In Pictures: Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid FW21 highlights

The 73rd edition of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid was one of the first European fashion weeks in a long time to proceed with a live audience. The event, which took place from Thursday April 8th until Sunday April 11th, was yet another successful celebration of Spanish design talent. FashionUnited has compiled a visual overview of the highlights of this year’s FW21 edition.

In addition to Spanish household names such as Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada, Custo Barcelona and Moisés Nieto, there were a number of newcomers who graced the MBFW Madrid catwalk with their FW21 collections for the first time. The designers include Pablo Erroz from the island of Mallorca, contemporary fashion firm Otrura from Venezuelan designer Gabriel Nogueiras, and Catalan apparel brand Maite by Lola Casademunt.

Newcomer Pablo Erroz: a timeless and genderless collection

With locally produced genderless pieces, meant to be worn year round, Pablo Erroz presented a sustainable collection in which the colors ocher, brown, black and gold prevailed, along with flashes of green, white, gray and intense fuchsia shades. The chromatic color palette is reflected in the choice of materials: animal fabrics, such as wool, alpaca and nappa, recycled and from stock, as well as multiple types of cotton, nylon and silk.

Newcomer Otrura: a homage to craftsmanship

Designer Sergio de Lázaro of fashion house Otrura played with reconstructed classic silhouettes, blazers and other jackets, and shirts in neutral tones such as black, beige, white and grey, juxtaposing elegance and sobriety with originality and modernity.

Custo Barcelona: electric and vibrant

At Custo Barcelona, sweatshirts stole the show, mainly in plain colors or animal print. Multicolored stripes, pearly glitter and technological fabrics come together to create the risqué looks Custodio and David Dalmau have come to be known for. Custo Barcelona’s color palette combines neon and vibrant colors with every shade of black you can imagine. The brand's signature style was also reflected on the FW21 catwalk: colors, prints, the brand logo, animal print, waistbands, and the neck and back as a focal point. Self-confidence with a hint of seduction and firm, strong slogans dominated the designs.

Maite by Lola Casademunt: bohemian London style and sunset hues

Catalan fashion firm Maite by Lola Casademunt made its debut on the MBFWMadrid catwalk with its bohemian chic FW21 collection. Designer Maite Casademunt designated orange as the dominant color on the catwalk, drawing inspiration from the famous sunsets impressionist painter Joseph Mallord William Turner from Chelsea is known for. The brand's signature style was also reflected on the FW21 catwalk: colors, prints, the brand logo, animal print, waistbands, and the neck and back as a focal point. Self-confidence with a hint of seduction and firm, strong slogans dominated the designs.

Rubearth: uniting different art forms in a sustainable way

Based on principles of reuse and upcycling, Venezuelan designer Gabriel Nogueiras aims to unite sculpture and painting with sustainability without sacrificing style in his brand Rubearth. For FW21, the label presented a menswear collection called “Fat Man”, inspired by the threat of atomic bombs such as the ones dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War 2 and made entirely from pieces discarded by the large companies in the industry. Aesthetically, the winner of this edition’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Talent award, was praised for its attention to detail: a variety of plaid patterns such as vichy, harris and tartan, played a central part in the collection, as well as military motifs.

Moisés Nieto: eco-friendly post civil war looks

Designer Moisés Nieto is one of the most important designers in today’s Spanish fashion scene. At MBFWMadrid he opted for monocolor pieces, denim and carefully detailed patterns. Think work clothes, and the ‘naked’ and minimalistic practicality of looks that characterized post civil war society in Spain, an era he used as inspiration for his FW21 collection.

Of the FW21 collections, two labels stood out: newcomer Otrura’s collection and Rubearth’s collection. Newcomer Otrura was awarded the L’Oreal Paris award for best FW21 collection. Gabriel Nogueiras, the designer behind Rubearth, was recognized for the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Talent award and praised by the MBFWMadrid jury for his ability to “express his own identity through a collection with great aesthetic coherence. He focused on local production from an innovative and sustainable point of view.”

Photo credits: MBFWMadrid / IFEMA