After bidding farewell to Sant Pau Art Nouveau, 080 Barcelona Fashion cast off for new waters this season, docking at Port Vell and Marina Vela in the city’s shipping district. The change of course brought a different current to the week, as a line-up of emerging and established designers navigated what’s next in Spanish fashion.
Reparto took us back to 2007
This season, Avril Lavigne called… and Reparto answered. Titled Backlot, the collection saw designers Margil Peña and Ana Viglione stage a backstage wander through a studio set primed for a Wild Child-coded rom-com or a grainy noughties music video, complete with languid, just-wrapped models (including one gripping a bedazzled pillow). Inspired by a quote from Daniel Roseberry – “Dreams are expensive, but dreaming is free” – the looks embedded fantasy into its construction, not just its references.
On the runway, lace, sequinned leopard print and sheer tulle collided with Victorian silhouettes and Art Deco references, building a deliberately disjointed, fever-dream collage. Upcycling remained central: shredded fabrics were reworked into theatrical boas, while plastic discs transformed into a mini dress and pencil skirt. Elsewhere, button badges stamped with pet portraits and the label’s tongue-in-cheek slogans – including ‘I Am A Star’ – punctuated the looks, paired with oversized star-shaped bangles and DIY-style rosette detailing (the favoured accessory of Barcelona’s best dressed street stylers).
Though the opening looks skewed monochrome, pops of neon pink cut through, dialling up the collection’s pop-punk charge. Fuchsia saturated opaque tights, clip-in extensions and blown-out mascara, blending nostalgia and disruption for a distinct alt-girl mood.
Dominnico celebrated a decade of designing
Dominncico’s AW26 collection was an all-star affair, from the runway to the front row. All eyes were on Drag Race alum – and former BRICKS cover star – Violet Chachki as she took her seat to watch the show to watch DJ Sita Abellan, entrepreneur Jessica Goicoechea, TV host Carmen Lomana walking arm-in-arm with musician Metrika, and fellow Drag Race alum – and Dominnico favourite – Tayce, strut their stuff.
Titled Soft Armour, the collection explored the tension between tough and delicate through material, texture and colour. The brand’s signature buckles cinched leather and suede motorcycle jackets paired with pastel-hued faux-fur collars in sage green, icy blue and powder pink. Elsewhere, references to armour came through constraint, with buckled, fringed gloves encasing models’ arms, and a pair of powder-blue jeans featuring a caged-leg construction.
A collaboration with New Rock grounded the looks with heavy, industrial footwear, offsetting the collection’s sugary palette. But the most striking shift came in a move away from the brand’s signature pastels into more gothic territory, punctuated by an 80s-inspired taffeta dress, all puffed volume and ballooned corsetry, styled with a single armoured leg. The closing look followed suit: a black gown, sharpened by a dramatic spiked silver necklace, brought the collection to a controlled, almost confrontational finish.
AAA Studio proclaimed ‘gay rights!’
Arnau Climent’s AAA Studio returned to the runway for its third collection at Barcelona Fashion Week, entitled “¡¡¡Señora, suélteme el brazo!!!” – which translates to “Let go of my arm, ma’am!”. The brand uses its design to explore the intersection of performance and fashion, frequently blending punk attitude with the comfort of streetwear staples.
For AW26, embroidered and appliqued riffs on the word “gay” were emblazoned across sweatershirts, oversized tees, appearing as if both a punchline and provocation. What first read as irreverent wordplay quickly became more intentional; a reclamation of language that has long been used to belittle or insult, now worn boldly and without apology. Elsewhere, the brand’s signature sweatsuits were playfully experimented with through dramatic ruffles, exaggerated funnel necks and shredded textures.
Nazzal Studio honoured Palestinian craftsmanship
Founded in 2023, Nazzal Studio – led by Sylwia Nazzal – made its Barcelona Fashion Week debut with Al-Najah, a collection created in collaboration with artist Jad Maq that stood out for its clarity of intent and refusal to dilute its references. Drawing directly from Bedouin life across Bilad al-Sham, the work centred craft as both method and message, foregrounding practices shaped by survival, land and continuity.
Leather, silk, latex and metal were worked alongside natural pigments like henna, indigo and mineral dyes, with Maq’s contribution most visible in the direct application of henna onto latex, alongside a hand-painted Keffiyeh. Elsewhere, intricate embroidery details were drawn from Palestinian tatreez and Bedouin tattoo symbolism. Parts of the collection were produced in collaboration with refugee women, positioning the collection as an assertion of living heritage that resists erasure and insists on visibility through making.
SKFK brought slow fashion to the runway
The term “slow fashion” is most commonly associated with ethical production, repair culture, and sustainable consumption, not with fashion week runways or editor acclaim. While many iconic maisons adopt practices that involve hours, days or even weeks of meticulous craft, the phrase itself tends to be reserved for brands that favour sustainability over design. However, with its latest collection Lotura, SKFK set to overturn this presumption.
For AW26, the Bilbao-based brand turned its attention to the relationship between craft, land and time, showing as a statement against the speed and detachment of digital life. The collection was rooted in manual labour processes; braiding, in particular, emerged as a recurring technique, its repetition and precision speaking to patience, care and continuity. The collection opened with a dramatic performance, taking place on the runway under bright spotlights as two dancers grappled with a long braided rope. From there, a series of patchwork t-shirts and dresses highlighted the material techniques used, alongside woven shirts, knit, and sustainable sequins walked down the runway, showing the true breadth of what ethical production can entail.
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