HYÈRES INTERNATIONAL FASHION + PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL /// INTRODUCING THE TEN FASHION CONTESTANTS

 Daniel Hurlin / "Perfect Blue Tamara" / FRANCE / IFM Paris

 Jasmina Barshovi / "The Birds Are Silent" / SWISS / HEAD Geneva

 Kim Wilkins / UK / Royal College of Art London

 Elina Laitinen + Siiri Raasaka + Tiia Siren / FINLAND / Aalto University Helsinki

 Lucas Sponchiado / "out of vacuum" / BELGIUM / La Cambre Brussels

 Maxime Rappaz / SWISS / HEAD Geneva

 Narelle Dore / AUSTRALIA / Royal Academy Antwerp

 Paula Selby Avallaneda / ARGENTINA BRAZIL / IFM Paris

 Ragne Kikas / ESTONIA / HAW Hamburg

 Steven Tai / CANADA / Central St-Martin's London

 "Hyères! Hyères festival! Fuck you, it's like the fucking Cannes of fashion. You're doing
it and you better make sure that come April you're in France attending or I'm leaving!"
These are the words that came flying out of my foul-mouthed and sometimes significant
other upon seeing the email inviting this here blog to partner with the festival. Of course I
did not need much convincing but still, the histrionics! Understandable i guess. The
Hyères International Fashion and Photography Festival is held annually at the Villa
Noailles-a landmark cubist villa built in the 1920's by Mallet-Stevens- in the town of
Hyères (pronounced yeah), south of France. It is currently in it's 27th year. This is
the festival that revealed to the world talents such as Viktor & Rolf, Xuly Bët, Sølve
Sunsbø, Romain Kremer (Mugler men), Felipe Oliveira Baptista (Lacoste), Jean-Paul
Lespagnard, Cedric Buchet and many many more.Ten young fashion designers and ten
young photographers are selected as contestants out of hundreds of entrants by a jury of
international professionals. Designers that have taken part in the festival as members of
the jury include Azzedine Alaïa, John Galliano, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Jean-Paul
Gaultier, Karl Lagerfeld, Anna Sui, Phillip Treacy, Hussein Chalayan, Ann Demeulemeester,
Raf Simons, the list goes on and on. This year the festival will launch
during the French Spring on the 27th April. It'll be 3 days of fashion and photo
exhibitions, installations, fashion shows, concerts, parties, conferences, openings, award
ceremonies and intermingling for a crowd of international fashion devotee skatties. This
year the organizers have chosen to invite a few bloggers from all over the world to
partner with them, about a dozen or so. And from South Africa they have selected to
invite this here blogger to bring you all the news leading up to, during, and after the
festival. So I'm looking forward to bringing you lotsa goodies and i'll be doing some
interviews with designers, photographers and jury members. By the way, this year the
jury will be presided over by none other than Yohji Yamamoto himself. I will post pics
and and the names of the rest of the jury shortly, along with prize info. For now please
check the pics above to see the ten design contestants that were selected on Sunday.
This coming Sunday the jury meets to select the ten photography contestants.

So now my next mission is to make sure that come April 27th i'll be in the South of
France overdosing on fashion, photography and art. Whether I manage to hook up a
sponsor (anyone?) or get that credit card i've been avoiding for the last decade, by hook
or motherfucking crook I'll be there bringing you a blow by blow account of one the
most exciting gatherings of fashion devotees from all over the globe. To use a rather
ubiquitous, exhausted and truly fucking annoying blogger phase; I DIE! no really skat I fucking die!