In Hyères, Yui Chen Takes Top Prize

This afternoon, the 41st International Festival of Fashion, Photography, and Accessories in Hyères, France, announced its winners.

Yui Chen took home the Grand Prize, for “Food Cover,” a women’s wear-leaning unisex lineup that the Shanghai-based designer called “a way of preserving childhood memories.” Developed with Montex, the silhouettes combined an everyday piece—such as a yellow lingerie dress—with a collapsible overlayer, for example a tent-like structure in transparent lace or a cage of leather bows. During her showroom presentation, the designer explained how she models every piece in miniature at least once before creating actual garments, including an eight-paneled sheath dress in recycled leather that folds flat, like an accordion, into eight panels. “Fashion is the most vivid form of theater. My dream would be to create a whole universe and language, like Issey Miyake did,” she told Vogue.

Other fashion winners included the London-based artist and designer Dieter Vlasich Obermann (Mexico/Germany) who scooped the 19M Métiers d’Art Prize for a collection inspired by tiliches, or “junk” and the handicraft they can conceal. The Paris-based designer Rachel Luurssen (Netherlands) took the Ateliers des Matières Prize for a women’s wear collection informed by Hollywood glamour and coquettes mixed with the idea of fading beauty and body dysmorphia. Paris-based designer Xiao Xu (China) won the Supima Prize for a men’s wear collection called Uncanny, based on latex, ’70s fetish culture, embroidery, and knitwear. Both a special mention
and the Public Prize went to Brais Albor Rodriguez (Spain) for a collection that improbably and wittily fused the idea of squirrels—through shearling sourced on Vinted—and cojones.

Other Grand Prize winners were Sassa Ann van Wyk and Motoki Nakatani for Accessories and Photography, respectively.  Chen will receive support from Chanel, the festival’s long-term Grand Partner; new Grand Partner le19M and its 10 maisons d’art; and grants from sponsors including the Atelier des Matières, Supima, and newcomer Watteau, the visual content hub. Additional support will come from Les Teintures de France, the Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp, and Richemont’s AZ Academy, among others. All fashion laureates will be showcased by Première Classe during Paris Fashion Week in March and October 2027.

As in studios everywhere, renewal is in the air at the Villa Noailles. This year’s motif, a racing flag with a star on a pink-and-green checkered ground, seemed to signal that the festival is back on track. Organizers called this edition “a year of firsts,” not just because Chen is the first Chinese designer to scoop the top prize. Hugo Luccino, the festival’s managing director, also placed women at the head of every jury: Chloé creative director Chemena Kamali for fashion, photographer Camille Vivier for photography, and Danish fashion designer Cecilie Bahnsen for
accessories.

They weren’t the only women calling the shots. 

In her welcome speech, Josée Massi—the mayor of Toulon, who this spring also became the first woman president of the Métropole Toulon Provence Méditerranée—told the 30 finalists, “You already have your place. Talent is not about one prize.” Hyères’ newly-elected mayor, Véronique Bernardini—the first woman to hold that post since it was created in 1677— then opened the festivities with a riff on a famous Gabrielle Chanel line: “Trends pass but style remains… and in Hyères, audacity is never out of style.”

At the reception, Massi praised the decision to bring the fashion show to the Forum du Casino, in the heart of Hyères. “This is a renaissance,” she told Vogue. “Culture shouldn’t be elitist. We have to get as close to people as we can.” That includes the youngest generation: “I often say that the future stands less than a meter tall,” she said. “We have to go out and find them.”

Massi said that she sees Hyères and Toulon as twin hubs for fashion and design, respectively. Toulon already has a satellite campus of the École Camondo interior architecture and design school, and the Design Parade could move to its Porte d’Italie district as early as next year.

Valérie Duport, who became president of the Villa Noailles in July, reported a first of her own. “I was the one who raised my hand,” she said of taking on the role. She was quick to pay tribute to France’s first fashion festival, noting that longevity matters in a business where it’s never a given. As for the future: “The Villa Noailles is a living place,” she said. “When you have that, you welcome people in.”

Speaking candidly about the challenges ahead, she said a plan was already in place to pay off some €1.3 million of debt in the next two years and start anew. This year’s installations brought together some familiar faces. Lucas Emilio Brunner—who won last year’s Grand Prize for a collection based on inflatables—returned with Standards, a well-executed lineup inspired by sports flags and ’60s Ivy League style, made in collaboration with the Ateliers de Verneuil. Among the standouts were draped striped poplin shirts, polos with contrasting trim and a coat in leather marquetry. 

Emma Bruschi, winner of the 2020 le19M Métiers d’Art Prize, headlined a collaborative straw-weaving workshop with Galerie 19M. Amaury Darras, the 2025 Accessories Grand Prize laureate, showcased Keratina Medusa, a striking Art Nouveau-inspired corset made in partnership with Goossens that combines cabinetry and jewelry-making. Adrien Michel, winner of the 2025 le19M Métiers d’Art Prize, introduced a capsule inspired by Marcel Breuer’s Cesca B34 chair, anchored by a shirt that folds out of a leather case made with Studio MTX. And Sébastien Meunier—who founded his namesake label after winning the Grand Prize at Hyères in 1998—returned with Re-Authored, a re-examination of his own creative legacy.

As part of its new era, the Villa Noailles’ doors will stay open longer throughout the year, Luccino said. Expanded programming will also build on the fashion and design festivals with museum-style exhibitions; a roster of artistic residencies is also being revived.

“It’s the festival of creativity, a place for young talents to express themselves however they like,” he noted. “They’re the ones who are asking the questions and, above all, will inhabit and imagine the world of tomorrow.” “There aren’t always answers,” he continued. “Sometimes there are more questions than answers—but these are subjects that are here to stay. And the first signs of those artistic intuitions, you find them in Hyères.”

The exhibitions and programming for the 41st International Festival of Fashion,
Photography, and Accessories in Hyères will be on through February 28, 2027. Open
Wednesday to Sunday, 1pm-6pm. For more information: villanoailles.com