Other Grand Prize winners were Sassa Ann van Wyk and Motoki Nakatani for Accessories and Photography, respectively. Chen will receive support from Chanel, the festival’s long-term Grand Partner; new Grand Partner le19M and its 10 maisons d’art; and grants from sponsors including the Atelier des Matières, Supima, and newcomer Watteau, the visual content hub. Additional support will come from Les Teintures de France, the Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp, and Richemont’s AZ Academy, among others. All fashion laureates will be showcased by Première Classe during Paris Fashion Week in March and October 2027.
As in studios everywhere, renewal is in the air at the Villa Noailles. This year’s motif, a racing flag with a star on a pink-and-green checkered ground, seemed to signal that the festival is back on track. Organizers called this edition “a year of firsts,” not just because Chen is the first Chinese designer to scoop the top prize. Hugo Luccino, the festival’s managing director, also placed women at the head of every jury: Chloé creative director Chemena Kamali for fashion, photographer Camille Vivier for photography, and Danish fashion designer Cecilie Bahnsen for
accessories.
They weren’t the only women calling the shots.
In her welcome speech, Josée Massi—the mayor of Toulon, who this spring also became the first woman president of the Métropole Toulon Provence Méditerranée—told the 30 finalists, “You already have your place. Talent is not about one prize.” Hyères’ newly-elected mayor, Véronique Bernardini—the first woman to hold that post since it was created in 1677— then opened the festivities with a riff on a famous Gabrielle Chanel line: “Trends pass but style remains… and in Hyères, audacity is never out of style.”
