080 Barcelona Fashion opens

080 Barcelona Fashion opened its 37th edition on Monday in Barcelona’s Port Vell, shifting the city’s runway week to a new waterfront site. (080barcelonafashion.cat) The runway program runs from Tuesday, April 14, through Friday, April 17, at Rambla del Rompeolas in Marina Vela, with 26 shows on the official calendar. The opening day of shows includes Escorpion, SKFK, Bolaño, Custo Barcelona and Adolfo Domínguez. (080barcelonafashion.cat) Before the catwalks began, organizers added two days of talks on Monday and Tuesday under the European Designer Fashion Summit, held at the Port of Barcelona’s Tinglados event space. FashionUnited reported more than 20 national and international experts were scheduled across 10 sessions. (fashionunited.in) Those sessions focused first on designer fashion as a marker of cultural identity, then on internationalization, digitalization and sustainability. Speakers listed by organizers included Carlo Capasa of Italy’s Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, Pascal Morand of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, and Cecilie Thorsmark of Copenhagen Fashion Week. (fashionunited.in) The venue change is one of the biggest shifts in this edition. La Vanguardia reported the event left the Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau after years there and moved to the seafront, where Catalonia business minister Miquel Sàmper and Port of Barcelona president José Alberto Carbonell were set to inaugurate it. (lavanguardia.com) 080 Barcelona Fashion is not just a runway week but a public platform backed by Catalonia’s fashion and commerce bodies. On its official site, the organization says it is meant to push transformation in the sector through innovation and creativity, while promoting sustainability, circularity and diversity. (080barcelonafashion.cat) This edition mixes established Spanish labels with newer names and a few first-timers. El Periódico reported that Adolfo Domínguez and SKFK are among the debuts, while Bolaño and Victor Von Schwarz return to the calendar. (elperiodico.com) There was also a late change to the lineup. La Vanguardia reported Mexican designer Ricardo Seco was added to present “Orgullo migrante” after Luar, the New York label founded by Raul Lopez, canceled its appearance. (lavanguardia.com) The week closes Friday night with David Catalán, after four days that place Barcelona’s fashion platform against a new Mediterranean backdrop. The format this year starts with policy and industry debate, then turns to the catwalk. (080barcelonafashion.cat)