080 is Barcelona’s premier fashion event during which over five days the city becomes the setting for catwalk shows, product launches, business networking, parties and associated activities as well as capturing the attention of the fashion media both in Spain and internationally.
With two editions happening yearly, one during the winter months and another during the summer, 080 has over the years become one of the most important launch pads for local fashion designers.
A long tradition of fashion in Barcelona
Barcelona is one of the world’s top fashion capitals, ranked #05 by Global Language Monitor. The city’s association with fashion stretches back to the 1800s with the beginnings of the textile industry that marked the arrival of the Industrial Revolution in Catalonia. Just like the north of England during the 19th Century Barcelona was an important centre of manufacturing where great fortunes were established through the proliferation of cotton mills, Catalonia became one of the most consolidated textile manufacturing areas in Europe. Over the course of the 20th Century the industry all but disappeared due to geopolitical factors but Barcelona maintained its status as a centre of fashion. Jeanne Lanvin the French haute couture designer who learned her craft in Barcelona opened a branch of her store in 1929 and in that same year the Barcelona International Exposition marked the launch of Cristóbal Balenciaga, the most renowned Spanish fashion designer of the 20th Century admired by Coco Chanel and Cristian Dior.
From haute couture to fast fashion
080 Barcelona which takes its name from the city’s postal code, is an eclectic showcase that combines young up and coming designers and more commercial ‘fast fashion’ brands associated with Barcelona which nowadays includes Mango, Desigual, Tous, Bimba Lola and other niche brands such as Ailanto and Site Murt. Fashion bloggers, journalists, retailers, designers and the general public jostle for seats at the very well attended catwalk shows during the 5 days of each edition.
080 a platform for Barcelona design
Originally launched in 2007 sponsored by the Generalitat de Catalunya (Government of Catalonia) the pilot edition took place in June of that year. The following year the first edition proper was held between the 5th and 7th of March with additional funding from the Ayuntamiento (City Council). The Barcelona fashion week as it’s also known, provides a platform to promote local independent fashion talent on a national and international stage. Over the years 080 has been a springboard for a number of designers amongst which is Manuel Bolaño (woman, July 2011), Miriam Ponsa (for the Transhumància collection, 11th edition, January 2013), Josep Abril (with the 34 FW#1415N34 Reflections collection, January 2014) and the 2017 winter edition joint winners Oscarleon (for “I close my eyes for you …”) and Antonio Miro (the ‘Orígens’ collection).
From location to location
With 42,000 visitors attending the 2016 winter edition (the last official statistics provided) 080 is one of Barcelona’s premier fairs. Another unique feature it is itinerant nature, its various editions moving around the city accommodated within some of the most spectacular architectural set-pieces Barcelona has to offer. Previous editions have taken place within the Museo Marítimo located near the Old Port on Av. de les Drassanes, a building dating from the medieval era with a structure of soaring stone arches and wide open plan exhibition spaces. The Disseny Hub, Europe’s largest museum dedicated to design located in the @22 digital hub neighbourhood. Or the El Born Centre de Cultural i Memòria, the cultural centre that commemorates the 1714 War of the Spanish Succession between the Bourbon and the Hapsburg dynasties, when Catalonia officially came under the direct rule of the Spanish crown. And in recent years the fair has been held within the Sant Pau Recinte Modernista, formerly the Hospital de la Santa Cruz y San Pablo, designed by the renowned modernista architect Lluis Domènech i Montaner.
Useful information
The next edition of 080 takes place between the 25th and the 29th of June 2018 at the Recinte Modernista del Sant Pau. Inscriptions for participants and visitors are currently open.
The official website has all the details and includes archives of previous editions as well as links to the 080 TV Channel, press clippings and other relevant information.
Accommodation
The Grand Hotel Central located on Via Laietana, 30 is the perfect base to visit the 080 fair, close to everything going on in the city the hotel is also surrounded by excellent fashion shops that reflect the rich and creative energy of Barcelona. With its superb restaurant and a ground floor bar, City Bar & Restaurant and its penthouse level cocktail bar, Skybar, that becomes the unofficial meeting point of local fashionistas during the fair, the hotel also maintains a regularly updated web with cultural, gastronomic and shopping recommendations, Our Barcelona.
