HYERES FESTIVAL 2017

As part of the festival, Align arranged dynamic workshops directly linking LCF students with prominent members within the industry. Workshop highlights from this year's study tour included: 

• A think tank session on the subject of “New future creatives”, with Mariasole Pastori and Olympia de la Brosse both representatives from Eyes on Talent - a newly launched platform from the leading independent HR consulting firm for luxury Floriane de Saint-Pierre et Associés 
• A think tank session interrogating “Fashion Tech and Creativity” with Business of Fashion 500 member and renowned Biomedia designer, Dr. Amanda Parkes and Lucas Delattre, Professor of Communication at Institut Français de la Mode (IFM) Paris
• Interactive brainstorm session building on the Fashion Futures manifesto launched at the CFDA Educational summit 2017 together with Stephanie Soto, CFDA Program ordinator of Education and Professional Development and Lucy Jones, Fashion Innovator, Parsons NYC professor and CFDA Education ambassador.
• Lecture on The Psychology of Selfhood in Fashion Photography presented by Special Guest in Residence: Caryn Franklin MSc, M.B.E. Fashion Commentator and Agent of Change and Professor of Diversity at Kingston University

Other festival activities included an embroidery workshop with Maison Lesage, exhibitions by Tim Walker, Pierre Hardy, and Schiaparelli under the creative direction of Bertrand Guyon and additionally the Fashion Show Competition: featuring the work of 10 emerging designers in competition forthe Première Vision and Chloé awards. Workshops initiated by Katarina  and Amanda and events organised by the Hyeres festival were all reported on by LCF students in the blog and social media platforms “Inside Hyeres” - an independent media outlet which gained huge international traction due to its running in-depth commentary on the festival. 

The annual study tour to Hyères offered an opportunity for students to interact with a broad range of European and International students and prominent industry professionals, forging connections and exploring synergies during a very intense but intimate environment. Especially in light of a volatile political climate, fostering collaboration and exchange between international students and industry remains incredibly relevant, especially in terms of pushing innovative agendas forward. 

Katarina  and Amanda identified this unique learning opportunity that the Hyeres Festival experience can offer, and essentially brought invaluable learning - to both students and professionals- as the event presents a microcosm of the industry for study. Students were thrilled to have the rare opportunity to contribute to a world class festival and foster important connections, vital to their own futures, while industry leaders were excited to directly collaborate and hear exceptions from the upcoming generation of professionals. 

CFDA Education Summit 2017

As the first participants ever to be invited outside of the US, Katarina and Amanda  initiated a thought provoking Think Tank session which centred on sustainable futures. Labeled as a “highlight” of the CFDA summit, they successfully helped engage guests to co-create a fashion manifesto in order to contribute to the continuous effort of reaching a triple bottom line approach: where sustainability will become a standard for the fashion industry. Through Katarina and Amanda's expertise in education and sustainability, the Think Tank stimulated proactive synergy, co-creation, and collaboration among some of the most important players in the fashion industry, thus delivering results with a long reaching impact within fashion education.

/Align were asked to consult and act in an informal mentorship capacity with designers of the CFDA+ Lexus Fashion Initiative, as designers worked to refine their own pitches and submissions for their final program deliverable “Strategic Blueprints for Impactful Futures” in April 2017.