In lieu of grand celebrations, the Hyères International Festival of Fashion, Photography and Accessories has chosen a fresh start for its 40th anniversary. Following the departure of Jean-Pierre Blanc, the emblematic founder and director of the famous fashion competition for young designers, whose management was criticised by the French Ministry of Culture last April, the event is turning a page with a scaled-down edition.
The Festival will be held over three rather than four days, from October 16 to 18, under the aegis of Hugo Lucchino, who was appointed director-general of the Villa Noailles art centre in August and also oversees other year-round events such as the Design Parade. He will kick off the festivities this Thursday evening with the president of the villa, Pascale Mussard.
It’s a low-key, transitional edition that is taking shape. Last spring, Villa Noailles was singled out for serious management problems, with accumulated debt of €3.8 million, and has since embarked on a far-reaching restructuring. While all the event’s patrons, including Chanel, one of the principal partners, and Première Classe, which is retaining its opening-night party, have remained loyal, the institution has had to scale back its programme, notably by reducing most of the parallel events and festivities that punctuated previous editions and created valuable opportunities for professionals across the fashion and luxury industries to meet and exchange ideas.
As always, the beautiful modernist edifice of Villa Noailles, with its terraces and hanging gardens high above the city, hosts the event, which is open to the public. Overall, the main prizes and awards have been maintained. However, there will now be just one fashion show presenting the creations of the ten competing designers, scheduled for Friday evening, which can nevertheless be viewed via a screening on the villa’s forecourt. A number of workshops will also be available to the public.
The three conferences organised by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM) as part of its 24th Rencontres Internationales de la Mode will also go ahead. They are scheduled for Friday October 17 on the following themes: “What’s the current state of fashion exhibitions?”, “What’s the current state of fashion entrepreneurship?” and “Fashion as seen from Hyères: an exchange with the members of the Fashion Jury”.
A jury of professionals
As far as the jury is concerned, this year the Hyères Festival has chosen to rely exclusively on professionals, without appointing a president for each panel. Out go actors, journalists, and other personalities. Instead, some of the most compelling creative directors and designers on the fashion scene will make up the juries for the fashion and accessories competitions, with renowned photographers judging the photography contest.
Ten finalists of different nationalities are competing in each category at this Festival, which in the past has revealed the likes of Julien Dossena and Viktor & Rolf. Notably, French designer Adrien Michel has been selected for the fashion competition, while seven young finalists from France feature in the accessories category. The verdict will be announced on Saturday afternoon at the awards ceremony.
Last year, the Festival awarded the Fashion prize to Israeli designer Dolev Elron, who will present his new collection alongside the finalists, while the Accessories Jury Grand Prize went to Chinese designer Chiyang Duan.
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The newest ‘next-generation’ Frasers department store has opened at Queensgate Peterborough in the heart of the city.
Frasers Group
Spanning 60,000 sq ft across two floors, it brings together Frasers Group brands including Flannels, Sports Direct, USC, and Jack Wills under one roof.
The new destination “offers an elevated retail experience, providing access to the world’s most aspirational premium, lifestyle and sports brands”, across women’s, men’s, and kidswear, Frasers Group said.
It includes a dedicated 5,000 sq ft Flannels store, providing the Queensgate catchment “with the best in luxury and contemporary fashion, footwear, and accessories”.
This includes an extensive range of globally-recognised labels including Boss, Coach, Levi’s, Biba, Tommy Hilifger, Barbour, alongside sports brands under its Sports Direct banner, including Adidas, Nike, The North Face, Under Armour, New Balance, Everlast, Slazenger, Karrimor and USA Pro.
Ed Ginn, director of Investment Management for Queensgate operator Invesco Real Estate, said: “Frasers Group’s opening is the start of an exciting new chapter, and marks significant progress in our efforts to maintain Queensgate as a leading retail and leisure destination in the region and in the UK more widely.
“[The Frasers] addition… to the centre raises the bar for potential investment from brands to further enhance the shopping experience, as we continue to evolve Queensgate in a way that provides our catchment with everything they could need or want, in one place.”
Businessman Gerald Ratner has launched a surprise bid to buy the UK arm of the jewellery empire he famously trashed more than three decades ago after calling some products of his signature brand Ratners ‘total crap’.
Image: Ernest Jones
The businessman is seeking to acquire the British H Samuel and Ernest Jones chains from US-listed Signet Jewellers and install himself as chairman after he lost control of the businesses in the early 1990s, reported The Daily Telegraph.
Ratner has appealed to shareholders of the company as part of a bid to purchase the loss-making UK arm, which he said he has been “pursuing since the summer”.
The brands were once part of Ratners Group, the firm that he was forced to exit after he jokingly declared a few of its cheaper products were “total crap” in a speech at the Institute of Directors 30 years ago.
Ratner also remarked that some of the firm’s earrings were “cheaper than a prawn sandwich at Marks & Spencer – but I have to say, the sandwich will probably last longer than the earrings”.
The ensuing negative reaction from consumers and the wider business community gave rise to the phrase ‘to do a Ratner’ or destroy a valid business.
Ratner said he was attempting to acquire the UK division of Signet – which was formerly Ratners Group before it was rebranded – because he claimed its American owners were “doing everything wrong”.
The newspaper said that to launch his bid, Ratner has been in touch with Signet’s CEO. He’s understood to be backed by a consortium of primarily-British investors and has said they have the funds lined up.
He’s now launching an appeal directly to the company’s shareholders, who Ratner hopes should question why the US owners do not sell the loss-making division.
He told The Telegraph: “The reason we’re putting pressure on the shareholders is simply because of the fact that they’re doing so badly in the UK, they’re closing shops all the time and last year they sold their best shops.
“So we took the view that they’re not really interested in the UK. We approached them thinking that it’s in the interests of shareholders to just get rid of it.”
Signet is worth more than $3.7 billion (£2.8 billion) with a successful US operation but a loss-making UK division.
Frasers Group is reportedly considering a bid for failed business SilkFred as it continues to focus on acquiring brands that it sees as having growth potential or some unique properties in their business model that it can use in its wider operations.
SilkFred
SilkFred entered administration in October (although it was only officially announced last month) with Quantuma handling the process. The 15-year-old fashion company specialised in connecting womenswear designers and labels with consumers. Its particularly focus was occasionwear and unique pieces from indie brands.
News of Frasers’ (as-yet-unconfirmed) interest is hardly surprising. It continues to be one of the most acquisitive businesses in UK fashion. Only recently it has acquired both Braehead and Swindon Designer Outlet shopping destinations, a majority stake in luxury LA store The Webster, as well as adding to its already large ASOS stake (its 26% holding makes that company’s second-biggest shareholder).
The company hasn’t commented about SilkFred, although it would fit into its strategy of targeting younger consumers at a variety of price levels.
As mentioned, SilkFred went into administration this autumn, although here had been rumours of it struggling or a while.
Its most recent results covered 2023 and showed losses widening as sales fell as much as 46% to just £11.18 million.
Frasers, by contrast, is a giant of the retail sector with its half-year results up to the end of October showing revenue of £2.58 billion and retail trading profit of £411.4 million.
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