Colorful and zany, multiplying the ornaments that move like mollusks or antennae, this collection won over the jury and the public in the city of Hyères.
Belgian Tom Van der Borght, designer of clothing made from recycled materials “which nobody wants“and that it is necessary”dare to wear“, won the Fashion Grand Prize on Sunday 18 October at the international festival of Hyères (Var). Colorful and wacky, multiplying the ornaments that move like mollusks or antennas, this collection seduced the jury and the public of the city of Hyères, for this 35th edition of the oldest fashion competition, which serves as a springboard for young designers.
I want to find a new definition of luxury. We are used to classic luxurious materials like gold or leather. I really like using things that other people don’t find interesting.
In his collection, a sweater in bright colors is made from plastic filaments used to display prices. A “sea leather” bag is made from fish skins recovered from the sushi industry. Macramé or patchwork, the techniques are classic, but his own luxury is to give a second life to pieces intended to be discarded. Like stocks of sequins that he buys from merchants in his neighborhood or samples of vegetable fur, which he made into an electric blue and yellow coat.
What about portability in all of this? “You can wear it if you dare to wear it“, launches Tom Van der Borght, artist specializing in performance.”The future of fashion is not to stay in a very restrictive and conformist box, it is time to free ourselves from all restrictions.“, he estimates. The grand prix of the fashion accessories jury went to the French Ddiddue and Juana Etcheberry.
With a refined aesthetic the opposite of the fashion winner, but in a similar approach, they make caps from objects “intended for landfill“. “We intercept rubber boots, paragliding cloths, basins, parachutes, and flower pots. We rework them by making topstitching (…) in a Japanese style, like old samurai fabrics“, explains Juana Etcheberry. The duo, brother and sister in the city, were also rewarded with the price of the luxury house Hermès, novelty of this season, for their graphic leather strap, surrounded by levitating metal rings that they wanted at the same time “protective and ventilated“.
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