Hyères Fashion Festival, certified European Linen boosts the catwalk

The research for the Abseits collection ("Offside" in German) began after a visit to the "Designing the Beautiful Game" exhibition at the London Design Museum, a revelation for the designer. Although football is a sport with worldwide appeal, its influence on fashion is often overshadowed by that of other disciplines such as basketball, tennis or skateboarding. The contrast between the raw energy of football fans and the elegance of haute couture might seem contradictory, but it is precisely this combination that has inspired the designer. She reinvents everyday sportswear, such as tracksuits and football shirts, to create a link between the two worlds. The collection is a love letter to the style of football and the traditions of French supporters.

Project carried out with the support of the Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp and its members: Lineaesse Tessuti, Riopele Texteis, Tessuti di Sondrio.

I prefer Flax-Linen because of its affinity with the body, time, the environment, etc. and its (slight) indeterminacy in terms of design and materiality. Its vegetal and identifiable texture and its colour end up changing, in a good way, becoming softer, which is not necessarily predictable. As I progressed with my collection, I wanted to make everything in Linen - it's a material that inspires me enormously.

Kenshiro Suzuki

Promenades Project is a stroll through a collection of poetic, unisex sportswear. The choice of materials, pattern-making techniques, treatment of fabrics and pattern-making are all meticulously thought through. The collection incorporates sportswear elements, far removed from the quest for performance or a competitive spirit. The designer's approach is to detach the functionality of sportswear from its utilitarian and productive context. The designer has selected several types of Flax-Linen to make almost all of his collection, emphasising the notion of durability, as these materials help to extend the life of the garments. Handcrafted techniques are also used, such as natural dyes, poppy seed oil coatings and stitching that blurs the pattern.
A series of landscape photographs, resulting from a walk "oriented towards disorientation", illustrates the atmosphere of the collection.

Projet réalisé avec le soutien de l’Alliance du Lin et du Chanvre européens et de ses adhérents : Bellandi Spa, Folgarolas Textil, John England, Lemaitre Demeestere, Marini Industrie, Rossi Lorenzo & Figli Srl, Satab, TMG.

We were already used to using to using old vintage fabrics in raw or bleached Flax-Linen, but our collaboration with the Alliance has given us access to suppliers, which has enabled us to interpret several models in the collection in a creative way. Focusing on suits and stage costumes, we are presenting, for example, a brass band costume made entirely from different qualities of Flax-Linen. These textiles ensure a fall and an intensity of colour that matches our style. Thanks to supplies from Alliance members, we have been able to combine old and new Linen fabrics, which we have patinated, washed and embroidered.

La Cage - Victoria Baia & Victor Koehler

The Last Tour collection is designed in the style of a report on a fictitious music group. The models are the trio's archive pieces. They are relics of concerts, memories of youth, like good luck charms from a touring suitcase whose sentimental value makes us forget its dilapidated state, and which the musicians can't get rid of: a worn-out beige suit, a floppy hat faded by the sun, a crumpled shirt.

Project carried out with the support of the Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp and its members: John England, Leomaster, Libeco, Rossi Lorenzo & Figli Srl, Safilin.

This collection is based on the metaphor that nature is driven by a fierce desire to regain its rights. For, despite man's desire to control it, nature always ends up reclaiming its rights and freeing itself from the constraints imposed on it by man, who draws inspiration from it, draws on it or uses its resources, but is forced to bow down when it imposes its will. With this collection, she pushes man to his limits, drawing him into her metamorphosis. Nature prints, sculpts and escapes from its models, showing itself to be in turn poetic, joyful, colourful and intriguing. Nature bursts forth and imposes itself, raising the question: is it the origin or the extension of clothing?

Project carried out with the support of the Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp and its member: John England.

This collection reflects the designer's vision of the world around us. It questions our consumption, globalisation and symbolises the journey of a simple banana box that becomes a new material after a long journey. This reflection has led Lilian Navarro to rethink the very design of the garment, looking for clever ways to cut and construct, and reducing the use of fabric. Her collection aims to give value back to the ordinary. Inspired by flat cardboard boxes, the models evolve from 2D to 3D with simplicity. With him, offcuts generate new elements: pockets, collars, ruffles or shoulder yokes. With out-of-the-box designs that are part of a pop and colourful universe dear to the designer, the collection refers to the dress codes of dockers and workwear, the very people who process the journey of these famous cardboard boxes.

Project carried out with the support of the Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp and it member: Lemaitre Demeestere.