Pull & Bear, the youth fashion retailer, is launching its own international photography prize as part of the Festival of Fashion, Photography and Accessories–Hyères. Founded in 1986, the French competition has helped launch the careers of designers including Viktor & Rolf, Anthony Vaccarello, and Julien Dossena.
The “Prix de la Photographie de Mode Pull & Bear” will debut as a new category within the festival’s official photography competition at the 41st edition of Festival de Hyères, running October 15th through 18th at Villa Noailles in southeast France, the modernist estate designed by Robert Mallet-Stevens. The winner, announced October 17th, will receive €20,000 ($22,816), making it an equal purse to the festival’s existing “Grand Prix du Jury Photographie 7L,” backed by the Chanel-owned publishing house 7L, which was founded by Karl Lagerfeld.
Beyond the cash prize, the winner will produce a campaign or commissioned photographic project for Pull & Bear, see their work promoted across the brand’s platforms and flagship stores, and collaborate on a capsule T-shirt collection under the label’s “Pull&Bear × The Photographer Project.” A fanzine and a solo exhibition at Villa Noailles during the 2027 festival will follow.
The launch arrives as fashion photography competes for attention with short-form video on platforms like TikTok. Founded in 1986 as a platform for emerging designers, Festival de Hyères added its photography competition in 1997 and a separate accessories prize in 2016, becoming an important platform for discovering new generations of creators. The brand said in an interview that the new award was created “to discover and support a new generation of artists who transcend the traditional codes of fashion photography.”
Ten finalists from countries including China, Switzerland, Japan, Italy, and France—among them Xue Ling Chen, Zacharie Lewertoff, and Valeria Sarto—will compete for the inaugural Pull & Bear prize alongside the festival’s other photography honors. The jury is led by French photographer Camille Vivier, with members including Sylvie Lécallier, head of the photography collection at the Palais Galliera, and Noémie Ninot, winner of last year’s Grand Prix du Jury Photographie 7L.
Pull & Bear joins a roster of sponsors—including 7L and the French label American Vintage, which funds its own €15,000 ($17,115) photography award at the festival—as the Inditex-owned brand expands its presence in cultural patronage.
The move positions the retailer alongside institutions with longer histories in fashion photography, betting that a direct stake in one of the industry’s established talent pipelines will translate into visibility for both emerging photographers and the brand itself.
