The international meeting on European Designer Fashion was held in Barcelona on April 13th and 14th, at Los Tinglados, as a part of 080 Barcelona Fashion. The event, organised by the Fundación Academia de Moda Española (FAME) and promoted by the Asociación de Creadores de Moda de España (ACME), brought together professionals from the sector to address the current challenges facing the industry in Europe.
The initiative was supported by the Ministry of Culture, through the Center for the Coordination of Cultural Industries, and the Consortium of Commerce, Crafts and Fashion of Catalonia (CCAM). 080 Barcelona Fashion participated as the main partner, alongside Gran Canaria Swim Week and the Gran Canaria Chamber of Commerce as collaborators, the European partner being the European Fashion Alliance.
FAME and ACME brought together more than twenty national and international experts over two days in a program that combined roundtables, interviews, and professional meets, focusing on the identity of European fashion, its global positioning, and the sector’s transformation processes.
The institutional opening was led by Ernest Urtasun, Minister of Culture, along with Jaume Baró, Secretary of Business and Competitiveness of the Government of Catalonia; Marta Angerri, Director General of Commerce of the Government of Catalonia; Moisés Rodríguez, Director of the Consortium of Commerce, Crafts and Fashion of Catalonia (CCAM); David Pino, Director of Port Vell at Port of Barcelona; Marta Coca, Director of 080 Barcelona Fashion; Scott Lipinski, President of the European Fashion Alliance and CEO of the German Fashion Council; Juan Duyos, President of the Fundación Academia de la Moda Española and the Asociación de Creadores de Moda de España; Pepa Bueno, ACME’s Executive Director and Vice President of FAME. and Sergio Álvarez, Director of the Fundación Academia de la Moda Española. From that moment on, the program brought together over twenty national and international experts.
Among the speakers were Pascal Morand, Executive President of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode; Carlo Capasa, President of the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana; Cecilie Thorsmark, CEO of Copenhagen Fashion Week; Scott Lipinski, President of the European Fashion Alliance and CEO of the German Fashion Council; Pepa Bueno, Executive Director of ACME and Vice President of FAME; María Luisa Martínez, Vice President of Public Affairs at the Global Fashion Agenda; Sara Sozzani Maino, Creative Director of Fondazione Sozzani and international ambassador for emerging talent at Milan Fashion Week; Estefanía Lacayo, co-founder of the Latin America Fashion Summit; Joana Jorge, project manager of ModaLisboa; Minerva Alonso, Councilor for Economic Development of the Gran Canaria Island Council; Gilles Lipovetsky, philosopher and sociologist; Dana Thomas, journalist and writer; Juan Duyos, President of FAME and ACME; Natalia Culebras, Head of Sustainable Design at Dior Men; Marina Prados, Director of Public Affairs at Policy Hub; Ana García-Siñeriz, Global Director of Vogue College of Fashion; Paco Sánchez, CEO of Lola Casademunt; Ainhoa García, international fashion and luxury expert; Regina Polanco, founder and CEO of Pyratex; Jordi Ferré, Head of R&D projects in smart textiles and digitalization at AITEX; Fabio Palma, Director of the Southwest Regional Hub at EIT Culture & Creativity; and Fernando Cardona, Head of Garment Finishing and eDesigner – Brain Box at Jeanologia.
The sessions were moderated by Leticia García, Fashion Editor of S Moda/El País; Pilar Riaño, founder of Modaes and Move! Moda en Movimiento; and Rafa Muñoz, journalist at RTVE. Sergio Álvarez, Director of the Fundación Academia de la Moda Española; Alejandra Caro, trustee of FAME; David García, Executive Director of MODACC; and Julia Weems, Director of the IED Barcelona Fashion School.
Throughout the meets, the conversations addressed the construction of a distinct identity for European designer fashion, the relationship between creativity and business structure, internationalization processes, and the challenges related to sustainability, innovation, and digitalization, in different formats, the meets combined sectorial analysis and shared professional experiences.
The sessions took place over two days, including interviews, roundtables, and open meets at Los Tinglados.
