by HYÈRES, France – Israeli designer Dolev Elron won the top prize at the 39th edition of the International Festival of Fashion, Photography and Accessories – Hyères on Sunday.
He impressed the jury headed by Courrèges artistic director Nicolas Di Felice with a collection of deranged menswear staples titled “Casual Turbulence.”
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Based in Stockholm and educated at Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art, Elron is a junior designer in menswear at Acne Studios.
“It’s about subverting the hyper-masculine archetypes and the basics that we all have in our closets – recognizable and familiar,” he said at a showroom presentation. “This familiarity gives comfort and the comfort it gives makes room for interference.”
For warp jeans, plaid shirts or a bomber jacket, he drew inspiration from the “unusual and unexpected effects on the most expected garments” which he first distorted using digital software like Photoshop. The patterns he then developed from those new images were hinged on the significant details of each garment such as zippers, jeans pockets or stripes for their complex structures.
Among the standouts was the opening look with a shirt whose classic blue stripe was subtly beaten, finishing with a sculptural but detached cuff; belted trousers that seemed to melt around the hip; and faux-denim shorts, with a twill-meets-jacquard textile developed by Lesage to fuse the swirling motifs into the weave.
Praising the creative breadth of the 2024 fashion finalists, Di Felice said he was touched by the sheer volume of the works, a reminder that “from start to finish, our professions bring so much passion, the so much heart to show,” he said. WWD. “We’re in a period of transition in fashion so it’s great and important to see this.”
“There are no rules to follow in fashion [anymore] and in recent years it has shown us that you could be an artistic director even if you are a singer,” he continued.
Pointing out that there was a much greater diversity in design approaches and techniques today – “they should be approached without judgement,” he noted – he still stressed the importance of with craftsmanship and know-how.
“There are so many careers that come out of making a garment [something] boiled down to an Instagram gimmick, I ask myself if this is real fashion,” he said. “This raises real questions about what we have [industry] today.”
The artistic director of Courrèges expected the finalists to leave after engaging in discussions and encouragement with a jury. “Whatever our discipline is, the fact that we are doing it is resisting, living. And it’s already great because they’re right in the middle of it,” he said.
Paris-based Belgian designer Romain Bichot, a La Cambre graduate who recently joined Balenciaga as a junior designer, won the Le19M Métiers d’Arts Prize in partnership with Chanel and the L’Atelier des Matières Prize.
Inspired by a late-night cityscape littered with trash bags, construction sites and traffic cones, “Call Me If You Get Lost” reimagined these objects into an extraterrestrial look like a dress with traffic cone shards or shavings as a protective covering the scaffolding. .
A beautifully embroidered and feathered look he worked on and the feather specialist Lemarié imitated a mattress. It was inspired by a series of murders that begin with a body rolled up in a mattress, the Belgian designer said.
Bichot took home a purse of 20,000 euros for a project to be shown at next year’s festival and an additional 10,000 euros worth of materials from L’Atelier des Matières.
Thanks to a biker jacket that combines tailor-made canvas from custom jackets and pieces from his father’s racing suit, American designer Logan Monroe Goff won the Mercedes-Benz Sustainability Award, which distinguishes the best designer who has implemented eco-friendly practices in their work .
Currently pursuing a master’s degree in fashion design at Parsons Paris, Texas-born Monroe Goff cut his teeth at Egonlab and Isabel Marant. He is keen to continue gathering experience but said his end game was to have his own label, which “could happen in five years – or 20 years”.
His biggest takeaway from the Hyères experience – even before he looked at prizes and purses – was being able to show what he intended in an unfettered way. “This opportunity is my biggest takeaway and that’s great.”
Tel Aviv-based Israeli designer Tal Maslavi was awarded a special jury mention for his saccharine-sweet “Sugar Rush” collection inspired by instant gratification — complete with an Instagram-famous slice-of-cake shoe.
Berlin-based Gaëlle Lang Halloo’s soccer-inspired sportswear won the hearts and votes of the public.
The accessories grand prize went to London-based Chinese designer Chiyang Duan with his “Distorted Objects” collection playing on upgrades to extend the life of eyewear and bags, turning them into organic creatures.
Meanwhile, Brussels-based La Cambre graduate Clara Besnard took on the challenge of creating a leather belt or jewelry to win the Hermès prize with belts that appeared to be wrapped around her neck like a scarf. The public prize was awarded to the Mexican designer Maria Nava and her robotic creations that react to the ambiance.
A special accessories mention was awarded to Swiss designer Camille Combremont, who drew inspiration from her family’s camping holidays for a range of multi-functional accessories that ranged from a basket with detachable lining to a handsome cape that doubles as a tent. She will receive a residency in Achilles Ion Gabriel’s Majorca headquarters.
“It’s a raw expression from young people, what design should look like to them, really unrefined,” said accessories jury member Imruh Asha, stylist and creative consultant who founded the fashion label Zomer. “Now we’re going to give them feedback and they’re going to be biased forever but this is how they think, unfiltered yet.”
In photography, Arhant Shrestha, a Bard College graduate now based in Kathmandu, Nepal, walked away with the 7L Grand Prize for Photography for exploring an imaginary night version of his hometown, to “capture the nostalgia of my imagination in the past before the reality. Kathmandu today could wash it.”
Paris-based Basile Pelletier took home the American Vintage prize with a series of strangely connected analog photographs, while the Public Prize went to Clément Boudet.
Special mention was given to British lensman Thomas Duffield for the eight-year process of rebuilding a relationship strained by addiction.
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