5 craftsmanship brands you should know in 2020

TrendsHandicraft has become one of the most important headlights for fashion production in the face of the new decade. These five Spanish brands of local apparel redefine the concept, placing it at the heart of its manufacturing

By Luis Ariel Gutiérrez

This topic was published in vogue February 2020 (No. 383).

With Kate Moss and Bianca Jagger as influences, and inspired by the eternal elegance of their own grandmothers, Virginia Achenza and Sol Matossian conceive VienSo. The fashion firm, based in London and made in Spain, was created with the mission of creating timeless pieces, which survive the change of season thanks to the excellence of its materials and a classic style. Its priority is quality over quantity, which is why only 24 units of each piece are edited, while its vision of luxury lies in the sense of exclusivity, not in price. Although its creators founded the brand in 2017, it was not until October 2019 that their clothing line was launched on the market, with sales being made both on their website and on Serrano 47 woman.

In a handmade workshop in Ubrique, leather bags and accessories signed by Monica and Elena Díaz, the sisters behind the Möhel firm, are made by hand. With only two and a half years of life, the family company has found a faithful niche of clients who advocate for its quality and timeless designs. The pieces, which are characterized by precise attention to detail, offer a high degree of exclusivity because, once exhausted, they are not replenished in the same colour or leather type. In addition, sustainability also plays an important role in the identity of the Gaditan firm thanks to the use of natural skins and ecological dyes, and to processes that are totally environmentally friendly.

Reinventing tradition is the task that Ana Canalejo has been pursuing since 2018 with her brand Room 717. Her formation, halfway between Madrid and Paris, along with the fervor towards her native Seville, made the Andalusian purify a special taste for fashion and a style of her own. After borrowing his mother's Manila SHAWL and turning it into a pareo skirt, Canalejo realized that this would be the ideal hook to give this iconic piece of the Spanish closet a global diffusion platform and a use detached from its usual context. This embroidered silk canvas, which has become a family jewel destined to survive generation after generation, is now the starting point for both formal and relaxed styles.

Detecting the lack of high-quality hair accessories on the Spanish market, Marta Roig Manrique and her daughter Fiona decided to create Fiona bow. The idea materialized last year in a series of customised diadems, forks and pins and, as its name announces, ties, usually velvet. Although from the firm they assure that their greatest influence on the creative process arises from the international walkways and the brand is supplied with French suppliers, the ties are sewn by hand in their workshop in Barcelona, customizing each design manually according to the customer's taste.

With training in design schools, both fashion and art management, Fer Blasco and Juanma Marchesi join creative forces at Maison Etnad. A minimalist handbag firm, with clean and purified shapes, which responds to the idea with which the project was born: to create unique pieces inspired by a strong and independent woman. The collections of the brand, of limited edition, are made up of a single model available in different colors and prints, whose metal parts, as well as their making, are made entirely manually by silverware and leather craftsmen in Barcelona and Ubrique respectively. The result are contemporary designs that challenge trends, and that have already managed to reach reputable online sales pages such as Net-a-Porter.

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