Fashion, photography and... avant-garde pop! Intent on weaving links and merging different fields of artistic creation, Stage of the Art is proud to associate for the second year running with the International Festival of Fashion & Photography in Hyères, for a three-day musical runway show.
As part of the 27th International Festival of Fashion & Photography in Hyères, Stage of the Art with the support of Petit Bateau invites three artists from the new European musical scene to give one-off open-air performances. The concerts will take place at villa Noailles, the Mediterranean rendez-vous of the artistic avant-garde since the 1920s.
Petit Bateau, French house renowned for its quality since 1893, is supporting Stage of the Art’s exploration of the new and emerging European musical scene. Surprising and audacious, through its support of this event, the brand, once again, proves that it is always where it is least expected.
In order of appearance in the legendary gardens, TOTALLY ENORMOUS EXTINCT DINOSAURS (TEED), lauded at the last Transmusicales de Rennes, the festival known for attracting one of the most demanding crowds in the musical calendar, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs has nothing of the disappearing species about him. Orlando Higginbottom (his real name), the Oxford-born son of a music professor who fell into jungle in his teenage years, burst onto the British electro scene in 2010 with a first and jubilant EP, ‘All In Two Sixty Dancehalls’. It was released on Greco Roman, the label created by Joe Goddard (Hot Chip), with whom TEED shares not only an appetite for electro-pop tinted with psychedelia, but also an incredible stage presence. Live, where he appears in a chameleon suit crowned with an apache chief’s headdress, TEED – part of Damon Albarn’s collective of producers on the charity project Kinshasa One Two – delivers a euphoria-inducing brand of electronic pop, surrounded by dancers and the singer Luisa Gerstein. His performances in Hyères, an exclusive in France, will give a taste of his first album on Universal, which should be released before the summer.
Fashion also matters to THE SHOES. Back for a second year running, these two producers from Reims dress pop up to great effect with their sputtering and addictive electro beats. Acclaimed in America after one of their tracks appeared on the successful series Gossip Girl, in demand by Shakira, Santigold and Lana Del Rey for their remixes and by Yuksek, Woodkid and Katerine for their talents as producers, Guillaume and Benjamin played an ecstatic crowd at the Cigale on 9 November when they were finalists in the Prix Constantin 2011. We could not resist inviting them back for a red hot DJ set.
A new signing for the French label Kitsuné, the CITIZENS! are five handsome London boys whose first album, is due to be released in May, is produced by Alex Kapranos, the singer of Franz Ferdinand. Obviously this is causing quite a buzz... but if you add their videos (‘Reptile’ or ‘True Romance’, directed by the High 5 Collective (Kanye West, Jay Z, The Weekend...), it is hard not to succumb to the far-reaching compositions of the London quintet. With their irresistibly pop sound, catchy refrains and perfect harmonies you couldn’t take these guys for anything other than English!
The jury of the 27th International Festival of Fashion & Photography in Hyères is presided by Yohji Yamamoto, accompanied by, among others, Terry Jones, founder of the magazine ID (London), Olivier Saillard, director of the Musée Galliera (Paris), the photographer Paolo Roversi and the film director Christophe Honoré. The jury has chosen ten young fashion designers from nine different countries; their creations will be presented in three fashion shows open both to professionals and the public. Photography is also in competition. The jury, which includes Hans Gremmen from the Netherlands, James Reid from London, Carla Sozzani from Milan and Diane Dufour from Paris, will announce the finalists, whose work will be shown in a joint exhibition.
Villa Noailles will also bring together big names and young talents from fashion and photography in fifteen exhibitions, including: Yohji Yamamoto, Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin, Jason Evans, Cunnington & Sanderson, Lynsey Peisinger, Fabrics Interseason, Chronique curiosité, Léa Peckre, Anouk Kruithof, Ina Jang, and Céline Méteil. The exhibitions continue until 27 May. The music forms a sound aesthetic linking two worlds that are as complementary as they are revolutionary.