In the TikTok era… Pull&Bear launches photography award with the Festival de Hyères

Madrid – At a time when photography is enjoying a renewed resurgence on social media, the medium is caught between the growing preference for video, championed by platforms from TikTok to Mark Zuckerberg. In response, Pull&Bear is defending the art form by announcing a new international award. The new prize will be presented under the umbrella of the prestigious International Festival of Fashion, Photography and Accessories in Hyères.

Recognised as the world's oldest competition for promoting young fashion talent, the Festival de Hyères began in 1986 as a platform to acknowledge new designers. In 1997, an additional photography category was added to celebrate emerging photographers. A third category for fashion accessories was introduced in 2016 as an independent competition. The event, with fashion at its core, has had a significant influence on recent fashion history through its three competitions. It has served as a launchpad for the brilliant careers of now-renowned figures such as the founders of Viktor&Rolf; Romain Kremer; Anthony Vaccarello; Julien Dossena; Marine Serre; and the creative directors of Botter. These creatives would not have achieved their current prominence, despite the difficult circumstances many have faced, without the patronage they received from the festival's award sponsors. Pull&Bear, one of the Inditex group's youth fashion brands, now joins these sponsors by creating its own international photography award within the festival.

“Since its foundation in 1986, the International Festival of Fashion, Photography and Accessories in Hyères has established itself as one of the leading platforms for discovering new generations of creators,” stated Pull&Bear's management. “Held at Villa Noailles, the emblematic modernist residence designed by Robert Mallet-Stevens, the festival has played a decisive role in the careers of figures such as Viktor&Rolf, Anthony Vaccarello, Julien Dossena, Botter, Sølve Sundsbø and Viviane Sassen, becoming a key meeting point for cultural institutions, industry professionals and new creative practices.” Pull&Bear joins this creative ecosystem, seeking to “continue consolidating its commitment” as a “cultural production platform, conceived to boost new creative voices and encourage dialogue between disciplines, generations and visual languages.” This is part of “a commitment to contribute to the development of those who will become the next leading figures in fashion photography.”

Prize includes 20,000 euros and a collaborative project for Pull&Bear

Launched as the “Prix de la Photographie de Mode Pull&Bear”, the first edition of this new fashion photography award will take place during the upcoming 41st Festival de Hyères, scheduled from October 15 to 18. The first winner of this new Pull&Bear-sponsored award will be selected as part of the festival's photography competition. This competition also includes the “Grand Prix du Jury Photographie 7L”, which comes with a 20,000 euro prize sponsored by the publishing house 7L, founded by Karl Lagerfeld and acquired by Chanel in 2021. Additionally, the “American Vintage Photography Award”, sponsored by the French brand, offers a total prize of 15,000 euros, which includes a 5,000 euro grant and a commission for a fashion photography series.

The photography award created by Pull&Bear is on par with the prize funded by Chanel, offering the winner a cash prize of 20,000 euros. This recognition will be complemented by an agreement to produce a campaign for Pull&Bear, or alternatively, a photographic project commissioned by the brand. The winner's creative work will also be promoted across multiple platforms and the winning project will be showcased in Pull&Bear's flagship stores, alongside a dedicated social media campaign. To top off these promotional activities, the Inditex youth fashion brand will launch a capsule collection of T-shirts as part of its “Pull&Bear × The Photographer Project” initiative. Finally, a fanzine will be created and a solo exhibition of the winner's work will be held at the Villa Noailles during the 2027 edition of the Festival de Hyères.

The official jury of the Festival de Hyères has selected the finalists for the upcoming photography competition, who will also be competing for the inaugural Pull&Bear photography award. The finalists, chosen for their photographic work, are Honglin Cai (China); Xue Ling Chen (China); Giulia Frigieri (Italy); Lorane Hochstatter (Switzerland); Yun Ki Ng (Hong Kong); Zacharie Lewertoff (Switzerland); Motoki Nakatani (Japan); Julien Rahmani (France); Sidonie Ronfard (France); and Valeria Sarto (Italy–United States). A total of ten names have been chosen. The jury will now select the winner of the Pull&Bear Fashion Photography Award from this group. The jury includes French photographer Camille Vivier as president; Lili Doillon, editor at 7L publishing; Laurent Fétis, artistic director and graphic designer; Sylvie Lécallier, head of the photography collection at the Palais Galliera in Paris; Georg Rulfes, CEO and co-founder of Concrete Rep; and visual artist Noémie Ninot, winner of the 2025 Grand Prix du Jury Photographie 7L. The winner will be announced on October 17 during the official awards ceremony of the Festival de Hyères.

“The inclusion of the ‘Prix de la Photographie de mode Pull&Bear’ in the official competition marks the beginning of a new collaboration between the brand and one of the most prestigious platforms in the international fashion and photography scene,” highlighted the youth fashion brand. The label values the profile of the works and the first finalists for this new award as a reflection of “both the geographical diversity of the award” and “the plurality of sensibilities present in contemporary photography today.” The Inditex brand aims to highlight this discipline, with its “objective of continuing to promote initiatives linked to contemporary creation.” As Pull&Bear summarises, “this award was created to discover and support a new generation of artists who transcend the traditional codes of fashion photography.”