Emerging fashion takes the 080 runway

Paris, New York, or Milan are undoubtedly the cities that come to mind when thinking of fashion weeks. However, for almost two decades, 080 Barcelona Fashion has been placing the Catalan capital not only on the radar of the latest fashion trends but also as a city with a large number of emerging and disruptive brands that export their talent to the rest of the world.

Since 2007, this platform, promoted by the Consorci de Comerç, Artesania i Moda (CCAM) of the Department of Business and Labor of the Generalitat, annually organizes two fashion weeks, one in spring and one in autumn, to showcase the main novelties of Catalan fashion. From April 1 to 4, the modernist complex of Sant Pau will host the 35th edition of this runway with 24 brands parading, including nine debutants, a figure that makes it the edition with the most brands debuting for the first time on the runway.

"We do not intend to play in the league of the big four, that is, Paris, New York, London, or Milan, but it is true that before we were the little sister of the Copenhagen or Seoul runways and now we are increasingly receiving the same attention as these other fashion weeks," assures Marta Coca, project manager of 080. The key to the success of Catalan fashion week is not to try to attract large international brands, but to promote local and emerging talent, allowing incipient brands to parade alongside other consolidated firms such as Lola Casademunt by Maite or Custo Barcelona.

"Succeeding in the fashion world seems to no longer depend on your talent, but on your economic capacity. It is fortunate to have a platform like 080 Barcelona Fashion in Catalonia, which provides you with models, makeup, infrastructure... When parading in Paris implies investing at least 10,000 euros," defends Gabriel Nogueiras, creator of Rubearth, who debuts this year on the runway.

Nogueiras has been twice awarded the Mercedes Benz Talent, which recognizes emerging designers, and will present the collection The Green Flash during 080. In this new collection, Nogueiras explores the concept of the green flash that is created when the sun sets, a light that in antiquity was related to the sphere of fantasy and the supernatural, to delve into the border between reality and dreams.

The success of the runway is also measured by the number of requests to parade and to attend as public that each year must be rejected due to lack of space. With a budget of two million euros for each of its editions, the 080 calls for applications so that brands that wish to can register to parade. In each edition, they receive twice as many applications as the shows they can host.

Marc Moon, designer behind Maison Moonsieur, has submitted an application to parade at 080 on three occasions, until this year he was one of the selected brands. "Maison Moonsieur is a brand made in Barcelona, and I was clear that I wanted to debut at home, in my city, and it couldn't be on any other runway than 080". Moon presents the collection La rue des garçonnes, a tribute to the androgynous woman of the 20s in Paris, one who dared to challenge the canons of femininity and express herself through fashion.

"I always try to have a discourse behind each piece, and in this case it is a story of women's empowerment, but without forgetting the aesthetic part, so that those who wear my clothes feel beautiful and sexy," says Moon. The discourse behind the garment, in fact, is one of the criteria taken into account when choosing the selected proposals to parade. In addition, from 080 they also seek to disseminate values such as sustainability or diversity ---of sizes, gender identities or origins---. "Although the runway is a moment to discover the latest trends, the concept and message behind each garment is indispensable," acknowledges Coca.

In addition to the brands that apply to the call, the platform also recognizes that they have a permanently activated radar on trends and novelties, and invite some brands, which they believe can fit with the spirit of the runway, to participate. "Another of the attributes of 080 is that it not only hosts emerging and disruptive fashion, but also has the ability to combine debut brands such as AAA Studio, Maria Escoté or MaisonMoonsieur with renowned firms such as Simorra or Dominico, without it being a strange combination and all audiences can feel represented," says the project manager of the runway.

"It's a stroke of luck to be able to parade at the same level as brands with great national and international prestige," acknowledges Arnau Climent, creator of AAA Studio, who will step onto the 080 runway for the first time this year. Climent will reflect in his proposal BURdeNOUT the feeling shared by Generation Z when facing adult life, the feeling of exhaustion and of feeling lost in the face of an overwhelming new reality.

Eñaut Barruetabeña has paraded several times at 080 since his debut in 2019, after receiving the emerging design award from 080 Barcelona Fashion. Since then, he has maintained a close relationship with this fashion show, and in the April 2024 edition, he presented his tenth collection. "After this one, I needed to take a break, a few months to reflect on where fashion is going and where I want to go as a brand. Coming back after a year-long hiatus and doing it at 080 is very important to me," Eñaut acknowledges. "Debuting at 080, which was my reference runway when I was a student, gave me the impulse I needed to create my brand, and coming back now marks a turning point."

In addition to the high number of brand applications they receive annually to parade, they also sell out tickets for the public. In its previous edition, in autumn 2024, 080 Barcelona received about 17,000 people, one and a half thousand more than in the previous one, and more than a hundred communication profiles and international influencers. About 500 people attend each show, but they are also broadcast on screens in the Open Area of Sant Pau, the space open to the public in the modernist complex. The tickets are also limited by the space that currently hosts the runway, as the modernist complex of Sant Pau has become smaller and no longer allows them to grow.

The Catalan fashion week not only stands out in the European or United States market, but also looks to the Asian market for growth

"The 080 has increasing international relevance, not only due to a greater number of applications, but also due to the increasingly qualified profile of the people who attend the catwalk," admits Coca. The Catalan fashion week not only stands out in the European market or the United States, but also looks to the Asian market to grow. And the catwalk is a meeting point for different agents from the sector from distant countries. "Just as my clothes have no gender or size barriers, I would also like there to be no physical borders and to use the 080 as a turning point to establish contacts and open my website to everyone, since now I only do national shipments," acknowledges Climent, creator of AAA Studio.

A 35th edition of the 080 that comes at a good time for the Catalan textile sector, despite tariffs and the international trade war, which is made up of 3,500 companies and employs more than 80,000 people. "In addition, in the fashion sector there are also good conditions for entrepreneurship. Thanks to social networks and digitalization, a business can be started without having to have a large infrastructure behind it," says Coca.

This was the case of Climent, who, after completing a fashion master's degree at LCI, created his first collection for Carlos Marant's showroom (a professor during his studies), but it was mainly thanks to social networks that he began to succeed. Thus, most of these designers begin their careers with on-demand production, websites and social networks, without the need to open a physical store, which requires a higher investment.

There are also multi-brand stores, where clothes from different designers are exhibited. Gabriel Nogueiras, from Rubearth, has clothes in stores of that style in Paris and Japan, in addition to exhibiting his clothes in the new pop up in the Lync & Co space on Passeig de Gràcia, which will remain open until June 30, from the Barcelona Fashion Forward program, promoted by the Barcelona City Council through the Disseny Hub.

"After the pandemic, which was also very hard for the fashion sector, people want to innovate, take risks, and express themselves through fashion," says Marc Moon, creator of Maison Moonsieur. "Young and emerging designers are changing the fashion paradigm; we want to stand out and break with the established, but more platforms like 080 would be needed, which also functioned throughout the year, so that we could truly generate an impact on the fashion industry," Moon laments.

In this regard, the 080 organization is already working on new formats that will allow the platform to continue not only during the two annual editions of the runway, but also throughout the year. As a novelty during this edition, 080 Barcelona Fashion Content will be created, a digital showroom that will remain open throughout May to establish bridges between local brands and international buying companies.