IFEMA concludes the 72nd edition of MBFWMadrid combining digitalisation of fashion and safety.

• The rigorous capacity regulations implemented by IFEMA alongside safety protocols have allowed us to face the challenge of hosting the fashion show live, with around 6,000 people attending over 4 days.

• This edition of the great Spanish Fashion Show represents a milestone for the future promotion of hybridisation of the content, accessible from the new platform

The 72nd edition of MBFWMadrid has finally finished, after welcoming around 6,000 visitors between opening day on the 10 September and Sunday 13 September. The greatest Spanish fashion show, organised by IFEMA, has hosted its most special edition with rigorous safety measures which allowed the organisation to host catwalks with an audience and to ensure the diffusion of the exclusive content to everyone via the new digital platform. This is a significant project for IFEMA, who wished to promote the hybridisation of their events.

Four days and twenty five live fashion shows and Fashion Film

Sixteen prestigious designers and nine young talents have been the protagonists of this edition’s calendar, which was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. They all presented their new collections in different formats. Andrés Sardá, Devota&Lomba, Hannibal Laguna, Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada, Marcos Luengo, Dolores Cortés, Dominnico, Ángel Schlesser, Pertegaz, Brain&Beast, Custo Barcelona, Isabel Sanchís – designer from Valencia participating in this event for the first time - and Maison Mesa -first time with a catwalk show in IFEMA exhibition hall No. 14.1 -  chose the live show on the catwalk to showcase their new season collections.  MALNE, Fernando Claro and Juan Carlos Pajares -who is also a new face in the IFEMA programme - chose to project Fashion films combined with liver performances.

Within the programme, which aimed to promote fashion design talent, Samsung EGO, names which open the doors to Spanish fashion such as Paula Alegría (winner of the Samsung EGO Innovation Project), Paloma Suárez and Fátima Miñana, Marta Casal and Rubearth, Robber Rodríguez and Deyi, Accidental Cutting- Eva Iszoro and Peter Sposito Studio  presented their work in this edition of MBFWMadrid on Sunday.

As well as the catwalk shows, over the fours days a selection of young designers put their collections up for sale in the Samsung EGO showroom. These were accessible for all visitors to both view and buy.

OFF-Programme

MBFWMadrid hosted an interesting off-programme from the 10 - 13 September, where prestigious designers from the studios of Moisés Nieto, García Madrid, Pilar Dalbat and Oteyza, among others, presented their collections in different formats outside IFEMA. Likewise, the Madrid es Moda initiative, organised by the Spanish Association of Fashion Creators (ACME), with support from Madrid Capital de Moda, will hold a set of activities in different spots around the city, where fashion will be the focus, alongside the MBFWMadrid fashion parades, as is customary.   

The L’Oréal Paris Prize for the Best Collection and Best Model

The brand Ángel Schlesser, for the first time under the creative management of Juan Carlos Mesa,  was chosen as winner of the prizes awarded by L’Oréal Paris for the Best Collection. A collection inspired by actress Katherine Hepburn as a bastion of the contemporary woman who is independent, sporty, full of personality and not afraid to take risks.  The collection aimed to represent the Schlesser woman, who always lives in the present with one foot in the future and without renouncing her past. The L’Oréal Paris Prize for the Best Model was awarded to Neus Bermejo.

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Talent Award Ceremony

The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Talent prize was awarded to young designer Rober Rodríguez, who presented his collection called ‘Despierta Despierta’, which evokes the idea of awakening the human being as an individual and promoting the concept of transformations which humans undergo throughout their lives.

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Talent has rewarded the talent and creativity of young designers for the last sixteen editions. On this occasion, the prize awarded to Rober Rodríguez is a monetary award of €3,000, instead of the habitual international fashion show exchange, due to the current COVID-19 travel restrictions.

A great step towards digitalisation of the event

With the launch of the new MBFWMadrid platform, a project in the plans made by IFEMA for the hybridisation of their events, the digitalisation of the fashion show has represented progress both in the scope of the content and the increased followers on MBFWMadrid social media. Digital experiences, exclusive content about fashion and lifestyle, online workshops in different areas, conferences with experts in the sector, beauty trends and other ways of having a connection with the catwalk and making MBFWMadrid accessible for everyone who is interested in fashion on the show’s  official website .

This way, the social media community remained loyal to Fashion Week, with a connection on Instagram TV reaching 15,520 users and 590% more Instagram accounts, compared with previous weeks. Similarly, the broadcasting of the fashion shows in HD on the Instagram TV channel, for the first time this edition, boosted interaction with the content by 2,000%.

For the first time, accreditations were digital  to  make MBFWMadrid more sustainable. This is an aspect that the organisation has worked on for several editions. 

The fashion show in figures

The celebration of the MBFWM Fashion Show in this exceptional situation caused by COVID19 was able to take place thanks to the device that IFEMA made available for their organisation, with 239 members of staff, allowing the event to take place successfully while guaranteeing safe attendance. The team put all of its professional ability and with a great deal of enthusiasm to allow the event to take place: from make up, hairdressing, models, ironers, dressers, to the IFEMA organisation team.

Great media coverage

The celebration of the Fashion Show in hybrid format has allowed media coverage to be greater than in previous editions, with almost 6,700 media impacts in just fours days of the event.

Unconditional support from the sponsors of Spanish Fashion.

In this new context, it is important to value the great commitment shown to MBFWMadrid by the 15  sponsors present in this year's event. Their presence symbolises more than ever their dedication and support for the fashion industry. Mercedes-Benz, L'Oréal Paris and Inditex continue on as main sponsors; Samsung, Amazon Fashion, Iberia, Royal Bliss, Smart Water, Mar de Frades and Multiópticas, as sponsors; and Appletiser, ESNE and Mascarillas Bejar, as collaborators, with Rowenta as the official ironing brand.

L’Oréal Paris, demonstrating their support for national fashion once more, assumed  50% of the designers’ participation fees for the 72nd edition of MBFWMadrid, making it easier for them to participate in the show.

The new collaboration between MBFWMadrid and Amazon Fashion marks a new market horizon for national designers, because it allows brands participating in the campaign to sell their collections on the national and international markets.

Rigorous safety measures

IFEMA’S challenge to hold MBFWMadrid live meant that MBFWMadrid had to reduce its capacity to 24%. Only 192 people could attend each show (usually 800) in order to ensure social distancing between the visitors.

All fashion shows also took place under strict protocols and safety measures implemented by IFEMA to guarantee a ‘safe space’. Nebuliser arches, temperature checks, sanitiser gel, handing out homologated masks from Mascarillas Béjar, continuous disinfection of the exhibition halls between shows, as well as the toilets, changing rooms, press room, Kissing Room (which became an open space this year with its own safety protocols) and other spaces in the venue.

The implemented hygiene measures include the quality of indoor air. Regarding air quality, IFEMA has implemented different actions and protocols that guarantee a hygienic and safe environment, eliminating air re-circulation, offering a high level of ventilation throughout the hall, as well as the installation of air filtration systems, following the recommendations of the World Health Organization and a study by the Spanish Technical Association for Air Conditioning and Cooling.

IFEMA, a safe space

IFEMA’S determination to recover activity and to support industries and the economy in Madrid by implementing all the measures necessary to allow events to take place in safe spaces has been commended by organisations such as the Community of Madrid, who awarded IFEMA the stamp Garantía Madrid seal of approval, which recognises IFEMA’S hard work adopting obligatory measures to comply with the new normal imposed by COVID-19, and the development of extraordinary protocols. In addition, IFEMA has obtained the 'Safe Travels' seal of approval from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) for the Convention, Meeting and Event Centres industry, as a result of the protocols and actions implemented for the return to activity after the Covid-19 health crisis, with a safe, healthy and responsible reopening.