Custo Dalmau: "The risk is that, trying to be the same, you end up being repetitive"

"I don't think I'll see any parade. I don't even see my own. My place is in the kitchen!". Custo Dalmau responds this way when we ask him, in the backstage of the 080 Barcelona Fashion, if he will have time to see any of the other parades. There are just a few minutes left before he presents Unexpected, his new collection for next spring-summer, and the Catalan designer is making sure everything goes as planned.

With 45 years of experience, Custo Dalmau remains immersed in a creative career that, he assures, has never stopped. With Unexpected, Custo Barcelona once again explores its particular combination of colors, materials, and experimental volumes, with the aim of renewing its identity without renouncing it. But, beyond the collection, Dalmau accompanies us during Fashion Week to reflect –standing, among his designs, inside the Custo Barcelona box– on the challenges of an industry transformed by the pandemic, the generational handover of the brand, and Barcelona's position on the international fashion map.

– What does Unexpected talk about? What do you want to express with this proposal?

– Unexpected means unforeseen. We try for the collection to be unexpected compared to everything we have presented so far. At first glance, it may seem like just another collection because we play with our genetics: the fusion of colors, materials, and experimental volumes. But the colors, materials, and volumes are different. That's what makes it unexpected compared to what we've done before.

– After 45 years, how do you maintain the balance between preserving the essence and breaking with the past?

– Our job is to change everything to continue being ourselves in a very new and attractive way.

– What method or technique do you use to achieve this?

– There is no secret as such other than working. And being consistent with your image and with what you want your genetics to be. You have to understand what field corresponds to this identity. A field that is unlimited, but if you leave it, you stop being you. You can be creative, attractive, and fresh, but you will no longer be you.

– What creative risk do you take with this philosophy?

– The risk is that, trying to be the same, you end up being repetitive. We try to continue being ourselves in a totally innovative way.

"(If you leave the field that corresponds to your identity) you can be creative, attractive and fresh, but you will no longer be yourself"

– Is there anything from the Custo of the nineties that you wouldn't repeat today?

– There are many things I wouldn't repeat. This is a job where you learn from mistakes, although also from successes. You try not to make the same mistakes again.

– Beyond the creative challenge, what is Custo Barcelona's main business challenge today?

– To continue for as many years as we can. We've been doing it for 45 years now.

– After the post-pandemic fall, where do you stand now?

– Covid meant a spectacular slowdown. And then, the fashion market and industry changed completely. Not only did the industry change, but also the consumer and the way you approach them. Now we are focusing on this new stage, which is not so much a post-covid stage as the generational handover of our project after 45 years.

– Let's talk about Barcelona: International fashion brand or city that needs to regain its international ambition?

– I believe Barcelona is still here, although it was a little higher than it is now. Something has happened to it, it has had a small stumble, but it continues to be an important reference.

– Can Barcelona dialogue with cities like Paris or Milan?

– It can dialogue, but from different levels. Paris and Milan are big words, because they have a great tradition and a very powerful industry. Barcelona could actually compete, but playing a different game, not exactly the same one.

– What should Barcelona do to find this unique space?

– If you want to compete with Paris and Milan, you have to do it with a different strategy than theirs. If you try to replicate what they do, it's a pretty lost game. But you can perfectly compete by playing the same game in a different way.

– Is 080 Barcelona Fashion a good showcase to achieve this?

– Paris has been working for many decades, and working very well. Milan, the same. This is not the case for 080. 080 is a very good showcase, but it needs to grow, feed itself and exercise to be strong.

– What do you mean by exercising?

– It needs to be reinforced. It's not enough to be there and remain: you have to be there in a strong way, with intensity. For that you need to be in shape, make changes and understand what things you should do and what you are failing to do that could help you. It's a long process.

– What will satisfy you when the Unexpected show ends?

– If everything goes as we had planned. We have a plan that needs to be executed on the runway. If it goes as written, we are very satisfied.

– And what comes next? What's next for Custo Barcelona?

– As for collections, we have presented in Milan, New York, Barcelona, and Madrid. And we still have a couple of runways left: in the United States and Latin America. But this is an endless race.

– Right, because while you're presenting one collection...

– ... we are already preparing the next one.

– And may the next one be very Unexpected! Good luck, Custo.