The 71st edition of MBFW Madrid opens its doors to a new decade for Spanish fashion

L'Oréal Paris pays tribute to women over 50 with its L'Oréal Paris Visibility Parade on Friday, 31 January

Iberia presents its new uniforms in the Iberia by Teresa Helbig show on Saturday, 1 February

The 71st edition of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid January 2020 starts, and with it the doors open on a new decade for Spanish fashion. The main platform for Spanish fashion will witness a whole display of proposals that will mark the trends for the upcoming Autumn-Winter season. The great event in Spanish fashion, organised by IFEMA, will take place from 28 January to 2 February with the presence of the best line-up of national designers of the moment.

The schedule for this new edition includes 37 Spanish design brands and creators, which will feature on the catwalk over six days—from Tuesday to Sunday. In this way, the event, which will reopen the circuit of international catwalks, will be held at IFEMA-Feria de Madrid and other venues in the city. It will begin on 28 January with events at different locations in Madrid, and from Wednesday 29th until Sunday 2 February, the main stage will be IFEMA Hall 14.1. As a novelty this year, on 29, 30 and 31 January the last show of the day will take place in the Galería de Cristal of the Palacio de Cibeles from 8:30 pm.

An edition laden with innovations

Three key names in Spanish design on the schedule for the first time

Also, this edition of MBFWMadrid incorporates into the programme of established creators firms such as Pertegaz, Dominnico and Fernando Claro, key names on the current Spanish fashion scene, with diverse styles and creative discourses, which contribute to enriching the proposals present on the great catwalk of Spanish fashion.

Pertegaz. The firm founded by Manuel Pertegaz will participate for the first time in a Fashion Week and will do so at MBFWMadrid. With a very extensive trajectory inside and outside Spain's borders, the owner of the Pertegaz women's prêt-à-porter licence, Jealfer—with more than sixty years of experience in the textile sector—has selected the Galician fashion designer Jorge Vázquez, for his prestige, experience and talent, to continue the legacy of Manuel Pertegaz.

Fernando Claro. The Seville-based firm is committed to presenting its new collection on the great national fashion platform, MBFWMadrid. After its rebranding last year and the launch of its e-commerce site, the firm touches down on the Madrid catwalk in the wake of its media and social impact generated by being one of the brands chosen by the most popular influencers in our country.

Dominnico.- Dominnico comes of age on the great MBFWMadrid catwalk.

The trajectory of the Alicante designer Domingo Rodríguez, creative director of the Dominnico firm, is based on perseverance and effort. His journey through the Samsung Ego platform and having received the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Talent Award in July 2019 have led him to present his collections at catwalks across the world. In addition, in his short professional career he has dressed great artists and celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Aitana and is the favourite designer of singer Rosalia.

Along with the new additions, the composition of the show schedule for this edition is made up of 37 leading Spanish designers and brands. Roberto Diz will be responsible for opening the show schedule at IFEMA on 29 January at 12 noon in the Sala Benz. In addition, the MBFWMadrid schedule features established names in Spanish design, Ana Locking, Devota&Lomba, The 2nd Skin Co, Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada, Pedro del Hierro, Custo Barcelona, Angel Schelesser, Brain&Beast, Devota&Lomba, Andres Sardá, Miguel Marinero and Juan Vidal, among others, whose presence confirms that MBFWMadrid is the great catwalk of Spanish fashion.

Tribute to Andrés Sardá

The lingerie firm Andres Sarda pays tribute to its founder, Andrés Sardá, who died last September. The collection is a tribute to his life, a review of the evolution of the firm that forever changed intimate and swimwear in Spain. The family firm took its first steps making shawls like the one Jackie Kennedy wore on her visit to Spain. Then he made the leap to lingerie and, in the 70s, to swimwear. Women like Lady Gaga, Julianne Moore and Shakira have worn the firm’s creations. Luxury and comfort are the two axes on which the firm rests, which Núria Sardá leads today.

MBFWMadrid joins the firm’s tribute to its founder Andrés Sardá with a minute of silence prior to its show.

The rest of the shows held from 29 January to 2 February will have IFEMA as the main stage, with a daily show at the Galería de Cristal at the Palacio de Cibeles from 8:30 pm on the 29th, 30th and 31st.

Under new management

This is the first edition directed by Nuria de Miguel, the new director of MBFWMadrid since last July. The Madrid journalist, with 30 years of experience in the fashion sector as the catwalk press officer, maintains the internationalization and digitalization of Spanish fashion, as well as sustainability in all areas of the catwalk, as the driving force of the project.

5G technology will be on the catwalk at MBFWM

MBFWMadrid will be remembered in its 71st edition as the most technological call in its history. The IFEMA project for the implementation of Vodafone 5G connectivity in the exhibition grounds, with Hall 14.1 already operational, will allow the public to experience an unprecedented event.

Samsung will turn the Samsung EGO catwalk next Sunday, 2 February, which is opened by its winner Yvan Andreu, into a true demonstration of what its new 5G compatible smartphones can achieve.

Samsung Ego closes the show schedule on 2 February

Among the novelties of this edition, prominent is the closing of the show schedule of this call by the platform of young talents, Samsung Ego, on 2 February. In this way, the new talent day will begin at 11:30 am with the 5G show of the winner of the Samsung Ego Innovation Project, Yvan Andreu in the Sala Bertha Benz, and will continue in the Sala Mercedes-Benz with the 404 Studio and Susan Fall show at 1 pm. At 2:30 pm it will be the turn of Deyi (a collection based on sustainable garments) and Coconutscankill; at 4:30 pm the firms Reveligion and Fatima Miñana will show; and at 6:00 pm so will Anel Yaos and the invited international designer in the framework of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Talent award. The award ceremony of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Talent Award at 6:30 pm will close the show day dedicated to emerging talent, as well as the schedule of the 71st edition of MBFW Madrid.

The Visibility Parade by L'Oréal Paris

Another of the outstanding novelties of this new edition of the catwalk is the L'Oréal Paris Visibility Parade, which the French firm will hold on Friday 31 January at 8:30 pm at the Palacio de Cibeles. This show wants to give visibility to women over 50 and has the collaboration of eleven designers and brands, including Roberto Torretta, Hannibal Laguna, Pedro del Hierro, Juan Vidal, Roberto Diz, Duarte, Angel Schlesser, Marcos Luengo and Devota & Lomba. They will be responsible for dressing the models in this show in homage to the maturity of women.

Iberia by Teresa Helbig: a world premiere

On Saturday 1 February at 8:30 pm, at the Sala Mercedes-Benz, the worldwide presentation of the new Iberia by Teresa Helbig uniforms will take place in a production that will be spectacular. The Catalan creator was responsible for the new design of these Iberia uniforms, thus becoming the first woman responsible for the design; a very important milestone for the airline, which since Adolfo Dominguez designed the uniforms in 2005, had not been modified. The show will be followed from all Iberia offices in the world thanks to the streaming broadcast through its website.

Presentations at different scenarios in Madrid

This edition of MBFWMadrid opens once again to the city with shows outside of IFEMA. On Tuesday 28 January, Pilar Dalbat will open the show schedule in the Salón de Bóvedas of the Casa de la Panadería located in the Plaza Mayor of Madrid; likewise, other designers have also chosen outstanding scenarios such as Moisés Nieto in the Faculty of Fine Arts; Tete By Odette, on Calle Velázquez 8; Maison Mesa will do it in the Pabellón de Cristal of the Casa de Campo and the Mans firm will celebrate it at the Casa de Velázquez.

The show day of the 28th will close proceedings in honour of Spanish design organized by the magazine Yo Dona.

Madrid Fashion Capital

In this regard, with the celebration of all these events to do with fashion and creation and new trends in various places in Madrid, MBFWMadrid contributes to extending Fashion and its different manifestations throughout the city, as is usually the case in other major capitals during their fashion weeks. For these activities, the support provided by institutions such as the Community of Madrid and the City Council is essential, through different initiatives, as well as by ACME, through its Madrid is Fashion programme.

For its part, Madrid City Council, within the framework of its Madrid Capital de Moda (MCDM) programme, directly promotes or supports a series of fashion shows and fashion-related activities in various locations around Madrid, such as the Galería de Cristal del Palacio de Cibeles, where the shows of designers Pedro del Hierro and Pertegaz will be held on the 29th and 30th at 8:30 pm. In addition, L'Oréal Paris will also pay homage to women over 50 with their L'Oréal Paris Visibility Parade on Friday 31 January. In addition, a screen has been installed in the Plaza de Margaret Thatcher, on the corner of the Paseo de la Castellana, from which you can follow the programming of the 71st edition of MBFWMadrid, which takes place at Feria de Madrid, as well as receive information About other Fashion projects.

In the same way, Madrid es Moda (MeM), the urban fashion festival organized by the Association of Fashion Creators of Spain (ACME), will celebrate its 10th edition from 27 January to 9 February with numerous activities that will complete the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid fashion show schedule, and with a new graphic image, created this time by Agatha Ruiz de la Prada. Spanish fashion will be the protagonist of new exhibitions, from the traditional contest of display windows of the festival, to the special visits to museums, presentations of collections, gastrofashion activities, and masterclasses on different aspects of the sector, in addition to the special shopping actions, which will "dress" Madrid in the best national designs there are.

Precisely, within the framework of Madrid es Moda with the special collaboration of the Madrid City Council and integrated into the MBFWMadrid off schedule, Roberto Verino will inaugurate MeM on 27 January with an innovative proposal aimed at the final consumer which will bring together friends and customers of the brand in the Real de la Casa de la Panadería. During the event, guests can pre-book the Spring/Summer 2020 collection with the assistance of the designer himself and his team of stylists. Through a dedicated digital platform, the chosen pieces will be sent to the stores where, by appointment, the client can go to try on the selected garments. With this action, Roberto Verino wants to offer a new shopping experience while maintaining the personalised service the fashion brand offers.

A complete programme of off-schedule activities and shows

Within the programme of parallel activities during Fashion Week, the European Design Institute, IED, will organize 'Rethink Fashion IED', a research project to define new concepts, values and contexts for the future of the sector. There, different international experts from the fashion and sustainability sector will talk about the links that exist between both areas to investigate their possibilities. These presentations will take place on the 27th from 7 pm to 9 pm.

In addition, on the same day, Rey Juan Carlos University will hold a conference on sustainability from 10 am to 1 pm at its URJC Madrid campus, entitled 'Is it sustainable to be fashionable?'

ISEM Fashion Business School, for its part, is again part of the MBFWMadrid schedule, organizing the “Hello Portugal! Industry Meeting Spain-Portugal”. Over two days, different experts will discuss the relations between both countries within the fashion sector.

Also, MBFWMadrid will have an interesting programme of off-schedule shows, consisting of eleven designers, which will begin on 27 January and run until Sunday 2 February. In this complete programme, designers such as García Madrid, Encinar, Jesús Lorenzo, Christian Simmon, Ernesto Naranjo, Beatriz Peñalver, Cherry Massia and Otrura, among others, stand out.

One more step towards internationalization

One of the strategic objectives for the management of MBFWMadrid is to move towards the internationalization of the catwalk. The change of dates and the investment in improving the quality of the international buyers and press programme are an example of this. International buyers from countries such as Portugal, Italy, Qatar, France, Kazakhstan, United Kingdom, Germany and Greece and an important international press programme (Fashion TV will once again be the international television channel for the event) will be responsible for bringing our designers' proposals to an international audience.

Likewise, with the objective of facilitating the establishment of commercial relations with the national and international buyers attending the runway, a room for buyers, called the Showroom, has been installed within Cibelespacio. In the Showroom, designers' collections will be gathered so that they can be viewed by professionals and it will also be a meeting point and resting place for buyers invited by the organization. This year, stylists will be invited to visit this room and see designers' work first-hand.

The digitization of MBFWMadrid

A mobile app to suit the best international catwalks

The new official MBFWMadrid app will give you a great fashion experience wherever you are, and will allow you to discover all the news of each edition of the great catwalk of Spanish Fashion, and closely experience everything that happens around you. All this, with the best web usability and with a user experience developed by the IFEMA marketing department.

Together with the official MBFWMadrid app, social media are a fundamental element in the brand's digital strategy. Within the MBFWMadrid digitalization plan, the social media strategy is based on a complete content programme with the aim of generating a faithful community with a high engagement rate. Special mention is deserved for the collaboration of Twitter Spain, which will perform different activations during the Catwalk and will be present in the Kissing Room through its Twitter Mirror to immortalize the celebrities of each show.

In addition, the presence of MBFWMadrid on the social network GPS Radar, the international platform for fashion professionals, is another step that will make the work done by our designers known outside our borders.

A sustainability-oriented catwalk

MBFWMadrid and sustainability

The Madrid catwalk works on the sustainability of the event as one of the fundamental pillars of its organization. Such is its commitment to sustainability that the official backpack of this edition has been made from recycled PET plastic bottles. Likewise, many of our designers are committed to Slow Fashion, small collections made in local workshops and with quality, highly durable garments—one of the main axes of sustainability in the textile area.

In a further step towards sustainability, the sweatshirts that will be worn by MBFWMadrid's stewards and stewardesses are manufactured by the sustainable fashion firm Ecoalf.

The 71st edition has the support of 19 leading brands in its sector

Again, this edition of MBFWMadrid January 2020 has great support from the sponsoring brands. A total of 19 firms, leaders in their respective sectors, provide coverage and support for this great national catwalk at this edition. Mercedes-Benz, L'Oréal Paris and Inditex, as main sponsors; Samsung, Dyson, Royal Bliss, Mar de Frades, Licor 43, Iberia, Mó de Multiópticas and Smart Water as sponsors; and Appletiser, Santander, ESNE, Callaghan (official footwear of the steward and stewardess catwalk teams), Hyatt Regency Hesperia Madrid (official hotel of MFWMadrid, IED and URJC as collaborators.

Fashion Committee

The jury of experts who ensure compliance with the parameters of quality, communication and company required by MBFWMadrid, and who have worked to set the schedule of this edition, is composed of Pepa Bueno, Executive Director of ACME; Lorenzo Castillo, Interior Designer; Ainhoa García Echaniz, Manager of the Prêt-à-Porter business unit of LOEWE; Natalia Bengoechea, Fashion Director of S Moda; Helena López del Hierro, Director of the Costume Museum; Alexandra Pisco, Founder and CEO of the Pisco & Co fashion consulting firm; Rocío Ortiz de Bethencourt, General Director of Tecnocreativa; Daniel Pérez Barriga, Branding, Communication and Strategy Consultant and Founder of WaterBoy; Rafael Muñoz, Fashion Editor of RTVE.ES, and Nuria de Miguel, Director of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid.

In addition, at this edition the institutional representation of the City Council of Madrid is maintained with Concepción Díaz de Villegas Soláns, General Director of Commerce and Partnership of the City Council of Madrid. Joining the committee are Gonzalo Cabrera, the General Director of Cultural Promotion of the Community, as representative of the Community of Madrid, and Andrés Aberasturi, curator of the Samsung Ego young creators platform and founder and director of the agency Pelonio.