Now in its 33rd incarnation, the Festival International De Mode, De Photographie Et D’Accessoires De Mode a Hyères - or simply 'Hyères,' if you can't endure that mouthful - has really begun to turn out future contenders for the fashion main-stage.
With a backdrop of peachy French Riviera sunsets, and a guestlist that boasts designers like Haider Ackermann, film stars like Tilda Swinton and every fashion title from Vogue (and ELLE, of course), to Wallpaper* and Harper's Bazaar, it would be easy to imagine the festival as nothing but a schmooze-fest, fuelled by rosé and nicotine.
And while the rosé is indeed more freely available than water, the festival, to its serious credit, has begun to court some heavyweight sponsorship and attract a roster of acutely promising designers.
The Grand Prize in the fashion design category, which consists of 15,000 euros, entry into Mercedes-Benz's International Designer Exchange Programme and the chance to collab with Chanel’s Métiers d’Art division among other things, was scooped up by Rushemy Botter & Lisi Herrebrugh, of Antwerp.
But while the Balenciaga-esque oversized shoulders, deconstructed suiting and fishnet nod to the Caribbean were inventive and generally impressive, it was another highly commended designer that caught our eye.
Marie-Eve Lecavalier, the lone Canadian in a sea of Dutch designers and Aalto graduates, presented a series of looks that had ELLE written all over them.
Titled 'Come Get Trippy With Us,' her collection was a 70s and, more specifically, Frank Zappa-inspired psychedelia of wavy prints and wide-legged denim.
Getting up close and personal with her designs in the Mercedes-Benz sponsored showrooms, one noticed that the Céline referencing was conspicuous, but charming - an ode to Phoebe Philo-era simple, chic wearability.
There's nothing particularly avant-garde about what Lecavalier is trying to do; she didn't set out to be disturbing or to toy with fashion's boundaries, but there's something to be said for seeing clothes on the runway that you can't wait to take home.
Her jeans (constructed from recycled denim) could have trotted off the catwalk and straight onto Net-a-Porter. Her transparent bangles and necklaces were an easy accessory to any outfit and the scalloped (sound-wave influenced) edging on her leather added a polish and finish to otherwise casual attire.
Speaking to ELLE during the festival, Lecavalier said: 'A garment should just tell the story, you shouldn't have to talk.
'Everything is really influenced by the idea of what I would like to wear or what I would dream to wear. I like to be comfortable, I would never be the one in a giant dress with frou frous. It's not me.'
Musing on people's reactions to her first public collection, the designer quipped: 'Only one person thought I was a drug addict. They thought you had to take [mind-altering] drugs to be into psychedelia. It's not about that; it's really more about the imagination.'
With a special mention from the judges and as winner of the coveted Chloé prize for a special piece that she made just for the attention of the French fashion house, Marie-Eve Lecavalier is likely going places fast.
