in October, as in 2020, from the 15th to the 17th. The renowned emerging designer competition, now in its 36th edition, has chosen British designer Louise Trotter, creative director of Lacoste, footwear designer Christian Louboutin, and photographer Dominique Issermann, to respectively chair the juries in the fashion, accessories and photography categories. The three jury panels have each selected 10 finalists in their respective categories, whose names were also revealed on Tuesday evening.

 
Unusually, the announcement was made live on the Instagram account of Villa Noailles, home to the Festival since its inception. “Customarily, we reveal the names of the jury members and finalists in Paris during the fashion week, in January. However, since no fashion week is scheduled at this time, we decided to make the announcement on home ground,” FashionNetwork.com was told by Jean-Pierre Blanc, the event’s founder and general manager.
 
Last year, owing to the pandemic, the Hyères Festival was staged on October 15-19, rather than at the end of April as usual. “We were very satisfied with the way in which the event turned out. The October dates worked well for everyone, and we picked them again for the 2021 edition, also because fashion academies were closed in January, when applications for the competition usually open. By doing so, we wanted to allow our young entrants more time, and the chance to work on their applications without having to rush,” said Blanc.

Among the novelties of the Festival’s 36th edition, a new prize for environmental sustainability in the fashion category, sponsored by Mercedes-Benz.