Maria Roch: "I live from what I like. Discipline brings success"

--- Why did you want to be a designer? Where does it come from?

--- From a very young age, I was already struggling with "how to dress myself." My big phrase was "this is not fashion." But, throughout life, you grow up, you meet people, and you forget a little bit of that background you carry, what comes out when you are a child, with total innocence.

--- Did you immediately know it was what you wanted?

--- I was very clear that I wanted to do fashion design, but I'm a bit from the era when everyone was doing Business Administration. So, I used to say: maybe I should do this too… I opted for international trade, but, suddenly, I told my parents: I want to do fashion design. And so I did.

--- One of the internships you did was at Antonio Miró. How did this mark your career?

--- I learned a lot from him and he was the one who motivated me to say: "forget about multinationals and these giant companies, go for your own thing." And when I turned 23, a friend of my mother who owned a store decided to travel the world and told me that he believed my time had come. That's when I opened the first store in Barcelona, ​​in El Born, with clothes from different designers.

--- And that's when you saw that you should have your own brand?

--- Suddenly, I said: what am I doing? And, yes, I started with my brand. After working a lot, I realized that the product that really worked was mine, the one designed by me, Maria Roch. And I bet on this. Now, I have just closed the Gràcia store and will have two stores on Laforja street in Barcelona: one for party wear and another for bridal wear.

--- Your brand has paraded at Bread and Butter, at 080, and at Cibeles Ego. In addition, a few years ago you won the award for the best collection concept and the best collection at ModaFad. What is the Maria Roch style like? What inspires you?

--- It is a timeless, versatile, colorful, easy-to-wear, fluid, occasional wear brand... I have a very wide age target. I dress from a child to an elderly lady.

--- One of the characteristic features of many Maria Roch dresses is that they enhance all body types, of all ages. Does the brand move away from the concept of fashion that enslaves women?

--- I have the store at street level and that conditions the way I design. What we must work on is creating personality in each individual.

--- Precisely, social media is greatly conditioning fashion. What volume of business do social media represent for Maria Roch?

--- I have many sales through Instagram. Especially if I present the product. We are in a very technological era, evidently, but in the end, we must humanize ourselves a bit. I think that's what people find with me. Many clients tell me: "Am I speaking with Maria?" This is very much liked. These small things make a difference.

--- What is Maria Roch's sales volume through social media?

--- Around 30%. I have a product that is somewhat difficult to buy online. They buy from me once and they already know my product. But it's hard because it's a product you have to try on, you want to touch it. Advice in my brand is very important. Instagram works well for me to reach clients I don't have here. It's a communication tool to reach clients who are on the other side of the world. I've made wedding dresses for the United States!

--- The Maria Roch brand is a Barcelona brand. Is most of your audience from here?

--- It's a very Mediterranean product. I am more Mediterranean than a Barcelona brand. I love this city, but my clothes are more Mediterranean. I sell throughout Spain, I have a network of stores that sell my clothes. I also sell a lot in Chile. And thanks to online sales, suddenly, a Finnish client contacts me wanting a look. Or an Australian. Also in Germany, the United States…

--- Do you work with influencers?

--- No. I don't think it brings me clients because it's not my audience. I have a much more personalized approach. I have lent dresses for them to wear, that's true.

--- In a time where fast fashion permeates everything, how does a slow fashion brand manage to carve out its space in the market?

--- By being very sectorized. Now Laforja street (Sant Gervasi-Galvany) is full of party clothes stores, but when I started, it wasn't. I have found a niche and people know me for that. Now it's my turn to do something new. Fast fashion encourages the planet to go to hell and it's not my competition. There is a group of people who are increasingly skeptical about buying these brands. There is much more awareness now than a few years ago.

--- Precisely, that was the mentality our grandmothers had. Clothes they still keep and that you can wear, so many years later…

--- This is my biggest thing. Before there was the neighborhood store. It was a super luxury to have a suit made. They kept the garment, they took care of it… Not now. Now everything is immediacy.

--- In this difficult context for small brands, how have you managed to stay afloat?

--- I have always been doing, little by little. I think I have intuition. I consider myself privileged, I live from what I like. I love what I do, I have a great time. In the end, it has been an ant's work, of keeping my feet on the ground. My greatest aspiration has been to endure this and to be able to live from what I like and what makes me enjoy. Also, I am very stubborn and it doesn't fit in my head that I could dedicate myself to something else. I am very active and discipline brings success.

--- After so much struggle, for so many years, to create this space for yourself in the market, COVID arrived. How did you manage to survive?

--- I saved it! It was March, I had just received the entire summer collection and I was stuck with thousands of garments. And I said: I will fight this no matter what. Before, I was terrified of speaking in front of the camera, but I started doing it on Maria Roch's Instagram. With this, I humanized the brand. It was very natural. I remember many clients telling me "we watch you as if it were the evening news". And I sold party dresses during the pandemic! Girls who perhaps bought six dresses from me. Incredible…

--- Your dresses are often seen on Spain's red carpets. They are worn by very recognized artists…

--- I lend clothes to everyone, I don't care if you're famous or not. I think everyone has the right to it.

--- How do you get inspired? How do you make your collections?

--- It just comes to me, I'm very active. Sometimes I think of something and I have to go draw it. Or I take a note…