Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week consolidated as an international centre for bridal fashion

Fashion, international business and market trend-setting are the backbone of the Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week, this year in its 28th edition. The fair, which is organised by Fira de Barcelona and held from 23 to 29 April in the Montjuïc Exhibition Centre, consolidates its leadership and prominence on the global stage thanks to a 20% increase in brand presence and a 3% increase in international brands, which now account for 68% of all brands represented.

The runway will feature 27 firms, including Spain’s leading brands, such as Pronovias, Rosa Clarà, YolanCris, Jesus Peiró, Isabel Sanchís, Sophie et Voilà Collection, Cristina Tamborero, Marco and María and Jordi Dalmau, among many others. What’s more, this year it will host, for the first time, world-famous firms such as the Italian Carlo Pignatelli or native Lebanese, American-based designer Reem Acra. It will also be the stage for the first fashion parade that BBFW devotes to young talents, featuring proposals by Alejandro Resta, Mar Rodriguez, Laura Riera and Italian designer Simone Marulli.

In turn, the trade fair that will be held from April 27 to 29 will bring together more than 370 national and international firms, the latter coming from 28 countries, especially the UK, USA, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Turkey, France, Portugal, Belgium, Poland, Lebanon, Israel and Ukraine. Among the brands that stand out are Reem Acra, from the USA, as well as the American brands Amsale, Justin Alexander, Morilee, Demetrios, Allure, Maggie Sottero, Enzoani and Badgley Mischka; the Italian Peter Langner & Carlo Pignatelli; Caroline Castigliano, Ellis and Ian Stuart from the United Kingdom; Marylise from Belgium; Rhea Costa and Ersa Atelier from Romania; Birenzweig Bridal & Liz Martinez from Israel, and many more.

According to Marta Raich, the president of the fair, “Once again, BBFW will take the front row of international bridal fashion shows and fairs, offering a unique ensemble of brands, styles and trends that reaffirm the concept that ‘Made in Spain’ is a guarantee of quality and design, as well as the BBFW’s position as the most well-established platform on the international market”.

Yet another year, BBFW will attract a large number of key buyers from more than 50 countries. It’s worth highlighting the presence of some of the best stores in Europe, the United States and Japan, among others.

As stated by Estermaria Laruccia, director of BBFW, “The presence of the very best national and international brands at the fair contributes significantly to attracting buyers, who attend Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week on a yearly basis to discover first-hand what’s trending in the international market. That’s why”, explained Laruccia, “BBFW has become an absolute must for the international bridal sector, which makes Barcelona the capital of bridal fashion”.

Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week has been chosen as the venue for the second edition of the “Elle International Bridal Awards”. The ceremony, held on the night of 27 April at the Paraninfo Hall of the University of Barcelona’s Historical Building, will be hosted by Spanish actress Rossy de Palma and will bring together the sector’s professionals, business owners and entrepreneurs. The aim is to consolidate and internationalise these prominent bridal fashion awards, which are led by “Elle”, one of the broadest networks in the world of fashion and lifestyle publications, which has a presence in 46 countries.

Pronovias, Rosa Clará, Jordi Dalmau, YolanCris and Reem Acra chose special places in Barcelona to unveil their collections for 2019. Montjuïc’s Italian Pavilion, the Art Nouveau Site in Santa Pau, as well as the Maritime Museum or the University of Barcelona, will host some of the bridal fashion week’s shows, exhibitions and side events.

The “BBFW village” will also become a very special venue devoted to the art, design and fashion of the 20th century. It will have a unique display featuring wedding and evening dresses designed by Christian Lacroix, Yves Saint Laurent, Manuel Pertegaz and Rosser, among others, belonging to the Rocamora Foundation. The exhibition will share the village with the workshops carried out by students from the European Institute of Design (IED), devoted to the “moulage” technique, which consists in placing different fabrics—provided by Gratacós—on a mannequin to achieve the effect of a draped dress.

Committed to being a benchmark supporting the sector and moving towards new trends in both fashion and business, BBFW has promoted the new study “The store of the future for Millennial brides” in which the professor of the IESE Business School, José Luis Nueno, highlights the necessary digital transformation that the Bridal fashion sector must undergo to adapt to the new millennial brides’ new shopping trends. It also analyses the way technology will revolutionise the whole process of selling a wedding dress, both online and at physical shops.  This work provides continuity to BBFW’s book “Millennial Bride, born in the 80’s, getting married today”, in which Professor Nueno addressed the economic and socio-demographic global trends of the bridal fashion industry.

Thanks to the internationalisation strategy implemented by the sector’s leading brands, exports make up 40% of the revenues of all wedding dresses made in Spain. According to the data for last year provided by the Spanish Textile and Clothing Information Centre (CITYC), Spanish exports for bridal fashion (including wedding dresses, groom suits, evening dresses, accessories, etc.) increased by 3.9% in 2017, compared to 2016. On the other hand, the sector has a network made up of 700 companies; it employs more than 6,000 people and produces 755,000 wedding dresses every year. Spain is the only Western country whose production exceeds its demand. In fact, it’s the second exporting country worldwide, after China. According to the latest data available, the bridal business generates more than €1.3 billion annually, which accounts for 12.9% of textile sector’s revenues.