying a cocktail called “Perroquet!” made with pastis and mint syrup, a local delicacy in Hyères.The Festival d’Hyères 2023 is a testament to the ingenuity and commitment of emerging designers, pushing the boundaries of fashion while embracing sustainability and creating a brighter future for the industry.
