Founded and guided by Jean-Pierre Blanc and hosted by Pascale Mussard, the annual festival has supported and promoted young fashion design talents since 1986, making it the oldest fashion contest for emerging designers.  In addition, the festival introduced a competition for young photographers in 1997, followed by one for young accessory designers in 2016.
From October 10 to 13, the chairman of the fashion jury, Nicolas Di Felice, is joined by Laura Arguelles, Marine Brutti, Marie Chaix, Piergiorgio Del Moro, Carlijn Jacobs, Theo Mercies, Mel Ottenberg, and Igor Dieryck to evaluate the young contestants and select winners for the Grand Prix Du Jury Première Vision, Le19m Métiers d´Art Prize, L´Atelier Des Matières Prize, and the Public Prize – City of Hyères – all made possible through the support of various festival partners.

Established in the fashion scene since 1995 and with deep ties to the worlds of fashion, photography and art, Mercedes-Benz has continued to grow its relationship with the festival in order to support participating talents. Through its support of emerging designers, innovative collaborations, partnerships with various fashion weeks, and live events, the brand is a valuable partner with extensive experiences across diverse fields. At the festival, Mercedes-Benz serves as the premier mobility partner, providing guests with a comprehensive shuttle service to ensure a smooth transport between various locations throughout the day.
As a longstanding partner, Mercedes-Benz introduced its own award, the Mercedes-Benz Sustainability Prize, in 2021. This prize represents the brand´s commitment to promoting responsible luxury and inspiring sustainable innovation beyond the automotive industry. Dedicated to advancing the future of luxury design while fostering responsible growth for the next generations, they encourage values such as responsible design, creativity, and innovation. The finalist whose collections best embodies these values alongside sustainable practices is chosen by the fashion jury to receive the Mercedes-Benz Sustainability Prize, which includes a financial grant from Mercedes-Benz.

The values Mercedes-Benz aims to champion through its partnership with the Festival de Hyères are also reflected in its newest CONCEPT CLA CLASS – a preview of a future family of vehicles that carries the brand´s vision into a new, electric, and digital age with a strong focus on sustainability, technology, and design. The concept combines luxurious elements with innovations such as advanced technology, sustainable interior materials, and biomimetic structural elements. This aesthetic is seamlessly integrated with fashion as the newest CLA debuts in a camouflaged prototype, a design technique first introduced in 1950 for the Mercedes-Benz 180 by an automotive magazine.
Today, this concept is reimagined in the most modern way: the brand´s campaign for the 39th edition of the Festival de Hyères features the newest CLA alongside models showcasing collections from the ten finalists. The campaign, shot in the South of France along the iconic Côte d´Azur, combines unique perspectives and photography techniques with a nostalgic film look that appeals to fashion and culture enthusiasts alike.

The brand goes even further in celebrating aesthetics and design with its personalization program, MANUFAKTUR, which allows both existing and new customers to fully customize their latest car. From color selections to special finishes, the options are nearly limitless, and the brand is continuously expanding them with personalized seat graphics, leather embossing, and interior equipment variants. Using renewable energy, optimizing logistics, and advancing a circular economy are just the starting points of Mercedes-Benz´s sustainability efforts. With these and other long-term goals, the brand aims to intertwine luxury and innovation with environmental responsibility – a mission that resonates with the new generation of creatives at the Festival de Hyères, who are incorporating sustainability into their award-winning fashion collections as well.