On January 22, they were scattered all over Europe, but all in the same state of nervousness. Waiting to know if, yes or not, they would be selected for the fashion competition, among the finalists of the 35e edition of the Hyères Festival. “An event that I have been told over and over since my arrival in France that it could create links between art and fashion with powerful energy”, says the Polish Katarzyna Cichy, 28 years old. She was on her bike in a street in Paris, showered by a downpour, when the news broke: “I got high. “
At the same time, the Italian Andrea Grossi was attending an exhibition near Bologna; the Belgian Tom Van der Borght hung out anxiously in his apartment in Ghent; Emma Bruschi, originally from Marseille, had chosen a bar so noisy that she struggled to hear her name in the live Instagram which served as a revelation. Not to mention the Lille resident Xavier Brisoux, the oldest of the group (42 years old): “I didn’t have Instagram back then. Not having received a phone call, I was drowning my grief in a bar of chocolate. “ Until the phone finally rang a few minutes later and was told he was selected. That same evening, China announced the containment of the metropolis of Wuhan, where “A deadly virus” had claimed 17 victims: no one imagined that he would turn the planet upside down and make it impossible to hold the Festival from April 23 to 27.
Build a collection of seven silhouettes
In February, when they all meet in Paris with the ten finalists for the Swarovski Fashion Accessories Grand Prix, everything still seems under control. “We were naive”, Emma Bruschi smiles. For three days, as is customary, the finalists get to know each other and meet the Festival’s patrons. They take a tour of the luxury giant Kering; visit the workshops and archives of Chloé, for whom they must each create a look faithful to the style of the house, hoping to win the Chloé Prize (20,000 euros); do the same in the Métiers d’art de Chanel (20,000 euros there too, for the one who has collaborated best with the artisan house that will be offered to him).
Their main mission nevertheless remains to build a collection of seven silhouettes submitted to the jury. “A challenge which, if you don’t want to end up in nervous breakdown, requires solid discipline », recalls Maximilian Rittler, 30, Austrian living in Antwerp. To obtain fabrics and raw materials, the finalists go to the Première Vision show and its partner stands. This is where Andrea Grossi unearths various recycled leathers which form the basis of her playful collection, with manga inspiration and patterns. Dragon Ball WITH. “I’m so used to buying in second-hand stores that at Première Vision I chose everything very quickly”, remembers Belgian Tom Van der Borght. Obtaining supplies is not compulsory. Maximilian Rittler, follower of “upcycling”, for example, preferred to work from fabric scraps and beer cans for his collection which dresses trash rockers leaving the stage. “With me, everyone has a chance, he said, noble fabrics as bad synthetics. “
End of illusions
Captured by their projects, their heads are elsewhere when, in the middle of their stay in Paris, the World Health Organization asserts that the coronavirus constitutes “A very serious threat”. Things get tough… The finalists are starting to collaborate with Chanel’s Métiers d’art. Katarzyna Cichy, whose collection is inspired by Jeanne Barret, an androgynous explorer of the XVIIIe century, got to know the teams of the goldsmith Goossens. “They showed me how to make wax shapes, how they model metals. In the end, I made seven pieces of jewelry that I first sculpted in ceramic, prototypes that they then transformed into gilded brass. “ 24-year-old Italian Andrea Grossi is one of the first to be confined. He multiplies the Zoom meetings with the Causse glove for three leather pairs: “They did what I asked, to the seam. I had never seen such precision! “
March 17 definitely marks the end of illusions. France is entering two months of confinement, forcing the Festival to announce its postponement to the fall. All the candidates describe the same successive emotions. “First, the sadness, the feeling of being stopped short while we were all in the process of creation, in an effervescent energy, summarizes Xavier Brisoux, who will offer in Hyères sculptural pieces fashioned with the Paloma house. Then, with a little distance, the realization that it was a chance to have more time to finish our collections. “ He took advantage of the confinement to get in touch with new collaborators and a whole slew of comic book illustrators he admires (David Finch, Adam Pollina, Frank Quitely …), who agreed to send him drawings to complete his booklet presentation. “I was intimidated as a kid. “
Confined but in contact
In these days of isolation and worry, Tom Van der Borght, he wanted to ” update ” his project in collaboration with the Montex workshop. In his queer outfits, DIY and colorful, made of plastic tubes, mountaineering ropes, cables or elastic bands, he has “Added layers, embroidery, wool, to give more the impression of a cocoon-like coat, a protection that we have wanted since spring”. All this time of confinement, the ten finalists remained in contact on WhatsApp, joking about their cursed fate of prevented creators, exchanging images or references that nourished them, wishing such or such a birthday. “We supported each other, assure Katarzyna Cichy. Perhaps our reunion will be even more powerful. “
“We may remember that we have been able to show perseverance, we who will always remain the corona promotion of the festival. “Tom Van der Borght
These finally took place on October 6 in Hyères. If everyone had sent their clothes well packed in boxes, it still remained to choose their models, to rehearse, to break in the speech they will hold, between October 15 and 18, in front of the jurors … “What scares me the most is my sometimes fragile English », admits Andrea Grossi. “I am lucky that my family is in Marseille and can come to Hyères, but it saddens me that the complicated travel conditions mean that some cannot be surrounded by their loved ones”, regrets Emma Bruschi, who will try her luck with her wardrobe and her jewelry concocted with Lemarié and inspired by the agricultural world, mixing leather, straw, crochet and embroidery.
In this festival which celebrates the marriage of fashion and art, many say they are impressed by the president of the jury, Jonathan Anderson, artistic director of Loewe and his own brand, long convinced by this hybridization and defender of high-quality craftsmanship. They also admit to being intimidated by juror Tim Blanks, the British critic for the encyclopedic fashion culture that is not easily fooled …
“It’s been almost a year now that I have in mind the collection that I want to defend at Hyères! It is time to show it off and move on, hoping that the Festival will be an opportunity to find a place in this industry that is difficult to penetrate ”, hopes Maximilian Rittler, who would soon like to settle in Paris. “You have to believe in opportunities rather than limitations. A crisis always brings deeper discussions, Tom Van der Borght also wants to be positive. And we will perhaps remember that we have been able to show perseverance, we who will always remain the corona promotion of the festival. ”
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