IED Barcelona
Preview: IED Barcelona Class of 2023
Paula Azategui - No Land to Call our Own
This collection serves as a critique of our destructive ecological behaviors and explores the concept of mutation and adaptation through transformable garments and chaotic aesthetics.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR COLLECTION ‘NO LAND TO CALL OUR OWN’
‘No Land to Call our Own’ presents a dystopian future after climate change has destroyed the world as we know it. Humans must start mutating to cope with this changing and chaotic reality. Else they will perish as a result of the destructive environment they have created.
HOW DO YOU TRANSLATE THE CHAOTIC NATURE OF THIS DYSTOPIAN REALITY INTO YOUR DESIGNS?
This collection critiques how, as humans, we live so comfortably and destroy so easily what surrounds us––and how that could irreversibly change our world, forcing us to change with it. I designed transformable garments to express mutation and a sense of being able to live in different contexts through a singular piece. I created trimmings and jewelry from found objects to show how the fashion world will lack in resources, while mixing contrasting fabrics like denim and organza to emphasize chaos. Prints with desaturated colors express how dark life would be in this alternate potential reality.
Valentina Bentós - Fashion is a Cow
This collection combines urban and rural aesthetics in its prints, textures, fabrics, and volumes to express the concept of chaos-coherence with a touch of irony and humor.
‘FASHION IS A COW’ IS QUITE AN INTRIGUING NAME! HOW DOES THIS NAME REFLECT YOU AND YOUR IDENTITY?
I draw [inspiration] from Uruguay and the mundane for this collection––from what happens in the streets, the kitsch and incoherent nature of familiar people and places. The name comes from the illogical number of cows in Uruguay, which is four times the number of humans. The cow became my conceptual reference for creating prints, textures, accessories, and other details in the collection. Fashion is my present and future, the profession and passion for which I have chosen to leave my country of origin. The combination of “fashion” and “cow” brings together the most important aspects of my life.
CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT THE GARMENTS THEMSELVES AND THE DIVERSE MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES YOU USED?
Each look in the collection conceptualizes a particular idea, drawing from artistic and cultural movements in Uruguay. The rural aesthetics of gauchos (country people) are mixed with the world of prints, street styles, and formal tailoring. The prints are the common thread, composed of photographs taken by myself, hand drawn maps, food, and cows. I used different materials to achieve different results, saturating, repeating, and warping images while changing colors and blending textures. These elements add depth and intrigue, allowing for unexpected and playful juxtapositions.
Martina Mateu - A Wednesday
This collection combines movement, contrasting structures, and traditional and modern elements to evoke the nostalgia of cherished everyday moments.
CAN YOU SHARE THE MAIN GOAL BEHIND YOUR COLLECTION AND HOW IT CAPTURES A SPECIFIC MOMENT IN TIME?
My idea originated from a single moment with my family last July. I wanted to freeze that moment in time, to avoid the uncertainty of the future. Each piece tries to convey a particular feeling: of sitting around a table with family, of finding beauty in simplicity, of returning home. Home is where I can hear the branches rustling in the wind, feel the warmth of the summer sun on my skin. This collection is a visual translation of the nostalgia and tranquility of these moments.
HOW DID YOU INCORPORATE YOUR ENVIRONMENT INTO YOUR PIECES?
My garments have movement and contrasting structures and materials. I used fabrics like voile and organza for their flowing drape, while also incorporating materials like poplin and raincoats for added structure. The main colors of the collection are white and black, in various shades and finishes. Classic elements such as cotton ribbons and mother-of-pearl buttons became defining characteristics of the pieces, representing the stability of home, while subtle details only visible on a second look create a sense of return and rediscovery.
Ariadna Rahola - Lolita
This collection explores the enigmatic allure of ‘Lolita’ through unpretentious silhouettes, muted colors, and manipulations of basic garments.
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE INSPIRATION BEHIND YOUR COLLECTION AND EXPLAIN THE DESIGN ELEMENTS YOU INCORPORATED?
I wanted my collection to capture Lolita’s strange, obsessive allure without intentionally seeking attention. To achieve this, I used unpretentious silhouettes and a primary color palette, leaning towards muted colors and whites with the occasional intense pop. I drew inspiration from Dadaism and the concept of déjà vu, giving basic garments like white cotton t-shirts a new perspective. I also explored the concept of “half death” through rust manipulation on silk and the intentional deformation of garments, trying to convey a sense of partial decomposition.
YOU MENTIONED REFERENCES TO DUCHAMP, DALÍ, CHESS, SAILING, AND RUGBY. HOW DID THESE ELEMENTS INFLUENCE YOUR COLLECTION?
I posed my collection as a strategic game, carefully crafting multi-positional garments with a touch of Surrealism that calls to Duchamp and Dalí’s chess. I incorporated sailing materials such as spinnakers in fabric form, details of sail finishes, and fluid fabrics like cupro and viscose. Rugby served as a unifying theme, reminiscent of the bond between my father and his brothers. I incorporated striped patterns and leather and silk details inspired by rugby garments. Additionally, I utilized a manipulation of polka dots, achieved through laser cutting and overlapping opaque and transparent fabrics, to call to mind the marks left by rugby cleats on grass.
Carolina Puiggros - Dizygoth
This collection seeks to understand the shared experiences of humanity and mortality.
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE INSPIRATION BEHIND YOUR COLLECTION?
My intention is to find all those things that unite us as humanity: pre-life, life and death. Although everyone has their own experiences that mark us as people, we are all chained in the same cage of mortality that is the Earth. This collection searches for all the things we share even though we are so different from each other, thus forming a marriage between the world and my own existence.
Claudia Cánovas - The Cross Road
This collection blends groove, craftsmanship, and sensory exploration through garments and accessories that emit sounds and create unusual textures, immersing individuals in their own bodies.
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE INSPIRATION AND DESIGN TECHNIQUES USED IN THE MAKING OF THIS COLLECTION?
The Cross Road is a collection of four A/W looks for women and men inspired by groove and know-how. The craftsmanship and the use of materials characteristic of cabinetmaking merge with the music and the sensations we feel when dancing. The organic forms in 3D, the textile manipulations and the trimmings and accessories made by hand stand out. Dark rigid fabrics are contrasted with more fluid fabrics in a color palette of neutral colors.
WHAT DO YOU HOPE PEOPLE WILL TAKE AWAY FROM EXPERIENCING YOUR COLLECTION?
The collection aims to make people feel curious through multisensory, reinvented garments that generate unusual textures in the tissue. I want each person to be immersed in their own being, in the same way they are when doing a task they are passionate about or following a melody.
The IED Barcelona Fashion Show takes place on the 12th of June at La Paloma. To view alumni collections from this college, visit our showroom here.
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