"The Barcelona runway has always been compared to others like Madrid, Paris or Milan; it was like watching a local team play against the Champions League winner, but now we have stopped competing and are forging our own path, creating our own League," says Marta Coca, director of 080 Barcelona Fashion. An event that for three seasons has swapped in-person fashion shows for the recording of fashion show films in emblematic locations such as the Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau, La Pedrera and now Xavier Corberó's house-sculpture, in Esplugues de Llobregat.
We walk with Marta Coca in the middle of filming among the arches and courtyards of this unique space, which seems taken from a Chirico painting, to discover the secrets of this new 080 that will show the proposals of its 28th edition, now online, from October 25 to 28.
An idea born from confinement
The idea of filming fashion shows and also performances ---according to the brands' choice in consensus with the 080 production teams--- began almost obligatorily in September 2020 due to the demands of a health confinement that prohibited social gatherings as massive as those of in-person fashion shows. A year later, although in New York, London, Milan, Paris and Madrid the public has been allowed back in, with all health safety measures and protocols activated, in Barcelona the officials of the runway promoted by the Generalitat through the Consorci de Comerç, Artesania i Moda (CCAM) assure that the digital formula has worked so well that they are maintaining it at the request of the brands themselves.
--- What are the advantages of the 100% digital format?
--- Many, because a fashion show only allows you to take certain photos of the designs ---front, full-body…---, while with images captured in an artistic location we manage to recreate rich, evocative environments, with a lot of content and their own narrative. We can even show an entire collection in a single, very carefully crafted image.
Marta Coca also highlights the option of offering extra content on Instagram, such as casting, making of or backstage images in the section they call Behind the Scenes.
Greater visibility in numbers, "but above all in quality"
According to the event director, this means opening up not only to more public and media, because the views of a fashion show film are greater than those of a specific parade, but also growing qualitatively, because they reach high-level international fashion magazines that were previously difficult to access. The dissemination of the event is good in Mexico, Japan, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Italy, and France.
The proposal also has drawbacks, although for now, the brands involved find it much more worthwhile to bet on a virtual showcase than a physical one. Among the disadvantages, the lack of physical contact between buyers, press, public, designers, and entrepreneurs. "The rush of applause at the end of the show, the drink people have with friends and colleagues... is missing," admits Coca, whom we interviewed shortly before the recording of the Escorpión brand's show began in the central courtyard of the sculptural space, alongside Bernat Biosca, general director of the Igualada firm, who wishes to recover contact with the public although he is very satisfied with the digital proposal: "It's better to bet on one idea and do it well than on both and end up halfway," he assures The New Barcelona Post.
"Although it's hard to believe, it's cheaper to do a runway"
Undertaking both activities, the production of the fashion show films and also a traditional physical runway, would be too costly for the current budget of 1.5 million euros, the same as in recent editions. "In the future, we aspire to be able to combine this format with other ideas that allow us to resume interpersonal relationships," explains Coca, perhaps thinking of some performance or a special gathering, "for example, filling the Miró Foundation with screens to broadcast the shows so people can enjoy them while having a drink with their friends." To achieve this, it would be important to have some new sponsorship, in addition to the existing ones.
Entering the world of digitalization also opens up new financing possibilities: "We have discovered that there are very powerful sponsors related to new technologies who are interested in these events." For now, this October the edition will be exclusively digital, although ---he assures--- that the traditional option is more economical. "It's hard to believe, but it's cheaper to set up a traditional runway, where a single investment serves for all collections, than to create individual fashion show films, because even if they are made in the same space, each job requires a personalized process," explains Marta Coca. For this reason, the number of shows is slightly reduced.
Custo Barcelona, 500,000 visits
For Custo Dalmau, head and designer of Custo Barcelona, the idea fits very well with his proposal: "Last year we made our own fashion film for the New York runway and had 500,000 views," he explains.
Is that enough to sell? "Actually, profitability cannot be measured this way because what you do is communicate to a lot of people and hope they like what you do, although, if you don't reach them, they don't see you," reflects the designer who, eight months before the global health crisis began, closed an agreement with the Italian industrial group Aeffe, owner of Moschino, by which he ceded the management of the brand but not the design.
"This has been a tough year for all fashion brands, and anyone who says otherwise is lying," says the designer because "one thing is to buy clothes to be confined and another to acquire fashion." His collection for this winter has taken a turn towards the sporty and oversize style, maintaining the seventies and glamorous DNA that 20 years ago captivated Julia Roberts and the guys from Friends, but he indicates that it has not been due to the pandemic "but to our own evolution."
Digitally native brands fit right in
Custo Barcelona is one of the international brands of a 080 where classics like Guillermina Baeza, Lebor Gabala or Txell Miras (who introduces men's clothing for the first time among her proposals) coexist with emerging names like Eñaut, LR3 Louis Rubi, Antonio Marcial, Alvaro Calafat, Paola Molet or Paloma Wool, a brand that has seduced Kendall Jenner or Kaia Gerber. What we do not find is the presence of chains like Desigual or Mango as happened in other stages of the catwalk. "Digitally born brands understand and move very well in this new concept, although they also seek to connect with their audience punctually, setting up pop-ups or with other imaginative forms," says Coca, who comes to our interview dressed in a wide shirt by LR3, a brand characterized by making genderless pieces.
Custo Barcelona is one of the international brands of a 080 where classics like Guillermina Baeza, Lebor Gabala or Txell Miras coexist with emerging names like Eñaut, LR3 Louis Rubi, Antonio Marcial, Alvaro Calafat, Paola Molet or Paloma WoolThe classics are not as outgoing, but they are very aware that the way to be known is through the digital world.Bernat Biosca, from Escorpión, assures that the video serves as their cover letter and they use it both in stores and send it to clients: "Selling in South Korea, for example, having paraded at 080 is easier than without having done so."
Differences with Paris or Madrid
In this sense, Coca highlights the originality of the 080 catwalk. Until now, the most common are hybrid formulas like Madrid's, where a physical parade is held and also broadcast via streaming so that the public can watch it on their screens. Some fashion films made by individual brands are even presented. "I haven't seen a proposal similar to ours anywhere. Paris, for example, shows fashion films from very powerful brands that have invested a lot of money and hours of work in their videos, but the overall proposal doesn't have a common thread. Ours is unitary and filmed in an iconic place in Barcelona."
"I haven't seen a proposal similar to ours anywhere," Coca defends about 080The chosen location now is Espai XC in the house of sculptor Xavier Corberó, who began in 1968 to build this hidden home for his sculptures and also his residence. Corberó died in April 2017 before finishing it. The complex is made up of six renovated farmhouses and multiple patios where fashion brands such as Uterqüe and Miu Miu have carried out productions, and it was also Javier Bardem's painting studio in Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona, although in Woody Allen's film the magnificent space is not very recognizable. "Filming here offers a lot of possibilities because of the mirrors, the arches, the corners, the sculptures... there's even a swimming pool," says Esther García Capdevila, the artistic and technical director of 080.
The digital path is open and "is here to stay"
It is clear that the digital proposal "is here to stay," assures Coca. "Another advantage of the current 080 proposal, where diversity, design, and innovation are important, is that it is very open. Sometimes we have some designers and other times others, and no one thinks ---as happens with traditional fashion shows--- that if they are not there it's because they have gone bankrupt." "If creators have nothing to say or are dedicating a lot of effort to some other project, they don't need to do a fashion show film with us." Each brand pays according to its turnover. The range goes from 1,000 euros to almost 8,000 euros.
This year, for example, designer Moisés Nieto, a regular on the Madrid runway, is participating in the project for the first time because the innovative experience is very attractive to him. And this was the format chosen by Yolanda Pérez, alma mater along with her sister of the bridal firm Yolan Cris, to launch her fashion project Y Como, which is repeating again at 080. Juan Avellaneda also returns after his debut six months ago in the edition that had La Pedrera as its setting. In addition to those mentioned so far, the rest of the participants are Julia G. Escribà, Is Coming, Eiko Ai, Lola Casademunt By Maite, Martin Across, The (Real) Garcia, All that she loves and The Label Edition.
Towards a new paradigm yet to be defined
"We are living a moment in fashion where everything is changing, brands make new proposals every month or decide to only do their bestsellers and that's it," reflects Marta Coca. "We are moving towards a new paradigm that is still to be defined, we see how fashion, like gastronomy, seeks sustainability, personalization, diversity... and in this turbulent river in which the sector lives, small brands are gaining an advantage." The central idea that drives the 080 runway is to "project the brands of Catalonia, with their creativity as a flag, to the rest of the world, and in this purpose, digital advancement is giving us a lot of play," she concludes.
"We are moving towards a new paradigm that is still to be defined, we see how fashion, like gastronomy, seeks sustainability, personalization, diversity...", reasons the director of 080In this same vein, the commercial space is also considered, the080 Barcelona Fashion Connect, which will take place on October 20, also digitally. Promoted by MODACC and the Department of Business and Work, the platform seeks to establish contact between some thirty brands and professional buyers at an international level. In the last edition, held in March, 148 purchasing agents participated, thus tripling the figure of previous calls. "As well as for thefashion filmsbrands must be very specific when choosing thelooksmost powerful and representative, even much more than in a parade, in theshowroomcan show the complete sample to their clients," points out Marta Coca.
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