The Montreux Jazz Festival is celebrating its 60th edition with a haute couture creation. Kévin Germanier was the first fashion designer to create a poster for the festival. The Valais-born artist now lives in Paris and has established himself as one of the most promising talents on the international scene. After dressing Björk, Beyoncé and Lady Gaga, he most recently designed the costumes for the 2024 Olympic Games ceremonies in Paris and the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest in Basel.
A work of 60,000 beads and sequins
The radiant opulence of the work is revealed in the wealth of its details. Kévin Germanier has made upcycling his trademark: all the elements of the poster come from previous creations and have therefore been recycled. Over 60,000 sequins and beads made of glass, wood and plastic were carefully embroidered onto a velvet fabric. Wool and even parts of electric tubes can also be seen. The explosion of color appears all the more intense as it stands out against the absolutely black background.
Inspired by Jean Tinguely
Kévin Germanier listened to a lot of music for inspiration. He also studied the festival's historical posters, as his aim was to blend in with the heritage while leaving his own signature. From this, he developed preferences in terms of color design and made his first sketches with pencils. He was particularly inspired by Jean Tinguely's poster: The colors, the black background and the motif of the feather can all be found here.
Kévin Germanier says: "My favorite posters are the ones that depict the festival in a more abstract way. Music is not just a saxophone or a guitar - music is a feeling. I tried to reflect the explosion and emotion of the body and heart. I wanted something generous, dynamic and vibrant.
The physical model will be on display at the MUDAC in Lausanne from November 7, 2025 to March 22, 2026 as part of the exhibition " Les Monstrueuses. Carte blanche à Kévin Germanier ". It will then be exhibited in the Montreux Jazz Festival store from July 3 to 18.
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From February 2023, Oppenheim & Partner will take over the communication of the Montreux Jazz Festival for German-speaking Switzerland, which has been taking place since 1967. Since its inception, the festival has become a fixed date on the Swiss cultural agenda
With the Montreux Jazz Festival, the growing agency adds another event to its client portfolio with the "Swiss Top Event" seal of quality, which includes eight world-class events from the fields of culture and sports. Partners of the label are Switzerland Tourism, Swiss Deluxe Hotels as well as Swiss International Air Lines. Another Swiss Top Event is the prestigious White Turf, which has been counting on the agency's support since 2019.
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After two years of forced pandemic break, the representatives of the Swiss live entertainment industry finally met again in a large congress on March 29 and 30 in Andermatt. The 360° Entertainment Forum in Andermatt was able to boast a record number of 400 participants at its sixth edition. The comeback of the industry is also a departure.
"Will the new normal be the old normal?", with this steep question co-host Andreas Angehrn, CEO of Ticketcorner, and Hans-Willy Brockes, the managing director of ESB Marketing Netzwerk, started the event. Answers were provided directly by the speakers, first and foremost by Samih Sawiris. During his appearance, the tourism entrepreneur emphasized how important entertainment will become outside the usual locations. For example, in Andermatt, where high-profile concerts are to create added value outside of classic winter tourism. Mathieu Jaton, CEO of the Montreux Jazz Festival, even pointed out: "Content is no longer king. The new kings are the artists and their fans together. They should come together in a "creator" economy. Entertainment is increasingly becoming a 360° system of "audience - brand - content.
Corona has pushed trends
This change has already taken place during Corona. For example, various organizers have developed new formats in which visitors are given different roles, such as in the "Migros Hiking Sounds". Here, the music fans became actors who had to hike to their concerts. Or at the "Art on Ice Special - Dinner Show", where food was cooked for a smaller audience and the guests ended up being part of the event on the ice in the Hallenstadion. Or the "Summer Now" festival in Biel. "Three points were important to us: participation, regionality and feel-good oases," summed up Marcel Sallin, managing director of Summer Now. A small gathering on an industry where a whole region was involved. Starting with the musicians and ending with the catering.
Live is clearly more in demand
Innovative formats and the prospect of some normality again after two years. 2022 can become a pleasantly memorable year. All the signs point to it. Julia Asseburg of the Link Institute for Market and Social Research, predicts the entertainment industry will "win!" As a result of her survey, live entertainment will have a growth potential of 31 percent. Streaming, on the other hand, which is popular in the pandemic, is likely to drop significantly, by up to 10 percent.
The festival organizers are also aware of this. The first festivals like the Openair St. Gallen are already sold out. And it will be a re-launch with a new audience. "2022 will not be like 2019," says Christof Huber, Director Festivals at Gadget abc Entertainment Group. "There will be a lot of young people coming to experience their first festival, because two vintages had to push back their premiere during Corona." And those youngsters are also coming with sustainability in mind. Jacob Sylvester Bilabel, founder of the Green Music Initiative, pointed the way: don't get lost in lots of little sustainability programs, but do the things you do right.
André Béchir and his book
At 360° Entertainment, however, the name was also the program. So rapper Stress came to a very unusual appearance. Because of the timing - in the morning shortly before 10 o'clock. And industry legend André Béchir, Senior Advisor of Gadget abc Entertainment Group, let the audience dive deep into the inner workings of rock music. From the grand piano that a superstar sank in the pool of the Atlantis in Zurich, to the American rock star who was not comfortable in the cable car, to human moments of superstars. Speaking to presenter Sven Epiney, live entertainment pioneer Béchir suggested that his stories would one day be published in book form. At the end, he called on the industry to take the unity from the pandemic with them and to keep everyone's interests united in everyday life as well. And above all: "We have to win people's trust. It takes a lot of heart and soul - and not the slide rule." The industry has impressively demonstrated this heart and soul in Andermatt. It is looking forward to finally being "back to live" again.
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For the competition, the festival has teamed up with its partner Vaudoise Insurance, which supports contemporary art in Switzerland through its Art Commission. Several prizes will be awarded, and 30 artists will also have the opportunity to exhibit their works at the festival.
While the "Silent Shores" competition reflected a year of historic silence in Montreux, the new theme "Restart" aims to convey a message of hope. Participants are asked to present their dreams and visions of a world that is reawakening. The Montreux Jazz Festival and Vaudoise Insurance both have a long tradition in the visual arts. Since 1967, the festival has given a Swiss or international artist complete freedom to design the official poster.
Vaudoise created its Art Commission in 1955 at the suggestion of the company's management and the renowned architect Jean Tschumi, who had designed the Cèdres headquarters in Lausanne. With this competition, the Montreux Jazz Festival and Vaudoise Insurance want to support a profession that is particularly suffering from the crisis. Therefore, the competition is reserved for professional artists, apprentices as well as students in the field of visual arts.
Expert jury selects the 30 best entries
An internal jury of the Montreux Jazz Festival and Vaudoise Insurance will select the 30 best posters, which will then be exhibited during the 55th edition of the Festival. A jury of experts will then select the 10 best designs from this pre-selection of 30 posters. Illustrator Malika Favre, who designed the 2017 festival poster, will preside over this jury. She will be assisted by Stefano Stoll, director of Festival Images Vevey, and Alexis Georgacopoulos, director of ECAL/Canton Vaud School of Art. The posters of the 10 finalists will be printed in 50 x 70 cm format and sold throughout the festival network in a limited edition of 100 copies. The respective artists will receive 20 % of the proceeds of each poster sold. The 3 best designs will also win prizes ranging from CHF 1,000 to CHF 5,000.
In addition, a public competition will be announced in which the public can choose their favorite from the 10 posters selected by the expert jury on the Montreux Jazz Festival's social media channels. This audience award is endowed with CHF 3,000. Vaudoise will also award a prize to one of the ten selected posters.
The Montreux Jazz Festival will announce the format of its 55th edition on April 8 - and will also present its detailed vision for a "new start."
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