Now in its 39th edition, the annual Hyères International Festival of Fashion, Photography and Accessories opens today at villa Noailles in Hyères, France. Following a global open call, ten finalists have been selected by the photography jury, this year chaired by artist Coco Capitán along with fellow jury members including Simon Baker, director of Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris, and Michael Famighetti, editor-in-chief of Aperture. 

Below, AnOther spoke with four of the finalists – who are each exhibiting work in the spectacular 1920s modernist house – to learn more about their work.

Kayla Connors

Originally from Switzerland, Kayla Connors has been based in London for several years, having graduated from Central Saint Martins’ MA Fashion Image course in 2022. Arguably the most fashion-focused of the finalists, Connors’ assured tableaux style has seen her shoot commissions for Dazed, Self Service and Alexander McQueen.

The collaborative aspect of fashion image making is important to Connors, who recognises that “it takes a village – my hair, makeup and stylists are all so key in making these images happen. I would not be able to do what I love without them.”

Connors also acknowledges the vital role that Hyères plays in image culture. “Exhibiting my work alongside the other finalists is important. Together, our images build the voice of fashion and image today. With new visibility and representation, we are moving in the right direction but so much still needs to be challenged – new voices need to be nurtured.”

Arhant Shrestha

Arhant Shresta’s work is rooted in memories of his childhood in Kathmandu, Nepal – specifically, an overwhelming desire to experience the night-time culture of his native city, a space that he was denied access to while young. “Through my photographs, I explore the fantasy night-time world that I would dream about as a child and would imagine experiencing vicariously through the older women in my family.”

Shrestha describes his imagined idea of Kathmandu when he was young as “misty and abstract” compared to the adult reality of directly experiencing a “chaotic, confusing city, pulsating with the densely-packed energy of the bodies that inhabit it. It’s a distinct contrast to the sparse, dreamy images that represent my childhood perception.”

Hyères is a major milestone for Shrestha, as it is the first time he has exhibited his work outside of Nepal. “I am usually quite conservative about sharing my work, but I felt like it was the right time for me to send these images out into the world.”

Thomas Duffield

Having reconnected with his father after years of estrangement, Poppy Promises by British photographer Thomas Duffield follows the eight-year process of rebuilding a relationship that was once strained by his father’s addiction.

Explaining the role that photography has played in this process, Duffield says, “It isn’t the photographs themselves that have helped the most in rebuilding our relationship, but rather the activity that surrounded the photographic act. In the slow and iterative way that the series was made, the camera acted as a catalyst for conversations that may not otherwise have taken place. The process of making teases things to the surface so that they can be gently probed, explored, and discussed.”

“For me and my father, this creative outlet offered a means to reconcile with our vulnerabilities and to take authorship over a story that was previously stifled by the stigma, shame, and secrecy that often surrounds opioid addiction and the effect it has on families.”

Basile Pelletier

“I believe that, as artists but also as humans living in our society, where everything is going so fast, everything is being consumed so fast – art included – the first step we can do to fight that and question the way we approach time,” says French photographer Basile Pelletier. This approach is inherent in the work that Pelletier is exhibiting at Hyères, mainly photographs of his friends taken over several years.

Water is a permanent feature of Pelletier’s work, using it to “disrupt reference points between inside and outside, contributing to blurring the reading of reality.” Pelletier invites the audience to imagine their own narrative when looking at the images, intending to prompt questions rather than to provide answers.

The photography prize at Hyères often encourages a dialogue between different approaches to image making, something that resonates with Pelletier. “I was always torn between fashion and photography, always trying to link both of these passions in my work,” he says. “Therefore, I could not be happier with my photographs being shown here, in this mythical place, where photography, art and fashion blend so well together.”

The 39th edition of the Hyères International Festival of Fashion, Photography and Accessories is on show in Hyères from 10 – 13 October 2024.