The background sea leaves very limited visibility for divers searching for marine treasures, such as rare or hard-to-see species. So the less, the better. The organizers of 080 Barcelona Fashion reached a similar conclusion who, despite having announced a runway with the great blue glimpsed through a glass window, ended up opting for a classic black box where the clothing took center stage. It was not a runway with a background sea, but it was a bright fashion week that brought together 26 brands and designers from April 14 to 17 at the port of Barcelona.
After years being held at the Modernist Site of Sant Pau, a beautiful setting that had set the bar very high, 080 has reinvented itself in a completely new place, Port Vell, and more specifically, on the Rambla del Rompeolas, a space still to be discovered after its renovation by many Barcelonians. Getting there is not quick, but once the hustle of the journey is overcome, seeing the horizon makes up for it.
The open sea was one of the main attractions of this edition, acknowledges Moisès Rodríguez, director of the Consortium of Commerce, Crafts, and Fashion, but the reality is that the shows required a more conventional runway, where the clothes could really shine, and it was incompatible with the glass walls of the structure set up for the occasion. So the long corridor where the models walked was closed off from the outside light with large black curtains, allowing each designer to choose the temperature of their show. “It was decided to bet on fashion,” said Moisès Rodríguez, who celebrated the success of an edition, attended by 15,000 people, which was “a great challenge” due to the change of location.
The other activities of the event did have the maritime setting: the area open to the public, which was very crowded; the Mirador Building, intended for the photocall and meetings between designers and the public; or the parallel workshops and talks, which provided a good atmosphere throughout the fashion week. An edition that stood out for a greater presence of designer fashion. Local designers like Bolaño, AAA Studio, Txell Miras, Boluard, Victor Von Schwarz, Benavente, Doblas, or Eñaut shared space with others from outside such as the Portugal-based designer David Catalán, who closed the event on Friday night; the Mexican Ricardo Seco, who stood out in defense of migrants, especially in the United States; or Nazzal Studio, the work of a Palestinian-origin designer residing in the West Bank.
The textile industry generates 17.5 billion euros in Catalonia, with 953 companies employing 74,000 workers, emphasized Moisès Rodríguez to give it all the support it deserves. In fact, this edition has counted for the first time with the participation of the Barcelona City Council, which will dedicate 1 million euros annually to the runway, in addition to providing the space, which will remain at the port for an indefinite time. The Generalitat’s investment, which considers 080 a strategic sector promotion platform, is 2.8 million euros per edition. This time, support was also received from the Barcelona Provincial Council.
Some of the most notable moments were experienced on the opening day, when the Generalitat paid tribute to Adolfo Domínguez for the 50th anniversary of his brand, which returned to walk in Barcelona after many years. Adriana Domínguez, the current president of the firm, highlighted that her father has always been a great creative but, at the same time, an organized professional with business vision. The return of Bolaño, a designer who had not walked for almost eight years, was also emotional. “If you don’t walk, it seems like you’re not working,” said this creative who works in black even though he doesn’t like it, at the photocall wearing a total light pink look. “I do it to set challenges for myself,” he said.
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Behind the scenes, the young Arnau Climent was happy to present the Señora, suélteme el brazo collection, a generational shout against social judgments, which filled the runway with daring and colorful tracksuit looks that do not understand genders. Carmen Lomana and Metrika formed the strange pair that walked on the tenth anniversary of Dominnico, and Txell Miras showed sensitivity for the earth with a staging with a plant carpet alongside landscaper Pep Espelt. Romanticism, with bows, transparencies, and sensuality, shone in Benavente, Bibencia, Boulard, Doblas, Reparto, or Guillermo Justicia, signaling that the days of beige are numbered.
United European designer fashion
Before the inauguration of 080, the International European Designer Fashion Days were held for the first time in Barcelona, taking place on Monday and Tuesday under the organization of the Spanish Fashion Academy Foundation (FAME) and the Spanish Fashion Creators Association (ACME). Besides working sessions that included representatives of fashion from different countries, the two star guests were philosopher and sociologist Gilles Lipovetsky and writer and journalist Dana Thomas, interviewed by Leticia García, fashion editor-in-chief of SModa.
Their contributions did not dispel the certainty that these are complicated times for designer fashion. Dana Thomas, author of books like Fashionopolis, lamented that real estate pressure in major capitals has driven out creators, who can no longer live in them and soak up creative environments like those experienced by John Galliano or Alexander McQueen in London at the end of the 20th century. She also lamented the closure of many multi-brand stores compared to large corporations, noting that it is a “very difficult time for independent designers,” orphaned from places like the legendary Vivienne Westwood store, the cradle of punk aesthetics.
At the same time, Dana Thomas criticized that the industry has accelerated novelties so much that trends have disappeared in favor of “microtrends” that last nothing and turn the streets into a showcase where “everything and everything at once is worn” because there are no ideas, only rehashes of old fashion magazines. The specialist attributed this to a lack of direction, causing saturation in which the consumer gets lost and ends up dressing with a black jacket. Of the big names in fashion, she only saved Hodakova and Iris van Herpen from this tiresome inertia.
The day before, the Days were inaugurated by philosopher and sociologist Gilles Lipovetsky, who stated that fashion is no longer frivolous, at least because it represents “a big problem for the planet” due to its constant call for change, which leaves landfills full of textiles difficult to recycle. He did not hesitate to assert that “there may be some incompatibility between fashion and sustainability,” but he also called for action to reduce its impact by applying sustainability strategies and promoting second-hand clothing, a mission that requires the involvement of public authorities, he said. In summary, bad times for fashion, which without authorship seems to lose all its meaning.
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