MADRID — The spotlight that shone on Spanish fashion as a result of the ban on too-thin models on the runway didn’t automatically translate into new business for designers and manufacturers, which remain under pressure because of economic uncertainty and Asian imports.
Fashion week’s Pasarela Cibeles catwalk shows, which ran Sept. 18-22 in Retiro Park, featured 31 designers and a batch of local models who didn’t look much chubbier than previous seasons. It was generally agreed Madrid’s regional government did not do the industry here a favor by banning superthin models.
“We’re the laughing stock of the international fashion world,” said Carlos García-Calvo, fashion editor of El Mundo newspaper and society author. He called this season’s hastily improvised selection “bargain-basement models from the B-list.”
The only international face on the Madrid runway was Bimba Bosé. “By definition, models should be a certain height and weight; that does not mean we’re undernourished,” she huffed.
Cibeles’ highlights included:
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- Amaya Arzuaga’s eveningwear, which featured wrapped and twisted volume plays based on vintage corsetry, flounced bubble skirts and very brief shorts; a chaos of organza and tulle, pieced overlays and asymmetrics in an understated color palette of black, white and navy. After the show, Arzuaga said, the lack of supermodels was “Cibeles’ loss and it’s a shame.”
- Carmen March’s ladylike series of skinny knits and mini-dresses in soft neutrals and easy tops with midthigh swing skirts. A relative newcomer to the Spanish fashion scene, the 32-year-old designer sells through her Madrid store, called Egotherapy.
- Agatha Ruiz de la Prada’s girlish cotton knits, separates and dresses with loads of stripes and signature multicolor mixes, a nod to iconic painter Niki de Saint Phalle, according to program notes, and big-bowed espadrilles. The best of her swimwear featured an electric orange tank with a cutout heart.
- Ailanto’s slim Fifties-style dresses with floral prints and knee-hovering hemlines inspired by Agatha Christie novels. Local retailers snapped them up. “I bought a lot of the prints, mainly dresses, and about the same quantities as last fall. The [Barcelona-based] label is one of my bestsellers,” said Sonia Ruiz, owner of The Deli Room, a hip Madrid boutique.
Meanwhile, at the SIMM apparel show, vendor participation dropped 13 percent to 877 compared with last September’s show. Director Pola Iglesias attributed the slide to “the crisis that clings to Europe because of the Asian threat and coinciding dates with major French trade apparel shows [Premiere Classe, Prêt á Porter Paris], including Lyon Mode City.”
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In addition, some regular exhibitors have switched loyalties to the Barcelona edition of Bread & Butter, she said.
According to official figures, the fair drew 19,382 visitors, up 13 percent over last fall. Foreign attendance jumped to 20 percent of the total, Iglesias said. She pointed out “considerable increases” in buyers from Germany, Ireland, Greece and Eastern Europe.
Exhibitors said they did well with superfeminine dresses and pattern mixes, graphic prints, florals and nautical motifs, tunic-style shirts, crinkle cotton and such innovative fabrics as a bamboo weave or low-shine metallic threads. The color story ranged from creamy neutrals and quieter shades to combinations of black and white and red or splashes of orange and purple.
Evangelos Stamou, chief executive officer of Imex Trading Inc., a New Jersey-based importer and distributor with a Seventh Avenue showroom, cited “good lines and prices and there is a lot of product variety; you can really choose what you want. The fair is very useful for getting an idea of what is out there.”
Stamou said he was shopping for special items like “very modern, feminine” dresses. “Unless I see something unique, I don’t go after it.” The European market’s biggest negative is the strength of the euro, he added, “but that will shake out.”
A newcomer to the show, Torill Saeve, owner of Chili Boutique on Spain’s southeastern coast, said she was placing orders for complete lines rather than items. Saeve focused on plus-size garments in natural fabrics, including lightweight linen knits, in white, soft green and brown, and trenchcoats for her mainly Scandinavian clientele, ages 30 to 60.
“I’m probably not the best retail barometer because my store is small and very special; I buy what I like,” said Bakartxo Oyana, owner of Sagardía, a one-unit location in Pamplona. She was scouting in between dress-up casual and special occasion items, “a category I’m not sure exists.” Her buying budget is about the same as last season and even though the Madrid fair is “ordinary with inconvenient dates, I’m pretty well set for next spring,” she added.
Vendors generally were satisfied with sales. Oliver Wiesent, managing director of Natural Wave, a popular line of 100 percent linen separates in solid colors, said he opened 15-20 new accounts during the show’s three-day run.
“The fair is pretty good and it keeps getting better,” he said. “Dresses are definitely back and skirts are still hot, but they’re selling less than last season.”
The Munich, Germany-based label also featured jackets, tops, pants and shorts with wholesale prices of 25 to 50 euros ($32 to $63 at current exchange), has roughly 120 sales points in Spain, including three company-owned stores in the Barcelona area, he said.
On the other hand, Alberto Sobrino, export manager of Fuentecapala, an upscale manufacturer of traditional women’s and men’s apparel, said the Madrid fair was “quite weak and orders are decreasing each year. There is a general trend indicating that retailers here no longer buy at the show. [Trade events] have become more a point of reference.”
The Madrid-based label’s bestsellers were unstructured separates in cotton and polyester laced with a new low-gloss metallic thread. “It’s a quieter, more casual fashion season with natural fabrics and softer shades of blue, khaki and lilac, and unique items are selling better than basics,” Sobrino explained.
He said the company is “on track” in China, where a franchised retail strategy includes the opening next year of two freestanding stores in Beijing. Other potential markets are Russia, India and the Middle East.
“We are doing well in the U.S. with multilabel shops — about 40 doors including Saks-Jandel and Neiman Marcus — but we are not yet into the franchised concept there,” he added.