Gran Canaria Swim Week reaffirms its international standing in an edition marked by a shift in dates

The swimwear showcase opened a new chapter with an edition that returned the runway to June. Held from June 24 to 27 at Perchel Beach Club and the Expomeloneras venue, Gran Canaria Swim Week moved away from the October slot adopted in recent years in a bid to strengthen its position on the international swimwear circuit and align more closely with the sector’s commercial calendar. This latest edition was defined by a drive towards internationalisation and a strong commitment to showcasing Canarian talent across the programme.

In total, the programme brought together 41 brands, 28 of them from the Canary Islands, including Maldito Sweet, Elena Morales, Nuria González, Palmas, Mommy Loves, Volcano Blood, Chacho SVNRS, and Sirago, among others. Local talent shared the runway with international names such as Alexandra Miro, Melissa Odabash, Chantelle, Banana Moon, Miss Bikini, and Dan Ward, as well as brands from mainland Spain including Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada, Dolores Cortés, Women’secret, Gisela, Gogana, Camila CTG, and Bohodot.

For many, the platform serves as an important commercial showcase. “We really felt the boost from the runway. After our show, we received many orders from the Canary Islands,” representatives from the Seville-based brand Gogana told FashionNetwork.com. The label currently sells its collections through a shop-in-shop in Madrid and other retail locations in Seville, Valencia, and Zahara de los Atunes.

One of the major highlights once again was the opening day held outdoors, which this year moved from Pasito Blanco to Perchel Beach Club, a seafront setting that hosted runway shows by Maldito Sweet, Gogana, Alexandra Miro, and Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada. The rest of the schedule took place at Expomeloneras, which once again became the epicentre of swimwear fashion, with an enhanced staging that featured a 32-metre runway, integrated LED screens and capacity for 640 attendees. Some of the most recognisable figures on the national and international scene, such as Aída Artiles, Valentina Ferrer and Rocío Crusset, took to the catwalk, further raising the event’s profile.

The return to June was one of the most talked-about topics among the participating brands. Gran Canaria-based designer Elena Morales, who produces all her collections in her own workshops in Telde and Las Palmas and is preparing to open- a launch scheduled for next year- a new sustainable standalone store in Telde, acknowledges that the change forced her team to speed up the development of the collection. “This year we’ve been racing against the clock a bit, but I honestly think it’s going to work much better. Before, in October, people already had their minds on winter and Christmas; now we have the whole summer ahead of us,” she explained. The designer, who launched her brand in 2018, also said that the new schedule will enable a stronger connection with buyers and customers.

This view was echoed by Cristina Torras, co-founder of the Barcelona-based brand Bohodot. “From a sales perspective, it’s very positive because it marks the kick-off of the B2B channel, and having all the photographic material available helps a great deal. But as a small company, we’re extremely stretched, since we’ve had to pause the commercial campaign for weeks to focus on the show,” she admitted. Even so, the designer acknowledged that participating in Gran Canaria Swim Week remains “the moment we enjoy most all year,” as it offers an opportunity to develop proposals conceived specifically for the runway.

Founded in Barcelona, Bohodot keeps all its production in local workshops and distributes its collections through three well-balanced business channels: e-commerce, two stores in Barcelona and in the Girona town of Begur, and a broad multi-brand network. It is this last channel that has driven its international growth over the past financial year, with placements at retailers such as Le Bon Marché in Paris, La Rinascente in Italy, Falabella in Chile, and a new distributor in Turkey. International sales currently account for nearly 30% of its revenue. “We’re already fairly well consolidated in Spain at B2B level. We now prefer to invest in international trade fairs because we want to keep growing in Europe, strengthening our presence in countries such as Portugal and Greece, before making the leap to other markets like the United States,” Torras explained.

For many Canarian firms, international expansion is also a response to the logistical challenges of operating from the archipelago. Mommy Loves, a Gran Canaria-based label that produces all its collections in the Canary Islands and sells its products via its online channel, a showroom by appointment, and pop-ups in cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, and Seville, acknowledged that customs barriers significantly shape its strategy. “We’re a small company and, right now, having our own store is very complicated. The issue with customs and taxes means selling to the Spanish mainland severely erodes our margins,” explained founder Carlota Guillemet. “Paradoxically, it’s more profitable for us to export to international markets such as Miami or Mexico thanks to the free-trade zone. That’s why we’re working to position ourselves ever better outside Spain,” she added.

Indeed, one of the mechanisms the organisation uses to bolster its international profile is to attract overseas brands each year to broaden the runway’s reach. “Having brands from the rest of Spain and Europe is very important for the island, as it helps us establish ourselves as a professional platform,” said Minerva Alonso, Councillor for Economic Development, Industry, Commerce, and Crafts for the Gran Canaria Island Council, in an interview with FashionNetwork.com. Among the stand-outs in this edition was the Italian-American label Dan Ward, which won the Best Collection Award at the Gran Canaria event in 2025. Its founder, who built part of his career at houses such as Hermès and Calvin Klein, noted that the brand maintains a strongly international profile, with a commercial presence in markets including the United States, France, Italy and the Caribbean. “Our brand was founded about ten years ago with a focus on menswear, but the women’s line has grown much faster and now represents around 60% of both sales and the collection,” the designer explained.

As is now customary, the catwalk concluded with an awards ceremony. The White Milano Award went to Chacho SVNRS, which will also have its own space at the next edition of the Italian trade fair White Milano. The Best Emerging Collection Award, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce and worth €1,500, went to Sandra Jaurrieta, while the Best Collection Award, sponsored by Fundgrube and worth €3,000, went to Camila CTG. The jury was composed of professionals including Pepa Bueno, executive director of Acme; Brenda Bellei, director of White Milano; Scott Lipinski, CEO of the German Fashion Council; Josie, journalist and fashion commentator; Mario Antico, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Bucharest Fashion Week; Audrey Khew, representative of the British Fashion Council; Esther García, the event’s creative director; and Araceli Díaz, representing the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, who served as secretary to the jury.

Gran Canaria Swim Week is spearheaded by the Cabildo de Gran Canaria through Gran Canaria Moda Cálida, a programme created in 1996 by the Department of Industry, Commerce, and Crafts, and has been supported by the Association of Spanish Fashion Designers (Acme) since 2017. According to the latest data provided by the organisation, the 2025 edition generated an estimated economic impact of €10.3 million, compared with €6.2 million the previous year, reflecting the growing weight of the catwalk as Europe’s leading platform specialising in swimwear.