Latest news with #FestivaldeHyères
Fashion Network
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fashion Network
Hyères Festival: 40th edition confirmed in a reduced format
The clouds that had been gathering over the Festival de Hyères seem to be dissipating. While its fate was on hold due to the budgetary and governance crisis facing the Villa Noailles, the association that oversees it, the famous international fashion, photography, and accessories competition has been confirmed on the same dates, but shortened by one day. The event, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, will be held over three days, rather than four, from October 16 to 18, 2025, has learned from the organization. A slightly "lighter" version of the Hyères Festival is, therefore, on the horizon, as was already the case for the recent Design Parade festival in Hyères and Toulon, also organized by the Villa Noailles, which took place from June 26 to 28. "The very friendly, good-natured atmosphere attracted just as many people. It was reminiscent of the first editions of the event, when there were fewer projects and fewer resources," reported one of the participants. Details of the 40th fashion festival are not yet known. The new, refocused format will be defined at a general meeting to be held at the end of July. The event should still be financed by public and private partners, but its organization will be reviewed with a lower budget and most likely fewer parallel events. The competition will focus primarily on the work of the ten finalists -France's Adrien Michel, Germany's Dennis Sander, Finland's Idaliina Friman, Poland's Layla Al Tawaya, the Swiss-Chilean Lucas Emilio Brunner, Switzerland's Noah Almonte, the German-Spanish Sofia Hermens Fernandez, Austria's Vanessa Schreiner, and China's Xinyi He - as well as past winners. In turmoil since its management was criticized by the Ministry of Culture last April and its emblematic founder Jean-Pierre Blanc, currently on sick leave, stepped down from his role as general director, the Villa Noailles has been working on a debt reduction plan to turn its accounts around. By 2023, accumulated balance sheet debt stood at 3.8 million euros, including 2.7 million euros in supplier debt. In a press release dated June 11, the organization indicated that 1 million euros had already been paid to suppliers, a further 1.5 million euros were due by December 31, 2025, while 700,000 euros would be paid in 2026. At the same time, Villa Noailles launched a recruitment process to find a new general manager, while a new governance structure was put in place. In June, the board of directors appointed Saïd Berkane, its general secretary since February 2022, as interim general manager. Berkane is responsible for steering the villa, in close collaboration with deputy directors Magalie Guérin and Julie Liger, until the appointment of the future general manager, scheduled for September 1.
Fashion Network
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fashion Network
Hyères Festival: 40th edition confirmed in a reduced format
The clouds that had been gathering over the Festival de Hyères seem to be dissipating. While its fate was on hold due to the budgetary and governance crisis facing the Villa Noailles, the association that oversees it, the famous international fashion, photography, and accessories competition has been confirmed on the same dates, but shortened by one day. The event, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, will be held over three days, rather than four, from October 16 to 18, 2025, has learned from the organization. A slightly "lighter" version of the Hyères Festival is, therefore, on the horizon, as was already the case for the recent Design Parade festival in Hyères and Toulon, also organized by the Villa Noailles, which took place from June 26 to 28. "The very friendly, good-natured atmosphere attracted just as many people. It was reminiscent of the first editions of the event, when there were fewer projects and fewer resources," reported one of the participants. Details of the 40th fashion festival are not yet known. The new, refocused format will be defined at a general meeting to be held at the end of July. The event should still be financed by public and private partners, but its organization will be reviewed with a lower budget and most likely fewer parallel events. The competition will focus primarily on the work of the ten finalists -France's Adrien Michel, Germany's Dennis Sander, Finland's Idaliina Friman, Poland's Layla Al Tawaya, the Swiss-Chilean Lucas Emilio Brunner, Switzerland's Noah Almonte, the German-Spanish Sofia Hermens Fernandez, Austria's Vanessa Schreiner, and China's Xinyi He - as well as past winners. In turmoil since its management was criticized by the Ministry of Culture last April and its emblematic founder Jean-Pierre Blanc, currently on sick leave, stepped down from his role as general director, the Villa Noailles has been working on a debt reduction plan to turn its accounts around. By 2023, accumulated balance sheet debt stood at 3.8 million euros, including 2.7 million euros in supplier debt. In a press release dated June 11, the organization indicated that 1 million euros had already been paid to suppliers, a further 1.5 million euros were due by December 31, 2025, while 700,000 euros would be paid in 2026. At the same time, Villa Noailles launched a recruitment process to find a new general manager, while a new governance structure was put in place. In June, the board of directors appointed Saïd Berkane, its general secretary since February 2022, as interim general manager. Berkane is responsible for steering the villa, in close collaboration with deputy directors Magalie Guérin and Julie Liger, until the appointment of the future general manager, scheduled for September 1.
Fashion Network
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fashion Network
Hyères Festival: 40th edition confirmed in a reduced format
The clouds that had been gathering over the Festival de Hyères seem to be dissipating. While its fate was on hold due to the budgetary and governance crisis facing the Villa Noailles, the association that oversees it, the famous international fashion, photography, and accessories competition has been confirmed on the same dates, but shortened by one day. The event, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, will be held over three days, rather than four, from October 16 to 18, 2025, has learned from the organization. A slightly "lighter" version of the Hyères Festival is, therefore, on the horizon, as was already the case for the recent Design Parade festival in Hyères and Toulon, also organized by the Villa Noailles, which took place from June 26 to 28. "The very friendly, good-natured atmosphere attracted just as many people. It was reminiscent of the first editions of the event, when there were fewer projects and fewer resources," reported one of the participants. Details of the 40th fashion festival are not yet known. The new, refocused format will be defined at a general meeting to be held at the end of July. The event should still be financed by public and private partners, but its organization will be reviewed with a lower budget and most likely fewer parallel events. The competition will focus primarily on the work of the ten finalists -France's Adrien Michel, Germany's Dennis Sander, Finland's Idaliina Friman, Poland's Layla Al Tawaya, the Swiss-Chilean Lucas Emilio Brunner, Switzerland's Noah Almonte, the German-Spanish Sofia Hermens Fernandez, Austria's Vanessa Schreiner, and China's Xinyi He - as well as past winners. In turmoil since its management was criticized by the Ministry of Culture last April and its emblematic founder Jean-Pierre Blanc, currently on sick leave, stepped down from his role as general director, the Villa Noailles has been working on a debt reduction plan to turn its accounts around. By 2023, accumulated balance sheet debt stood at 3.8 million euros, including 2.7 million euros in supplier debt. In a press release dated June 11, the organization indicated that 1 million euros had already been paid to suppliers, a further 1.5 million euros were due by December 31, 2025, while 700,000 euros would be paid in 2026. At the same time, Villa Noailles launched a recruitment process to find a new general manager, while a new governance structure was put in place. In June, the board of directors appointed Saïd Berkane, its general secretary since February 2022, as interim general manager. Berkane is responsible for steering the villa, in close collaboration with deputy directors Magalie Guérin and Julie Liger, until the appointment of the future general manager, scheduled for September 1.
Fashion Network
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Fashion Network
Festival de Hyères: Villa Noailles board meets as tensions ease
France's Villa Noailles board of directors met on June 11, following weeks of tension around its leadership. The association runs the Festival de Hyères, France's leading fashion and photography competition, and the Design Parade, an annual design festival in the Var region that opens on June 26. Board members presented the finalized budget and financial forecasts for the association's operations. Jean-Pierre Blanc, who founded the Festival de Hyères, stepped down as general director. Interim director Bénédicte Lefeuvre now leads the organization. Beyond this leadership change, the local press recently named Blanc in an article that claimed authorities had opened two investigations, including one allegedly targeting him. Several media outlets, including reported the article. However, the Toulon public prosecutor's office confirmed no investigation involving Blanc. 'The unfounded accusations made by one or more individuals accused of extortion—facts that we have established—do not lead us to conclude that Mr. Jean-Pierre Blanc faces an investigation related to the possession of child pornographic images,' said Samuel Finielz, Toulon's public prosecutor, last Friday. This clarification aimed to ease tensions at Villa Noailles before its upcoming events. It also helped create a more stable environment as the association prepared the 40th-anniversary edition of the Festival de Hyères. Didier Grumbach, former president of the association and former president of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, voiced that hope. Grumbach sent a letter to board members and Pascale Mussard, the association's president, to express his support. 'We must view the current situation, I sincerely believe, as a growth crisis that we should address as such, but with composure. I think the Villa Noailles Festival must continue developing, and we should find appropriate solutions in collaboration with public and private partners. We must resolutely meet the challenges facing this industrial and creative sector, which remains so strategic for our country and in which the Festival de Hyères plays such an important role. Finally, the attacks and maneuvers targeting Jean-Pierre Blanc, particularly the most degrading ones, must stop. I wish you a constructive meeting that fosters calm,' Grumbach wrote. Board members now face the task of ensuring the successful organization of Villa Noailles' next major fashion event and preparing for the arrival of the association's next general manager. According to France 3 Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur, the association has already launched the recruitment process with a job posting on a cultural professions website. The new director will take office on September 1.
