Dolores Cortés and Aurelia Gil, the leading exponents of swimwear fashion at MBFWMadrid September 2023

There's plenty of room for swimwear fashion during the forthcoming Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid which will run from 13 to 17 September 2023. Organised by IFEMA MADRID, our country's largest fashion platform will have Hall 14.1 of the Recinto Ferial as the epicentre of its fashion show programme, along with other unique spaces in the city of Madrid.

Swimwear fashion is one of the most hard-working craft industries in our country. As a tourist destination with more than eight thousand kilometres of coastline, Spain has a deep-rooted swimwear culture that employs around 2,000 people, according to Moda Espana's latest report on the sector. Representing that culture, two of Spain's leading swimwear designers will be attending the next edition of MBFWMadrid: Dolores Cortés and Aurelia Gil.

Dolores Cortés Font is heiress to the family tradition that began when her mother, Dolores Cortés, a veritable trailblazer in swimwear fashion in our country, began designing handcrafted bathing suits in the 1950s. She took over from her mother in the 1980s, setting up her own workshop and making her debut at MBFWMadrid in 1991. Since then she has made a total of 21 appearances on the catwalk. In 2012 the designer made the swimming costumes for Spain's National Synchronised Swimming Team for the London Olympic Games. And in 2017, the company was awarded the National Prize for Small and Medium Enterprises in the Fashion Industry, presented by Her Majesty Queen Letizia. Today, Dolores Cortés creations can be found in department stores and her own shops in Spain and abroad.

Following her debut in September 2022, Aurelia Gil, the creator from the Canary Islands, is now returning to MBFWMadrid with her Tiempo collection. A proposal that draws on the concept of time as a provocation of our daily lives. Tiempo is filled with carefree silhouettes and lines, Aurelia's passion for flowers, applied, on this occasion, to prints, the use of textured swimwear fabrics and a colour palette strongly influenced by Dalí. Earthy hues, sepias, pinks, indigos and Aurelia Gil's trademark black are the protagonists of her lycra fabrics in plain and textured colours, denim silks, cottons, crochet, viscose tulle, stripes, lamé, embroidery and glitter. Her new proposal is the result of research work carried out with local artisans, once again including Canary Island fretwork, crochet yarn in the spinning of lycra, totally organic and handmade dyeing using flowers, cochineal and vegetable fibres, as well as a first contact with raffia basketry to give shape to the bags that accompany the proposal. The author identifies this moment as a time to create for pleasure, with a collection born from the need to tell stories.

MBFWMadrid will enjoy the support of fifteen companies that lead the way in their respective sectors:  The main sponsors are Mercedes-Benz, L’Oréal Paris and Inditex. In addition, Allianz, Iberia, Multiópticas, Galería Canalejas, Four Seasons Hotel Madrid and GHD will participate as sponsors; and Dorsia Clínicas, AEG, the Autonomous Community of Madrid, Mar de Frades, Martin Miller's Gin, Málaga de Moda together with the corporate identity of the Provincial Council of Malaga, UDIT Design and Technology University, Rowenta, Schweppes Selection will take part as collaborators and Solán de Cabras will be the official water supplier.

Por su parte, la creadora canaria, Aurelia Gil, vuelve a MBFWMadrid con su colección Tiempo tras su debut en septiembre de 2022. Una propuesta que ha sido trabajada desde la concepción del tiempo como una provocación de nuestro día a día. Tiempo se compone de siluetas y líneas relajadas; de la pasión de Aurelia por las flores, que, en esta ocasión, lleva a la estampación; del uso de tejidos de baño con textura, y de una gama cromática muy inspirada en Dalí. Tonos tierra, sepia, rosas, índigos y el negro infalible de Aurelia Gil como protagonistas de los tejidos con lycra en colores lisos y con textura, sedas denim, algodones, crochet, tules en viscosa, rayas, lamé, bordados y brillos. Esta nueva propuesta es fruto del trabajo de investigación con las artesanías locales, incluyendo nuevamente el calado canario, el crochet en la hilatura de lycra, el tintado totalmente eco y artesanal a partir de flores, cochinillas y fibras vegetales, así, así como una primera toma de contacto con la cestería en rafia para dar forma a los bolsos que acompañan la propuesta. La autora identifica este como el momento de crear desde el placer con una colección que nace de la necesidad de contar historias.

MBFWMadrid estará apoyada por quince firmas referentes en los sectores correspondientes: Mercedes-Benz, L’Oréal Paris e Inditex como patrocinadores principales. Asimismo, Allianz, Iberia, Multiópticas, Galería Canalejas, Four Seasons Hotel Madrid y GHD participarán como patrocinadores; y como colaboradores estarán Dorsia Clínicas, AEG, Comunidad de Madrid, Mar de Frades, Martin Miller’s Gin, Málaga de Moda junto a la identidad corporativa de Diputación de Málaga, UDIT Universidad de Diseño y Tecnología, Rowenta, Schweppes Selection y Solán de Cabras como agua oficial.