Meet the 8 Finalists of the 2017 Hyères Fashion Festival
For up-and-coming fashion designers, the annual Hyères International Fashion and Photography Festival is a little bit like Cannes: a chance to win a prestigious prize, make important contacts, and launch your career. This year’s 32nd festival will be held at the historic Villa de Noailles in France in April, but the 8 fashion finalists have already been revealed. Meet the designers here.
Hermione Flynn, 31, is from New Zealand but now lives in Berlin, where she produces a collection and incorporates performance art, installation and film with fashion. Her “C(ocktail dresses)+ B(allgowns for men)” are a mashup of workwear and cocktail regalia.
Danial Aitouganov, 24, lives in the Netherlands, but he was born and raised in Tartarstan, Russia. After interning with Alexander Wang, he launched his own brand. This collection, titled “The Second Sex, Vol. II," mixes bold graphics and voluminous shapes with utility details.
Hyunwoo Kim’s unisex collection, “Stranger from the Garden,” was inspired by Roger Corman’s cult-classic film “The Little Shop of Horrors” (1960), and combined nightgowns, trench coats and strange detailing. The 25 year-old from South Korea explains, “In the film, there’s a horticulturist who sells blood sucking plants. When the customer asks where he got them, he says ‘from the Japanese gardener.’ In this collection I’m trying to know all about the gardener his outfit, lifestyle and mood.”
Gesine Försterling, 30, previously worked in an embroidery factory in Mumbai, India and did costume design in Berlin. Her new collection, titled “Work?!”, transforms men’s uniforms and tailoring into new shapes with oversized logo embroidery and hand weaving.
Finish designer Maria Korkeila, 24, previously interned with Rick Owens in Paris. Her clothes look like a glimpse of bodies behind a shower curtain in photo prints, jacquards and layers of torsos and portraits on easy shapes that look like a mix of pajamas and workwear.
Marianna Ladreyt, 27, who is Cypriot and French, studied philosophy at the Sorbonne in Paris before turning to fashion. Her clothes reflect a utilitarian sensibility, using materials like nylon and silhouettes inspired by overalls.
Vanessa Schindler, 28, is from Switzerland interned at Balenciaga. Her collection revolves around experiments with urethane, a synthetic material like Latex, which she sculpts into otherworldly shapes.
Marine Serre, 25, is from France, and has worked for both Demna Gvasalia at Balenciaga and Raf Simons at Christian Dior. Her collection, “Radical Call for Love,” combines 19th century Arabic women’s costumes and athletic wear from the 1990s/2000s for a volatile blend of street and haute.