As Deputy Director of the Villa Noailles and Artistic Director of the prestigious Hyères International Festival of Fashion, Photography and Accessories — a major international event that has seen the emergence of much talent, including a host of Belgians — Magalie Guérin continues her work in curation and supporting creativity by placing the human aspect at the heart of the debate.
You joined the festival around 20 years after it was founded in 1986. Since then, you have been observing and supporting emerging talent (fashion and accessory designers, product designers, interior architects, photographers, etc.). What is your view of the current Belgian scene?
In my view, it is entirely linked to the reputation of La Cambre in Brussels. Until now, the school was one of several established institutions. Today, its cachet is unquestionable. It is very exciting to observe the work of La Cambre’s graduates. I have just served on the jury for the Master’s in Accessories. I was struck, once again, by the quality of the teaching. What sets young Belgian graduates apart is their individuality. Belgian schools do not, under any circumstances, seek to format their students. On the contrary, they provide the means for individual personalities and visions to blossom. Among the festival’s former winners, I think of Ester Manas and Jean-Paul Lespagnard in the field of fashion, but also Laetitia Bica in photography — though I could name many others. The Belgian scene is vibrant and cross-disciplinary in the sense that designers do not compete with one another. You sense a genuine desire among them to collaborate and create synergies between disciplines. Belgium’s creative richness is enhanced by this principle of interconnectedness, which can be observed at many levels.
The Villa Noailles is entering a new chapter in its history. How is your role evolving within this new organisation?
In October, the Hyères Festival of Fashion, Photography and Accessories will begin its 41st edition. Over the decades, we have become more professional, seeking to play an ever more central role in supporting young talent. It’s essential to remember that the founders of Villa Noailles — Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles — were themselves great patrons of the arts. This rich legacy naturally guides us as we continue our work. Hugo Lucchino, the new Director of Villa Noailles, is supporting us in this enormous task: understanding our finalists’ collections so that we can support them as effectively as possible, creating an environment conducive to organising fashion shows and exhibitions, and facilitating dialogue with partners… For a young designer, collaborating with a prestigious fashion house such as Chanel (a major partner of the festival through its 19 M atelier, ed.) is no small matter. We support them by taking into account the specific needs of each individual.
True to our status as an art centre, we have never approached things from a commercial perspective. Above all, we seek to listen to the designers’ needs. Recognising that many designers could no longer find their place in a creative landscape saturated with offerings, back in 2016, we developed a section of the competition dedicated specifically to accessories. This initiative was combined with setting up showrooms within the Villa Noailles during the festival. We applied the same approach to the Design Parade (a competition for designers and interior architects, ed.).
The festival’s impact on the winners’ careers contributes to its renown. Tell us more.
It’s important to emphasise that all participants, as well as the designers accompanying the finalists — I am thinking in particular of Matthieu Blazy, who visited Hyères without taking part in the competition — leave with a memory, contacts and new avenues for work. The unique atmosphere of this event — held in the sunshine, on a hilltop overlooking the town of Hyères — is conducive to discussion, encounters and a multitude of synergies. Many projects are born here, in a relaxed environment. During trade fairs and fashion weeks, fashion and design professionals are rushing about in all directions. In Hyères, the pace invites you to explore. Whether they are industry professionals or members of the general public (including secondary school pupils and their parents), we aim to reach a broad and diverse audience.
You are constantly challenging yourselves to both support creativity and bring the public together around these events.
Last year, to make our message accessible to everyone, we opened our talks to all festival-goers. In collaboration with Hélène Fontaine, who is in charge of artistic and cultural projects, we were also keen to ensure that the young students present in our exhibition spaces were fully involved in engaging with the public. One way of better explaining the role of craftsmanship, for example, is by putting together teams that fully embody the artists and the objects on display. Demystifying the role of the designer and helping people understand the price of a garment are among the messages we wish to convey.
What new projects do you hope to launch in the coming years?
We are working in particular on developing new synergies, especially on the African continent, where the fashion and design scene is incredibly rich. The idea is obviously not to approach things from a European perspective, but rather to give a voice to new creative talent.