The Ateneo de Madrid hosted yesterday a round table in which relevant names from the fashion industry discussed the roadmap to follow in order to create a strategic plan for Spanish author fashion. This is the first activity of MeM PRO, the main novelty of the current edition of Madrid es Moda, which includes content and training aimed at professionals.
Under the name of Roadmap for a Strategic Plan for Spanish Author Fashion, and led by Pilar Riaño, Director of the website specialized in fashion business Modaes.es, the round table was made up by Adriana Moscoso, General Director of Cultural Industries, Intellectual Property and Cooperation from the Ministry of Culture and Sports, Ainhoa García, director of Ready to Wear and Loewe footwear, and designers Ana Locking, Modesto Lomba and Héctor Jareño (Reliquiae).
This debate has taken off since the announcement by the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the constitution of a permanent working table for Spain’s Author Fashion sector, a principal request from the fashion industry that ACME transmitted to the Ministry at the beginning of the pandemic. For the Ministry, the objective of said permanent working table is to develop the technical work necessary for the elaboration of a designer fashion strategic plan that aims to improve competitiveness as well as being capable of generating value in the sector, thus contributing to the creation of synergies with other sectors while working to strengthen the productive model in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals set out in the 2030 Agenda.
Adriana Moscoso, General Director of Cultural Industries, Intellectual Property and Cooperation, highlighted during her speech that author fashion, a cultural industry to which little importance had been given until now, is a strategic sector for productive development, competitiveness and employment in Spain. "Due to its roots and territorial presence, both in large cities and rural settings, this sector values our different region’s craftsmanship and know-how."
Modesto Lomba, designer and President of the Asociación de Creadores de Moda de España (ACME), commented that “after COVID the sector is alive, but it is important that we reinforce it, and above all that we know how to find what differentiates us from other countries. Spain, must construe its own conversation to connect with the consumer. We have to find a new and innovative storytelling that reflects the cultural richness of Spanish fashion ”.
Designer Ana Locking highlighted the importance of knowing how to communicate the differential values of Spanish designer fashion: “In a globalized world in which we all drink from the same influences, and in which we all have access to everything almost immediately, finding the right differentiation is most complicated. That is why we must focus on discovering local knowledge, what makes us really special and transmit it on a global level ”, she concluded.
Héctor Jareño, founder and Creative Director of the brand Reliquiae, stressed during his speech that this plan must assume the weaknesses and the very nature of our sector. “You have to learn from those who are models of success, like Italy or France, but the solution is not to copy them. We must create our own model that arises from our reality, and that is where the great difficulty lies ”, he declared.
Along the same lines, Ainhoa García added: “In Spain we have a very diverse business fabric, made up of large and small companies that constantly reinvent themselves. That impulse and that creativity is naturally associated to Spanish culture, it identifies us ”. The director of Ready to Wear, and footwear at Loewe also stressed the importance of training as being key in this strategic plan. “Currently there is a clear disconnection between what is needed in the sector and the training that is offered. Future professionals must be trained in the entire chain of fashion trades, not only in design ”, she concluded.
MeM PRO
This activity is part of the actions of Madrid es Moda PRO. Conceived as a meeting and training point in which to share successful initiatives as well as to present collaborative, innovative and sustainable projects. Mem PRO opens a new means of contact with the specialized public within Madrid es Moda, and discovers new keys to business development and experiences of value. Hand in hand with IED, the Textile Industry Research Association - AITEX, the agency specialized in digital marketing LIN3S, Music Library, designers Roberto Verino and Leandro Cano, and the European projects S4Fashion, ELIIT and Worth, Madrid es Moda offers a complete program where to discover new keys to business development and valuable experiences.
Solán de Cabras supports Spanish author fashion by becoming one of the main sponsors of Madrid es Moda, and of the first edition of MeM PRO. An initiative that is firmly committed to sustainability by the hand of new and established designers who promote slow fashion values to create their fashion proposals. Sustainability and design are two of the fundamental pillars of the natural mineral water brand Solán de Cabras, as reflected in the progress it continues to make in terms of eco-packaging by having its bottles made of 100% recycled plastic in 2021 after committing to eliminate the use of virgin plastic in their packaging.