“I feel that, in this particular year, it has never been so important to listen to young people and take an interest in new ideas”, explained (in a video projected before the grand parade of the finalists) the designer Jonathan Anderson, president of the fashion jury and guest of honor at the Hyères Festival, who unfortunately could not make the trip under the blue sky of the Var. Never have the last 10 creators in the race shown so much courage (the festival has been postponed from six month and her outfit remained hanging on a thread until last Thursday …), maturity and creativity.
The winner of the Première Vision Grand Jury Prize and the Public Prize of the city of Hyères, the Belgian Tom Van Der Borght, alone embodies these three qualities. The participants, jurors, students who were able to see his presentation, his parade, discuss with him and approach his creations all saw there an artist with a clear and singular vision, a master craftsman in the art of recovery and ‘accumulation, a designer in the noble sense of a powerful, disturbing, colorful and disturbing fashion. “My mom is a seamstress, and when you ask her about me, like, ‘So is Tom moving forward with his plan to become a fashion designer?’ She says, ‘I don’t know if we can tell Tom is a fashion designer…” But one thing is certain, he moved on.
“A resurrection”
Born in 1978 in Bilzen, Belgium, Tom Van Der Borght received a master’s degree in fashion design from SASK Sint-Niklaas in 2012 and a master’s degree in “performance arts” from the Toneelacademie in Maastricht this year. He works and lives in Ghent and has concocted a collection for Hyères called “7 ways to be TVDB”. A meticulous assembly of mountaineering ropes, shaggy cable ties or even fabrics embroidered with pearls and charms covers the head, face, body and feet of impressive totemic figures.
Nothing seems to restrain the imagination of this 42-year-old hard-hitting boy who is battling a degenerative disease and says he sees “In constraint and limitation, the key to many things. Personally, I consider this collection to be a resurrection. Doing with what we have, finding strength even in difficult times, seeing things differently, such as a new reflection on haute couture for example, are all opportunities ”.
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