The hottest shows from 080 Barcelona Fashion Week

An Englishman walks into a tapas bar…

That might sound like the start of a lame joke, but it’s actually just how this roving reporter spent his lunch break at 080 Barcelona Fashion Week.

The 35^th edition of the sartorial spectacular, which ran from 1^st to 4^th April, shone a light on the hottest homegrown designers in and around Spain. The event also had us flicking through our phrasebooks in search of ways to say, ​“More cava, please” and ​“Obsessed with her shoes.”

So, why, besides the Spanish bubbly, was it such a blast? Well, if Fashion Month Fatigue is a medical condition – induced by visual and digital overstimulation – then 080 Barcelona Fashion might just be the cure. Where else in the world can you take a siesta on the beach between shows?

But don’t get it wrong: The vibe at the breathtaking Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau is anything but sleepy. With all shows in one iconic location, breakout and established designers could mingle, drink and dance with buyers, models, influencers, students and international press.

The atmosphere in the Art Nouveau courtyard was distinctly Mediterranean: sexy, relaxed and stylish without being aloof. Best of all? Between mouthfuls of patatas bravas, we picked out half a dozen unmissable collections. The Spanish really do know a thing or two about living well.

404 Studio

Cult films? Club-ready knitwear? We’re listening. This season, celebrating their seventh anniversary, Spanish womenswear brand 404 Studio paid homage to Hackers (1995), the sci-fi classic about a rag-tag crew of achingly chic coder cowboys. The collection drew on the film’s anti-establishment ethos and cyberpunk aesthetics, positioning the independent brand as a scrappy underdog in an industry dominated by monolithic conglomerates and a fashion press that values connections over talent – not us, we were assured!

Skimpy, figure-hugging macramés were in good supply alongside red mohair playsuits and fluffy halter-neck bralettes. The collection even included summery reimaginings of the white bondage suit a pixie-cut Angelina Jolie wore in the film. (She’s known as Acid Burn in Hackers, for all you 90s cinephiles.) As for the soundtrack? There were enough acid basslines and crashing breakbeats to make an ageing club kid weep.

But this was no exercise in nostalgia. Patchworked bubble hems and metallic inserts brought us into the here and now, joining up with low-cut necklines, exposed midriffs and scandalously short skirts. If the future sounds bleak, don’t blame this lot. All of the looks were made by repurposing deadstock yarns from previous collections – a move that places this label in a similar cadre as Chopova Lowena and Paolina Russo.

Ernesto Naranjo

Longing for the glamour of a bygone age? Us too. And cult Spanish label Ernesto Naranjo. Hailing from a small town in Seville, the eponymous designer toys with light, proportion and asymmetrical shapes.

The results this season were sharp. Models clad in fishnets walked the runway showcasing sparkly, angular midis inspired by the forms of sculptor Lynda Benglis and painter Leonora Carrington. ​“The patterns were based on three fundamental geometric shapes: the rectangle, the triangle and the circle,” the designer told THE FACE. ​“By combining rigid fabrics like wool and metallic mesh with more fluid materials, such as tulle and lace, we tried to create tension.”

The collection also paid homage to the Ziegfeld Girls – the glittery New York stars of 1920s Broadway. If that doesn’t sound very Viva España, keep in mind that all of the brand’s collections are produced in the south of Spain, where Ernesto collaborates with specialised dressmakers and craftspeople.

ManéMané

Are you a stickler for rules? Then look away now. ManéMané​’s latest collection was a love letter to oddballs proving, once again, that the brand’s founder and designer Miguel Becer knows exactly which rules to break.

Celebrating the brand’s 10^th anniversary, the new collection was brimming with stripes, spots and tartan. Classic garments were remixed and reassembled with unexpected details. High-slit maxi dresses came with matching neck pillows while hooded cloaks became body-consuming cocoons. The idea, according to Miguel, was to ​“find a new formula where iconic garments and established codes are revived but with a relaxed touch.”

No garment was safe. Even ManéMané’s signature pieces like the crafty corsets (co-signed by the likes of Dua Lipa) were pushed into surprising new directions – incorporated into shirts or doubled as hooded gilets. Elsewhere, lace-up stiletto boots and headband-strapped black oval sunnies cemented an air of youthful rebellion. Entering its second decade, the brand has mastered the art of maturing without ever really growing up.

Rubearth

Surfing might not be the first subculture that comes to mind when you think of runway-ready looks, but self-described ​“slow” fashion brand Rubearth looked to the waves this season. Founder and designer Gabriel Nogueiras was also inspired by the ​“green flash”, that rare burst of neon light you might catch at sunrise or sunset – if you’re into weird weather phenomena, anyway.

“The surf world is usually defined by bold, contrasting colours,” the designer told us. ​“But we wanted to approach the collection from a darker perspective, and use palettes and textures that evoke nocturnal tones.” This darker perspective included a close look at extreme conservative ideologies. ​“The collection carries a deeper social critique on how the far right is gaining traction worldwide, even in spaces that traditionally symbolise freedom, like surfing.”

The critique materialised further in coastal-coded looks – think sailor scarves, Hawaiian shirts and oversized sun hats – that flirted with conservative preppy style. (Have you ever seen loafers and knee socks on the beach? You have now). We were also totally stoked on the poppy recycled, plastic shoe-caps, which we’re calling ​“demi-crocs”.

Habey Club

Some artists don’t get any praise for their work until they kick the bucket. Thankfully, that won’t be the case for Habey Club, the ebullient label headed up by David Salvador Rupérez and Javier Zunzunegui.

This season, its opulent, bell-bottomed yeti coat was the talk of the Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau. The collection riffed on the life and legacy of street photographer Vivian Maier, whose prolific body of work was only celebrated after she passed – rubbish, right?

In a nod to the underdog artist, the runway set was decorated with empty chairs and blank studio backdrops. The first crop of models arrived in fluffy hoods, floor-grazing skirts and cinched-waist trench coats in block colours – concealing and erasing their identities – before the looks broke out into billowy, strapless dresses and asymmetric sheer gowns. Shredding, a recurring element in Habey Club’s work, was also on show, as part of sleeveless, plunging tops and halter-neck dresses. Very crafty!

Acromatyx

Acromatyx is the sleek lovechild of Spanish design duo, Xavi García and Franx de Cristal. Half a year on from winning Fashion Trust Arabia’s guest country prize, the brand closed out 080 Barcelona Fashion Week with a collection that was all about power dressing. Here, the runway was transformed into a corporate hellscape as austere models emerged from thick, white smoke in imposing, blacked-out double-breasted suits.

The pinstripes and wet-look hairstyles recalled cinema’s favourite axe-wielding investment banker, Patrick Bateman – well, if he was dragged out the underworld. Meanwhile, the atmosphere of late-capitalist dread was only heightened by the gothic makeup and ghoulish contacts. (Don’t get us started on the four-armed blazers.)

All of this was tied together by a thumping techno soundtrack bringing us back to the label’s clubland roots. If you’re interviewing at the Impeccably Chic Evil Bastard Fashion Corporation anytime soon, get yourself suited and booted by this lot.