Thinking and building the future of fashion

To be born is easy; to be reborn, difficult. That is why, on the eve of the 125th anniversary of FAD (Foment de les Arts i del Disseny), we have taken on the challenge of repositioning and consolidating MODAFAD, with a new board formed by Charo Mora, Marina Vergés, Josep Abril, Toni Francesc, Sergi Jasanada and Xavier de Balaguer. With thirty-three years of experience, MODAFAD is the fashion association with the longest history in Barcelona and Catalonia. But we do not want to look back, but forward. We do not want to talk about the past, but about tomorrow: about the future of fashion in Barcelona and Catalonia, and the role that MODAFAD wants to play in its construction.

Aware of its dimension as an economic sector, at MODAFAD we deal with FASHION from its cultural and social perspective. We are a tool for the city and the country, a space from which to talk, think and work for FASHION, which we understand as evolution and revolution. We conceive fashion as a mechanism to survive reality and everyday life.

We also want to talk about the challenges that define the future of FASHION: moving towards sustainability and circularity, rethinking consumption habits, promoting emerging talent, advocating for local production and recovering the value of each element that is part of the creative and productive process. Sustainability is one of the axes that have kept the spirit of FASHION alive at FAD, with projects such as SUSTAINABLE CHALLENGE, a project that will celebrate its eighth edition in 2026.

We want to talk about a FASHION that, in addition to making us dream, is real and capable of responding to the needs of users. A FASHION that looks to the future without losing sight of its origins. To be able to think about how to face sustainable and responsible consumption, which translates into valuable fashion. To democratize quality and make prestigious and virtuous fashion accessible to everyone, overcoming the dialectic of price to place value at the center.

To think about how to become a long-term training axis, capable of offering present and future opportunities to emerging talent. To work to create a creative ecosystem that offers tools but also generates opportunities.

To work to recover the pride of being a capital and a country of reference in the FASHION sector, with an industry and talent that we have never lost. To work to consolidate ourselves as a pole of innovation and research, capable of connecting craftsmanship with industry 4.0, and the trade with innovation. To work, in short, to continue being what we have been, what we are and what we want to be: FASHION. To speak, think and work from the margins and at the margins, because that is where novelty and talent often emerge. To be disruptive to be strong.

"The future of fashion in Barcelona and Catalonia involves defining and consolidating a transversal and broad strategy. We cannot be constrained by a calendar of specific events"

To dream of recovering a strong and independent FASHION associative fabric. Today we find ourselves in a scenario full of opportunities, in which to the recovery of MODAFAD we must add the creation of the Cercle de la Moda and the already consolidated trajectory of the employers' association MODACC. In the same way that in other sectors unilateral action by the public sector is not conceived, from FASHION we want to raise our voice to demand a real dialogue between the public and private spheres. As organized civil society, we are direct recipients of the needs and indicators of the sector. We believe that the future lies in shared conversations and synergies.

Because the future of fashion in Barcelona and Catalonia involves defining and consolidating a transversal and broad strategy. We cannot be constrained by a calendar of specific events. But, to know where we want to go, we first need to know where we are. For this reason, we consider it essential to have a dynamic analysis of the fashion sector in Barcelona and Catalonia. A study that, from MODAFAD, we have jointly demanded with the Cercle de la Moda and in which we want to actively participate, from co-decision with the public sector.

But no rebirth starts from scratch. For this reason, we want to thank all the people who have preceded us and who have made it possible for MODAFAD and the sector to get this far: Pilar, Sílvia, Chu, Tatiana, Alessandro, Marcel, Edgar, Núria and so many other people who, over the years, have contributed to building this history.