Hugo Sauzay

Hugo Sauzay is a French model and interior designer whose fashion career developed alongside the practice he co-founded, Festen. His advertising work includes De Fursac and Tod’s, while his design projects have made him an author of the environments that fashion so often borrows as its backdrop.

Hugo modeled during his studies at Paris’s École Camondo, where he met fellow designer Charlotte de Tonnac. They began collaborating on a residential commission before graduation and established Festen in 2011. Fashion provided an education of its own. Reflecting on their modeling experience in a 2021 interview with AD Germany, Hugo explained, translated from German, “You learn to pay attention to details.”

His modeling portfolio developed through luxury advertising and menswear editorials, including work for Vogue Hommes Paris and Numéro Homme. A recurring association with tailoring included De Fursac’s fall-winter 2017 campaign and successive seasons for KİP. These bookings established a recognizable professional image alongside the separate demands of building a design studio.

The two careers sometimes met explicitly. H&M Edition’s spring 2018 feature introduced Hugo through his work as an architect, making his working life part of the fashion story. Later assignments, including Mango’s fall 2022 Performance collection, continued his menswear work as Festen’s international practice expanded.

With Charlotte, Hugo developed interiors for private homes and hotels, including Le Pigalle in Paris. Their approach to existing buildings and natural materials brought the studio recognition across the design press, culminating in the shared 2026 EDIDA Interior Designer of the Year award. Modeling and interior design became parallel professions, with Hugo participating in the creation of images as well as the spaces people inhabit.