La Pedrera becomes a set for 080 digital

Barcelona

La Pedrera is for the first time the setting for the 080 Barcelona Fashion Week. The total absence of tourists in Barcelona for a year has allowed us to use this modernist building, located in the heart of Paseo de Gràcia, to record the presentations of each designer's collections, since the Catalan catwalk will be, for the second time, in digital format and will take place from April 26 to 29.

From yesterday until Friday the fashion shows films are being recorded in five different locations in the building: the roof, with the iconic chimneys, the attic, the modernist floor, the Gaudí room, which was formerly the garage, and the entrance courtyard with stairs. Everything is very distributed among the 22 designers and brands that participate, although the most demanded have been the roof terrace and the entrance. Precisely, yesterday at noon some of the passers-by were surprised to see the models in the street and on the balconies dressed in the new Custo Barcelona collection.

Marta Coca, director of the catwalk, believes that the digital format attracts new brands and is a revulsion for other more traditional ones

Yesterday designers, models, cameras, lighting designers, photographers, assistants and organizational staff and security (always respecting the sanitary measures imposed), circulated inside the building. The Minister of Business and Knowledge, Ramon Tremosa, the general director of Commerce, Muntsa Vilalta, accompanied by Marta Coca, the director of the 080 Barcelona Fashion Week, also came to see how the first day of recording was taking place.

“La Pedrera has been a novelty, compared to the modernist venue of Sant Pau, where the 080 has been held in recent years,” announces Coca. The spaces are much smaller and more than fashion shows they are opting for more cinematographic optics and for a story behind the filming, beyond the model in the designer's clothes”.

The director of 080 is satisfied with the new path that the catwalk has started: “The digital bet has been a pole of attraction for brands that until now fled from the concept of the classic catwalk and from presenting two collections a year. They are brands without seasons, without gender and without sizes. who have seen that our platform responds to their way of understanding fashion. And also, his way of innovating has been a boost for other firms that functioned in a more traditional way”, explains Coca.

After the pandemic forced the 080 to be held in digital format last September, Coca is optimistic. "After the first edition we have learned that without a season, fashion is more sustainable and local." And he adds that the previous edition has been seen in 80 countries, live or recorded. “It is true that by not being physical, designers lack the final applause, which is the immediate recognition of their work, but in return they have more audiences”, he affirms.

“We have spoken with other Fashion Weeks to exchange and transfer content. My goal for the next two years is to reach a collaboration agreement with Fashion Weeks on each continent to give visibility to designers here by providing content, although it is a very embryonic project at the moment”.

Yesterday the final calendar of the 22 fashion shows was also made public for anyone who wants to see them live through the 080 website. Although the advantage of a digital catwalk is that you can see it whenever you want. The parades will be broadcast every afternoon at 6:00 p.m. (the first) and at 8:30 p.m. (the last). On Monday the 26th they will present their new collections: Juan Avellaneda, Menchén Tomàs, Eñaut, The Label Edition, Antonio Marcial and Álvaro Calafat. Tuesday 27: Txell Miras, Y-Como, Escorpion and Paloma Wool. Wednesday 28: Eiko Ai, Pablo Erroz, Lebor Gabala, LR3, Lola Casademunt by Maite and Custo Barcelona. And the last day, Thursday 29: Victor von Schwarz, Otrura, Is Coming and Onrush W23FH and Paraíso.