Pull&Bear is stepping into the world of contemporary creation. The brand, part of the Inditex group, is launching its Fashion Photography Prize as part of the 41st edition of the Hyères Festival, which will take place from October 15 to 18 at the Villa Noailles. The stated goal: to identify and support a new generation of photographers who are challenging the traditional codes of fashion photography.

The prize is more than just a symbolic award. The winner will receive €20,000, be commissioned to create a photography project for the brand, and present a solo exhibition at the Villa Noailles during the following year's festival. The project will also include the publication of a fanzine and an international campaign featured across Pull&Bear's channels. It is a way to turn the award into a genuine career springboard rather than just another line on a resume.

This first edition brings together ten photographers selected by the festival jury for their visual approach: Honglin Cai and Xueling Chen (China), Giulia Frigieri and Valeria Sarto (Italy), Lorane Hochstatter and Zacharie Lewertoff (Switzerland), Yun Ki Ng (Hong Kong), Motoki Nakatani (Japan), and Julien Rahmani and Sidonie Ronfard (France). The jury will be chaired by French photographer Camille Vivier, joined by experts from the fields of curation, publishing, design, and art direction. The winner will be announced on October 17.

The initiative makes sense for both parties. Since 1986, the Hyères Festival has established itself as one of the premier showcases for new generations of creators, having previously launched the careers of Viktor & Rolf, Anthony Vaccarello or Viviane SassenFor Pull&Bear, partnering with such an established platform confirms a strategy that is becoming increasingly common among mainstream brands: investing in cultural production to move beyond their purely commercial status and gain legitimacy with a creative audience.

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