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11 January 2019

The creative diversity of Spanish design brought together at the 69th Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid

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The latest edition of Spain's number one fashion event takes place from 24 to 29 January at IFEMA and other venues across Madrid and reopens the international fashion show calendar

This year’s programme will bring together the fashion shows and presentations of 42 of Spain's leading designers and top brands

The inclusion of renowned names from the Spanish fashion industry, such as Roberto Diz, Brain & Beast and Maison Mesa, as well as young designers Beatriz Peñalver, Carlota Barrera and Pilar del Campo, are noteworthy

The young talents of Samsung Ego will be raising the curtain at this year’s event on 24 January in Hall 14.1 of the IFEMA-Madrid Trade Fair Centre 

This edition premieres an architectural design plan. A new spatial concept, developed specifically for Hall 14.1, will bring a more modern and contemporary perspective to the area housing the two catwalks, backstage and Cyberspace  

Creativity, sophistication, avant-garde and fresh creative energy are the keys that best define current Spanish fashion, these being epitomised at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid.  From 24 to 29 January, the number one Spanish fashion design event, organised by IFEMA, celebrates its 69th edition, which this year takes us on a complete tour of Made in Spain, its different aesthetic codes and its creative diversity. 

A diversity that will be highlighted during the six days of fashion shows and presentations of this year's MBFWMadrid, where 42 outstanding designers and brands will be showing their collections. Just as in recent years, the event will take place at the IFEMA Madrid Trade Fair Centre and other venues around the city. 

The fashion shows of the young designers Samsung Ego will be raising the curtain at this year’s event on 24 January in Hall 14.1 of the IFEMA-Madrid Trade Fair Centre. On the same day Desigual will also be holding its show at the IFEMA premises while designers Moisés Nieto and Ernesto Naranjo are giving their presentations in other parts of the city.

From 25 to 28 January fashion shows will take place at IFEMA, with shows being held almost every day in other locations by direct invitation from the designers and brands, as was the case in previous years. Ana Locking will have the honour of opening this year’s programme of renowned designers on the 25th at 12.00 in Hall 14.1 of the IFEMA Trade Fair Centre.  

On the 29th the collections of designers Pilar Dalbat, Carlota Barrera, Pilar del Campo and Maison Mesa will be presented in different parts of Madrid by direct invitation from their designers.

Notable additions

Among the novelties of this year’s event, special mention must be made of the inclusion of recognised names from the Spanish fashion industry, such as Roberto Diz, Brain & Beast and veteran designer Juan Carlos Mesa together with his company Maison Mesa, as well as young designers Beatriz Peñalver, Carlota Barrera and Pilar del Campo.

Roberto Diz returns to the MBFWMadrid catwalk, on which he featured for the first time in 2004. Galician of origin but based in Seville, Diz gives each of his creations a modern and sophisticated air, an element of a personal and unique style, in which a certain air of rebellion always remains.  

On the other hand, the collections of Brain and Beast, a company founded in Barcelona in 2010, are based on games, riddles and hieroglyphics of apparent structural simplicity that respond to complex geometric equations. Their clothes combine emotion and reason, are strongly influenced by contemporary culture, and include large doses of sophistication combined with a sense of humour.

Juan Carlos Mesa’s seniority and experience in the world of fashion is evident in his creations and in his extensive curriculum, which includes his years working together with the great names of Spanish fashion such as Jesús del Pozo and Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, where he was creative director for fourteen years. He defines his own company, Maison Mesa, as classic-avant-garde. 

One of the newcomers to Madrid’s top catwalks, Beatriz Peñalver, describes her collections as contemporary, sophisticated and daring, with this applying to both her casual line and her nightwear and party range. Pilar del Campo is also inspired by contemporary and innovative women who look to the future, while Carlota Barrera stands out for her unique concept of masculine elegance.

Fashion company Desigual will once again be putting on an original and ingenious show to illustrate the inspiration behind its new Spring/Summer 2019 collection entitled "Colour Me". This is a series of talks featuring leading figures in Spanish fashion, art and pop culture held inside a Mercedes-Benz car on the daily journey to the main catwalk venue at the IFEMA Trade Fair Centre. The different discussions can be followed as they happen via the company's social networks and those of the catwalk, as well as on the platforms of those taking part, on the screens installed in the Cyberspace and through different communication media throughout this latest edition of MBFWMadrid.

Special Scenarios

The schedule of this year's MBFWMadrid also provides interesting novelties as far as the choice of special scenarios is concerned. This is the case for Oteyza, whose performance will take place in the Teatro Español (Spanish National Theatre); Moisés Nieto’s show is set for the modernist building and headquarters of the IED in Calle Larra; Pilar Dalbat has been allocated the Patio de Cristal (Glass Patio) of the Plaza de la Villa, while Pilar del Campo will be strutting her stuff in the Núñez de Balboa car park, to name but a few.

Then there are the fashion shows of Ailanto and Pedro del Hierro at the Palacio de Cibeles, headquarters of the Madrid City Council on Saturday, 26 January at 7:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. , respectively, and of Angel Schlesser at the parliament of the Community of Madrid on Sunday at 9:00 p.m.

By holding all these creative shows based on the latest trends in various parts of Madrid, MBFWMadrid is contributing towards spreading Fashion in all its different forms throughout the city, as so often happens in other major capitals during their fashion weeks.  In order to carry out these activities, the support given by institutions such as the Community of Madrid and the City Council, through different initiatives, as well as ACME, through its Madrid es Moda programme, is fundamental. 

The Community of Madrid will be once again contributing towards the dissemination of fashion design and the creative process involved during this year's MBFWMadrid by supporting, on this occasion, Angel Schlesser’s fashion show, in which he will be exhibiting his creations in the Real Casa de Correos in Puerta del Sol, the headquarters of the Community of Madrid, on the afternoon of Sunday 27 January. Featured alongside this fashion show will be a continuation of the exhibition entitled "Modus. In the Spanish Way, which takes the visitor on a journey through the history of Spanish fashion from the nineteenth century to the present day via a series of garments that ooze Spanishness. Among the items on show are examples of Haute Couture -Mariano Fortuny and Balenciaga-; the creations of great Spanish talents - such as Ana Locking, Palomo Spain and Leandro Cano, among others-, and of prestigious international designers such as John Galliano, Givenchy and Dries Van Noten. Every inch an exhibition of creative talent and mastery of the trade by the crème de la crème of Spanish fashion together with the great designers of our time

What's more, as part of its Madrid, Capital of Fashion programme, Madrid City Council is directly promoting and supporting a series of fashion-related activities at different venues in Madrid. A giant screen will be installed by the Council in Plaza Margaret Thatcher, on the corner with Paseo de la Castellana, where you will be able to watch the 69th edition of MBFWMadrid, which will take place at the Madrid Trade Fair Centre, as well as receive information on other fashion projects.

Similarly, the Madrid es Moda (Madrid is Fashion) (MeM) urban fashion festival, organised by the Spanish Fashion Designers’ Association (ACME), with the collaboration of the City Council of Madrid via Madrid Capital de Moda (Madrid Fashion Capital), presents its eighth edition, which will take place from 18 to 31 January 2019.  MeM aims to 'dress' the capital during Fashion Week using exhibitions, special shop windows, museum tours, meetings, shopping, etc., all of which will be based on Spanish design and creation.

MBFWMadrid sponsors the exhibition The Feminine Seams of Spanish Fashion

In addition, together with the presentation of collections at IFEMA and other venues in Madrid, MBFWMadrid includes other activities in its program that will contribute towards

enriching the Fashion concept from different perspectives. Among them is the magnificent photographic exhibition entitled “Las costuras femeninas de la moda de España (1930-2018)”, sponsored by MBFWMadrid, that delves into the historical archives of the EFE News Agency.

It will run from 22 January to 31 March at the National Museum of Decorative Arts in Madrid and bring together around fifty press photographs featuring items of clothing by Spanish designers of all eras as well as accessories such as jewellery, hats and shoes. We shall see outfits by Balenciaga or Pertegaz on loan from the collection of the Fashion and Costume Museum of Madrid sharing the same space with photographs illustrating those years of "pre-democracy" in Spanish fashion when the designs were only presented and shown in exclusive private parlours. 

Samsung EGO, with the new generation of designers 

Samsung EGO will open this year's edition of shows in Hall 14.1 of IFEMA-Feria de Madrid, with the amazing offers of ideas from nine 9 young designers. The company that won the eleventh edition of the Samsung EGO Innovation Project contest will be in charge of starting the fashion show programme on 24 January with its project that merges fashion and technology in some of its creative phases.  The fashion show put on by Zuzana Kubickova, the international designer hailing from Mercedes-Benz Prague Fashion

Week will close this year’s Samsung EGO schedule as part of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Talent prize. Her collection presents designs that are not only beautiful and stimulating, but also full of curiosity featuring glass elements inserted into a palette of subtle colours. 

Of the seven designers with a show at this year’s Samsung EGO, three are presenting collections for the first time -404 Studio, Melania Freire and Reveligion - and four are returning - Anel Yaos, Cherry Massia, MikelColas and Madridmanso-. In addition, 15 young designers will be presenting their collections in the Samsung EGO Showroom, located in MBFWMadrid's Cyberspace, with direct sales to the visiting public.   

Meet&Talk, the influencers' forum

The MBFWMadrid fashion show and the popular fashion app 21 Buttons will be presenting the latter's Meet&Talk influencers' forum on Saturday 26 January at 6.30 pm, which will bring together some of the main figures in the fashion oriented social networks. During this event they will talk about fashion, style, their references and how they use this application. They will also create, in real time, a series of different looks based on a selection of garments presented by the participating companies in this edition of MBFWMadrid. 

Hall 14.1 new architectural project 

Another novelty of this edition of MBFWMadrid is the new architectural project in Hall 14.1. Coinciding with the 69th edition of the fashion show, hall 14.1 is opening a modern and attractive spatial project that will bring a renewed atmosphere and warmth to the venue as well as a new configuration of spaces. The two catwalks are maintained, although one of them will provide greater functionality by offering a multi-purpose approach that includes different stage design. The Cyberspace, the area of stands that surrounds the two catwalks, also offers a new configuration, which includes a new location for the Kissing Room, as well as for press facilities and rooms for international buyers. Also, the backstage area will be larger and more attractive.

In addition, this year hall 14.1’s reception area and bar will also offer a refurbished image thanks to the decoration project developed and implemented by the magazine Interiors. 

In 2019, the fashion show will once again be held in January and July

For 2019, MBFWMadrid will be held in same months – January and July – which it introduced in 2018, bringing forward its usual dates in line with its internationalisation strategy so as to avoid any coincidences with other international fashion events and ensuring that more buyers and foreign press attend.   

In this regard, in the region of twenty buyers and around fifteen international journalists from different countries have confirmed their attendance at the January 2019 edition.  The international buyers which have confirmed come from Qatar, the United Kingdom, China, Saudi Arabia, Italy, France, Hong Kong and Singapore. And invited journalists are from the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy, Colombia, Mexico, France, Russia and Turkey.  

As in the previous edition, MBFWMadrid includes a room for Buyers, in the Cyberspace, with the aim of facilitating the participating designers to establish commercial relationships with national and international buyers.   In this room the collections of the designers will be displayed so that they can be viewed by the professionals and it will also serve as a meeting point and resting place for the buyers invited by the organisation.

MBFWMadrid and its commitment to sustainability

MBFWMadrid remains committed to sustainability. This year's backpack is made with fabric manufactured from recycled PET plastic bottles. It takes 35 PET plastic bottles to make 1 kg of fabric. Thanks to recycling, the extraction of non-renewable virgin materials is avoided, energy consumption is reduced by between 80 and 90 por ciento and there is less pollution.

Awards for the best Spanish Fashion 

As usual, MBFWMadrid January 2019 will again form the backdrop chosen by major brands such as Mercedes-Benz, L'Oréal Paris and Samsung against which to reward the new and great talents ​​of Spanish fashion. Sponsored by L’Oréal Paris, there will be awards for the best established designer, the best model, as well as the Best Beauty Look. Mercedes-Benz will choose the most prominent emerging designer with the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Talent award, and Samsung will present the winning project of the eleventh edition of the Samsung EGO Innovation Project on the catwalk during the opening of the Samsung EGO young designers event.

"Masters of Sewing" is looking for participants in MBFWMadrid

During MBFWMadrid January 2019, the casting team of "Maestros de la Costura" ("Masters of Sewing"), Televisión Española's tailoring and fashion talent show, will be on the look out for possible contestants for its new season.

Sponsorship

Once again, the forthcoming edition of MBFWMadrid will receive significant support from the sponsoring brands.  In total 21 outstanding companies, leaders in their respective sectors, have confirmed their support of this year’s event. Mercedes-Benz, L'Oréal Paris and Inditex are its main sponsors; Samsung, Dyson, Iberia, Royal Bliss, Cîroc,  Font Vella and GHMumm , sponsors, and Only YOU Hotels, Santander Bank, Silestone by Cosentino, Kaiku Caffe Latte, ESNE, Spanish Fur Association, 21 Buttons and GPS Radar, are partners. Also present will be Anaconda, IED Madrid, Xyon Revolution – who will supply the shoes for the team of catwalk stewards and hostesses – and the University Rey Juan Carlos will also be present.  Fashion TV will once again be the international television channel covering the event.