Meet the winners of Hyères 2017

by Chiara Figueroa

3 Maggio 2017

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The winners of the Hyères International Festival of Fashion and Photography 2017 are already announced. The winners’ Ceremony was held in a festive atmosphere and great energy.

Vanessa Schindler from Swiss was awarded for festival’s Première Vision Grand Prize as well as the Public and City of Hyères Award. Schindler’s collection of Urethane Pool, originates from the author’s desire to experiment with new methods of building garments starting from the use of the urethane polymer, originally liquid material, which becomes rubbery and transparent in solid state. The chemical resin, when machined, can be combined with the fibers of the tissues and give rise to bright and transparent surfaces; Schindler, using these properties, assembles layers of fabrics and creates abstract patterns that point to the marine and vegetable world. Among the sources of inspiration there is not only the nature but also the interior design of the 1960s and in particular the Bavinger House conceived by architect Bruce Goff in collaboration with the artists Eugene and Nancy Bavinger, an extraordinary example of architecture Organic (today unfortunately no longer visible, since the house has been demolished).

JÉRÉMIE LECOMPTE – CATWALK PICTURES

In addition to the €15,000 Première Vision Grand Prize, Schindler will collaborate with Chanel’s Métiers d’Art division on a project of an equivalent amount and receive a Petit Bateau grant of €10,000 plus royalties for the creation of one or several items to be sold by the brand.

“The overall level was really high, so there was a lively discussion all around,” noted jury president Bertrand Guyon, design director of Schiaparelli. “It was fascinating, enriching, and joyful. Personally, I think I can speak for all of us when I say I’m really happy for Vanessa.”

The €15,000 Chloé Prize went to German designer Gesine Försterling, who presented a menswear collection in the competition but captured the house’s aesthetic with fringed dungarees and a scarf neck.

JÉRÉMIE LECOMPTE – CATWALK PICTURES

“The Chloé Prize is always about how well a designer captures the attitude about the Chloé girl: freedom, daring to be who she is . . . Basically, we expect the garment to enhance the personality of the girl,” said Chloé president Geoffroy de La Bourdonnaye. “Gesine was an obvious choice; we felt she understood the Chloé girl’s natural grace and femininity. It’s a cool and chic look, and the fact she designed a men’s collection is interesting because there’s always something boyish in our signature.” Försterling will have the occasion to meet Natacha Ramsay-Levi and the design studio, he added. “We’re like a family, so we’re glad to welcome her to the stable of Chloé winners. It’s really the start of a relationship that lasts forever, so we’ll see where it goes.”

In a surprise addition, Finnish designer Maria Korkeila won an honorable mention from the jury for her “Under Wraps” menswear collection, with a €10,000 grant from Schiaparelli.

JÉRÉMIE LECOMPTE – CATWALK PICTURES

Swiss designer Marina Chedel won the festival’s first Swarovski Prize for accessories (also €15,000) with a shoe collection called “Over the Peak.”

Pierre Hardy, who headed up the jury for that prize, noted: “If this debut prize was anything, it was eclectic. With fashion, it’s men or women. For accessories, you have hats, eyewear, jewelry, shoes, bags, and sometimes brand new inventions, so the hardest part is finding common ground for deliberation. In the end, what matters most isn’t beauty and whether something can be put in a window and sold right away, but rather the narrative depth of the proposition, its universe, and how that might lend itself to other things.”

The Public and City of Hyères Award for the fashion accessories category went to handbag designer Wendy Andreu for her collection of hats and bags.

On the photography side, the Grand Prize went to Irish photographer Daragh Soden, who will receive €15,000 from Chanel and €5,000 of lab services from Janvier. The jury chose photographer Soden for the potential expressed, as announced by Tim Wlker: “We, the Photographic Jury, believe this young photographer has the potential to produce new work that rewards the viewers mind as well As the eye … We applaud his bravery, his honesty and expect future surprises and thought provoking visual imagery.”

Bus Couple, Young Dubliners, 2014

The project presented by Soden in Hyères, with an installation that combined hand-written dialogues with photographs on the wall, is Young Dubliners, a documentary and, at the same time, intimate, youth of Dublin. If photographs talk about teenagers living in the Irish capital today, texts reveal details of Soden’s life, being a collection of personal memories of his youth, always spent in the same city. Memories and news are merged by creating an honest and poetic narrative

The €6,000 Elie Saab Prize went to French photographer Nolwenn Brod, and comes with a three-week residency in Beirut to produce a series on that city.

Still Life Prize went to Roos Quakernaat from Netherlands.