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The Hottest Tickets in Town – 080 Barcelona Fashion

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080 Barcelona Fashion is undoubtedly one of the hottest fashion and luxury events in Spain. The 080 runway is graced yearly by world-renowned designers and attracts thousands of international fashionistas. This exceptional display of some of the biggest talent in fashion takes place in exclusive cultural and historical buildings in Barcelona – this year the iconic Art Nouveau venue Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau, a UNESCO World Heritage site, hosted the event.

EU In the Frow

Students of EU’s Master in Fashion & Luxury Business had the opportunity to experience this exclusive event with front-row seats at German-Persian designer, Boris Bidjan Saberi‘s retrospective show. The Barcelona-based cult designer regularly dresses celebrities including Justin Bieber and Kanye West, and sees his work as being about creating culture.

Saberi characterizes his aesthetic as experimental, urban and instinctive, for which he credits his unique heritage. A mixture of European and Middle Eastern culture inspires his approach, resulting in a ‘primitiveness in which raw materials and accurate tailoring fuse together’.

Saberi is both a brilliant designer and an astute businessman with 120 points of sale for his eponymous brand around the world. His additional line, 11 by Boris Saberi, recently presented a collaboration with Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja at Paris Fashion Week, a partnership which aims to ‘manifest a shared philosophy on nowadays social, economic and political values’. Saberi’s concern about sustainability is apparent in his choice of collaborators, his dedication to slow craft techniques, and his willingness to step away from established protocol. Although he has been a regular on the Paris runways, Saberi decided to miss a few seasons whilst he assessed his role as a designer and his impact on the planet; he felt his values and aesthetic were out of sync with the fast-moving fashion world.

His recent show was the result of stars aligning when Marta Coca, head of 080 Barcelona Fashion and director of Catalonia’s Consorç de Comerç, Artesania i Moda, invited him to participate. He was eager to share what he had created over the past few years with, and in, his hometown. Saberi’s 080 retrospective celebrated 11 years of innovative creation, featuring 20 pieces that encapsulate his brand and career.

An International Approach

Marta Coca’s strategy for 080 Barcelona Fashion aimed to increase international exposure and establish the event alongside the more globally renowned fashion weeks of Paris, Milan, London and New York, whilst ensuring that its unique and local essence was not lost.

To achieve this, Coca invited a smaller number of local-international fashion brands to 080 Barcelona, including Boris Saberi. She focused on quality over quantity in order to attract a greater number of buyers and to establish the occasion as a commercial opportunity for brands and buyers alike. Coca also took a creative approach to the event format, including a showroom and a pop-up gallery alongside the traditional runway shows to showcase local, handmade brands.

fashion and luxury business

The Business of Fashion

Students of EU’s Master in Fashion & Luxury Business were able to experience a dynamic and culturally significant event,  witness first-hand the inspiring work of a seasoned and masterful designer, and see how the innovative approach taken positioned 080 Barcelona Fashion as a serious player in the international business of fashion.

If you’re interested in pursuing a career in fashion, luxury brand management or retail, the Master in Fashion & Luxury Business at EU Business School will equip you with all the essential skills you need to thrive in the industry.

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