BBFW director Albasarí Caro: ‘The sector’s biggest challenge is adapting quickly to the current landscape’

Bridal fashion returned to Barcelona with a new edition of Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week. Held from April  22 to 26 at Fira de Barcelona’s Montjuïc exhibition centre, the event featured runway shows by 34 designers and a trade fair of 420 brands from 37 countries. This latest edition was marked by the tenth anniversary of Barcelona Bridal Night, headlined this year by Stéphane Rolland, and by a positive result despite uncertainty in the sector and a complex geopolitical context. FashionNetwork.com talks to Albasarí Caro, director of the event, to take stock of this latest instalment and examine the challenges facing the industry.

FashionNetwork.com: What is your assessment of this event?

Albasarí Caro: We are very pleased. During the runway shows we saw higher attendance than last year, which had already been the best edition in the 30-year history of Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week. Exceeding those figures in a context of uncertainty, with buyers booking trips at the last minute and a shifting international landscape, is very encouraging.

We still have to see how orders and business develop over the coming weeks, but for now we are seeing strong footfall, the brands are happy and that is a very good sign. As for the runway, we are also very pleased. The concept has worked very well and we have seen exceptionally strong collections.

FNW: This edition introduced changes to the layout of the venue. What did you aim to achieve as organisers?

A.C.: The business area retains a fairly similar structure because we want consistency and for the brands to be clearly grouped, almost like a shopping centre with well-defined categories.

Where we wanted to innovate most was in Hall 8, where the runway shows take place. Our goal was to surprise and offer a different experience every year. There are so many trade fairs today and professionals are tired of travelling constantly, so you have to give them something distinctive to make them want to return. The brands themselves tell us when we visit other international shows: they reserve their best collections for Barcelona because here they find business, but also a different experience. That’s what we are trying to build: an ecosystem in which buyers, brands, content creators and the press come together.

FNW: The tenth edition of Barcelona Bridal Night featured Stéphane Rolland. What did this collaboration mean for the event?

A.C.: It was a collaboration we had been working on for a long time. We saw one of his shows more than two years ago in Paris, at the Salle Pleyel, where he collaborated with design schools, and we found it an extraordinary proposition. From that moment, we wanted to bring something similar to Barcelona.

Beyond bringing in a major couture house, as we already did with names like Elie Saab, Giambattista Valli and Vivienne Westwood, we wanted to add a new dimension to the event. In this case, working with students was key. Stéphane Rolland came to Barcelona over the course of a year to mentor the students and work with them directly. He was very generous with his time and that was evident in the result. What we experienced during Bridal Night was more than a runway show; it was a deeply emotional experience with a strong sense of purpose.

FNW: Will Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week continue to support this type of collaboration with students?

A.C.: Without a doubt. It is something we deeply believe in. We have already worked with students in other editions, albeit with different formats. Last year, for example, Vivienne Westwood collaborated with students on the design of accessories and visual elements. We maintain a constant relationship with schools such as IED Barcelona, LCI Barcelona and ESDI because we firmly believe in nurturing the next generation. We have to think about what future we want for the sector and how we promote new talent.

FNW: After ten years of Bridal Night and names such as Viktor&Rolf, Marchesa, Giambattista Valli and Vivienne Westwood, how will this format evolve?

A.C.: Bridal Night has been a very important tool in raising the international profile of both the event and Barcelona. It has given the sector greater visibility and made it possible to bring to the city houses that normally only show in Paris or New York. But that doesn’t mean the format has to remain the same. We are studying how it can evolve after this tenth anniversary. We want to keep surprising people.

FNW: This year the Stéphane Rolland show was held inside the exhibition centre. Why was this decision made?

A.C.: It was the designer’s own decision. We showed him different emblematic locations in Barcelona, as we do every year, but he was interested in this space.

Paradoxically, staging it inside the venue was much more complex than organising it elsewhere. The hall was completely empty and everything had to be built from scratch, from the runway and set design to the seating. In addition, the proposal included live music with the Barcelona Youth Symphony Orchestra, which added further technical complexity. It was a great challenge for all the teams, but the result was well worth it.

FNW: What is your assessment of these ten years of Barcelona Bridal Night?

A.C.: The original idea came from my predecessor, Esthermaria Laruccia, with the aim of enhancing the show’s international standing. The first invited house was the Californian Houghton and, from then on, the project has grown with each edition. For me, a turning point was securing Viktor&Rolf. After that, other highly significant houses followed, and that has greatly strengthened Barcelona’s international visibility. This is something that both exhibitors and other global players in the sector appreciate.

FNW: Which markets are you currently prioritising to strengthen internationalisation?

A.C.: We remain very focused on our key markets, such as Europe and the United States, but we are also working on new territories. Brazil is seeing strong growth and this year we managed to attract more buyers. We are also focusing on Australia, although this year flight cancellations hampered progress there. In addition, Asia continues to be very important for us, especially markets such as Korea, Japan and China.

FNW: How do you think the complex geopolitical context is affecting the bridal sector?

A.C.: Right now there is a lot of uncertainty and everything is changing very quickly, so it is difficult to give a definitive answer. What we are clear about is that, at BBFW, we will continue to deliver what brides are asking for. As the world and the sector evolve, the fair will evolve as well. The great challenge for the sector is to adapt to the current context quickly.

We see that brides are continuing to change their purchasing habits and there is a growing appetite for more personalised offerings, small ateliers and brands with distinctive storytelling. This is driving a natural transformation of the market. There is room here for all these brands and we will always act as a bridge.

FNW: Can you give us a preview of the next edition?

A.C.: We can’t reveal anything yet. We are in a constant process of reinvention and we want to continue delivering value for professional visitors. Our focus is on offering tools, knowledge and experiences that make attending Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week essential. That will continue to be our main objective.