Barcelona is synonymous with fashion. It is in the brands that have been born there, in the creative workshops, in the design schools, and in the creators who work there. Also in an industry that in Catalonia already groups 953 companies, employs more than 73,000 people, and moves 17,559 million euros, according to the latest data from Acció. A creative effervescence that is very present in the city, but which is not always visible.
For this reason, 080 Barcelona Fashion has been working for almost four decades to make this effervescence visible and give it international projection. “As a beacon of trends, but also of circular, sustainable, respectful fashion with values. In short, a showcase from which we explain to the world what we do in Catalonia,” points out Moisès Rodríguez, director of the Consortium of Commerce, Crafts and Fashion of Catalonia. A point of light that focuses on local talent and projects it beyond its borders.
But in its 38th edition, which will be held from October 20 to 23 at Port Vell, 080 not only wants to project this light outwards, but also to bring it to the city itself. Without losing sight of international projection, with a program of 26 fashion shows that combines local talent and international names, the catwalk will also incorporate a new program promoted by the Barcelona City Council through the Fashion Plan. “The objective is to bring fashion closer to the citizens,” highlights Nadia Quevedo, commissioner for Economic Promotion, Commerce, Restoration and Fashion Plan of the Barcelona City Council.
Although the city council has been reinforcing its involvement in 080 since the spring 2025 edition, when it formally entered the project and began to provide financial support to the catwalk, this year, for the first time, it has wanted to go a step further and also take advantage of it to bring fashion closer to the city, with a new program of its own that aims to take 080 beyond the catwalk and make the entire city part of it.
The proposal takes shape, on the one hand, with the PLEC festival, which on October 21 and 22 will turn the Tinglados of the Port of Barcelona into a meeting point between fashion and other disciplines such as photography, music, performance or editorial culture. On the other hand, a mobile screen will travel through different neighborhoods of Barcelona —Sant Andreu, Glòries, Barceloneta and Born— to bring 080 content there and make this edition also experienced outside Port Vell.
This new program created by the Barcelona City Council will not be the only novelty of this edition. The 080 will also grow physically. "The 080 expands space," stressed Moisès Rodríguez, in an edition that will maintain Port Vell as the main stage after the relocation of the catwalk, in the previous edition, from the iconic Modernist Enclosure of Sant Pau. After years in this space, the 080 had to look for a new location because the venue was starting to become too small and, at the same time, was facing its own construction process.
However, returning to Port Vell does not mean repeating the exact same scenario. The Open Area, the free zone open to the public where screens will be concentrated to follow the fashion shows and other activities, will remain in Marina Vela. The fashion shows, on the other hand, will move this year to Marina Seca, a space intended for boat storage and integrated into the Marina Vela complex. "A very Barcelona space," as highlighted by Marta Coca, project manager of the 080, due to its brutalist and industrial character. In this new location, the catwalk will gain space and allow for the expansion of the fashion show stage.
26 fashion shows between local talent and international projection
But the 080 not only grows in space. It also grows in perspective. The catwalk maintains its commitment to the talent created in Barcelona, but this year it expands its window to other international scenes and trajectories. The result is a lineup that combines consolidated careers, emerging creators, and new additions, with brands returning to the 080 and others participating for the first time. All in all, in an edition that has a budget of 2.5 million euros.
Among those repeating after having paraded in the previous edition at Port Vell are names such as Dominnico —one of the firms that best exemplify this international projection, as its designs have dressed artists such as Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Rosalía, Dua Lipa or Rita—, Benavente or David Catalan, who will be in charge of closing the catwalk on the last day.
The runway also incorporates new names, such as Surkana —born in Barcelona more than twenty years ago—, O’Barret, Crypta —by Argentine designer Florencia López Cornejo, based in Barcelona—, L’Amar, Pat Equiluz and Boltad. Diverse proposals that expand the map of creators present at 080 and coexist with names already consolidated on the runway, such as Custo Barcelona, Escorpion or Guillermina Baeza.
The international gaze has a particularly relevant name in this edition: Louis Gabriel Nouchi. The French designer, who founded his eponymous firm in Paris in 2018, usually presents his collections in the Parisian circuit. This year, however, he has chosen Barcelona to present his new proposal, inspired by Almodóvar's universe. An incorporation that, according to Coca, also evidences the recognition that the runway is gaining outside Catalonia. “Although 080 is not one of the largest runways worldwide, it is increasingly respected in the international circuit, with very powerful brands.”
But 080 does not forget committed fashion and, for this reason, the runway will start with 080 Reborn, the circular fashion project that this year reaches its fifth edition. Promoted with the support of the Waste Agency of Catalonia and Girbau Lab, it focuses on reuse and the creative possibilities of second-hand clothing, with creations by Fermín + Guilles.
Fashion goes out into the city
But if the runway serves to project Barcelona to the world, this year 080 also wants to do the reverse: bring fashion back to the city. During October 21 and 22, the Tinglados del Port Vell —while they prepare to become the BlueTechPort, the new blue economy hub— will be the setting for PLEC. Barcelona Cultura de la Moda, a new platform that aims to open fashion to other languages and turn it into a meeting point with Barcelona culture.
Curated by Francesca Tur, PLEC will bring together photography, editorial culture, music, conversations, and performance over two days, with a combination of established and emerging talent from the city. Names such as Yolanda Muelas, Edu García Llamas, Luis Venegas, and photographer Daniel Riera will participate, while the emblematic city store Free Time Barcelona will set up an ephemeral kiosk dedicated to fashion publications. There will also be live podcasts, performances, and DJ sessions, in a space specially transformed for the occasion by the Fuera/Fos studio.
The proposal is part of the Barcelona City Council's Fashion Plan 2025-2030, which, with a budget of almost 1.3 million euros, seeks to reinforce the city as a benchmark for fashion and author design and to give more visibility to local talent. PLEC is one of the first actions derived from it and, during the 080 days, it will also leave the Tinglados with a mobile screen that will travel through four points of Barcelona —Can Fabra square, in Sant Andreu; Glòries square; Plaça del Mar, in Barceloneta, and El Born— to bring 080 content there. With these actions, and after almost four decades projecting Barcelona's creative talent to the world, this year the 080 will also make its way back home and make this light visible through the city's streets.
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