What’s not to love about Hyères? Just as summer temperatures begin to hot up, so the art, photography and fashion crowds descend simultaneously on the otherwise sleepy French town. And for one extended weekend each year in April Villa Noailles becomes a bacchanalian hub in homage to the arts.
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Robert Mallet-Stevens’ 1920’s modernist dwelling plays host to two concurrent competitions that form the nucleus of the festival: one fashion and one photography prize, each whittled down to ten finalists in advance and judged by a panel of notables over the four days.
The new photography talent on show this year was a little mixed. Where in the past it’s been a hotbed of future Wallpaper* collaborators, this year’s batch was still interesting, but perhaps not to the same standard as we’ve come to expect. Overseen by Michel Mallard and Raphaelle Stopin, this year’s winner was Audrey Corregan’s ‘Obviously’ series showing the backs of birds heads, an unusual idea and not the easiest of subjects to work with.
The fashion prize was awarded to Brit Matthew Cunnington’s 7-piece collection called ‘Hail Mary’. The black ensembles tell the story of Cunnington’s mother, forced to abandon her illegitimate daughter in 1969 and their subsequent reunion thirty years later. We also loved Jean Paul Lespagnard’s colourful collection inspired by a fictitious character called Jacqueline; a cowboy obsessed Texan owner of a fried food stall.
Alongside the prizes there are ten satellite exhibitions by big names in the photography and the previous year’s winner and runner-up and this section was as good as ever. Last year’s runner-up Sandra Backlund (who we snapped up and have subsequently worked with) was a highlight as was Scott Schumann’s (aka The Sartorialist – another Wallpaper* collaborator) tireless chronicle of the world’s best-dressed.
But our favourite thing on show was veteran fashion photographer (and again, Wallpaper* contributor) Melvin Sokolsky’s exhibition. Among many sublime images, Sokolsky’s ‘Bubble’ series from the Sixties, shot for Harpers Bazaar are every bit as captivating today in the age of photoshop and digital manipulation as they must have been back then.
As well as polite awards and exhibitions, Hyères is where cards are exchanged, new talent signed and old colleagues reunited. One young photography finalist was signed within five minutes of the exhibition being opened and the keen sense of opportunity that runs throughout Hyeres reaches fever pitch after dark where everyone, regardless of age or experience, rubs shoulders until dawn. Once again, what’s not to love about Hyères?
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