(Hyères) Perched on the heights of Hyères, around ten young fashion designers are presenting their collections this weekend during the 39e Villa Noailles festival, “the oldest fashion competition in the world” according to its founder Jean-Pierre Blanc.
The jury, notably composed this year of the director of the Courrèges fashion house, was able to see models wearing embroidered mattresses, cardboard banana crates or deconstructed ballerinas.
The competition reserved for young people leaving school focuses on artisanal practices and experimentation.
“We can explore many more things, we have much greater freedom. We’re not talking about an archetype of clothing,” enthuses Romain Bichot, one of the finalists, from Belgium.