A stunning sequined dress by Acuamona.
Although we appreciate all fabrics equally due to their uniqueness, we recognize that there are certain items that best stand the test of time and become a smart investment for any time of year. Taking advantage of the last weeks of discounts on our winter collection, Gratac贸s presents you five items that do not lose their relevance, despite the ephemeral trends. In addition, now you can find them at more attractive prices in our outlet section
Tweed
This fabric stands out for its extraordinary richness in every imaginable aspect: it has a historical legacy that dates back to the Scottish Highlands; It is a wild card in constant evolution; It is easily recognizable at first glance and is inspired by classic elegance, while exhibiting a chameleon-like character that allows it to adapt to more contemporary versions. What more could you want?
It is a fabric wool fabric with an irregular appearance, a rough feel, openwork and elastic texture, with well-defined patterns such as houndstooth , windowpane and herringbone . This item is easy to sew and iron, offering a versatility that can transcend the limits of gender, or rather so, does not have limits.
Of modest origin, tweed comes from Scotland and was a common fabric in the warm clothing of the popular classes, used in the countryside to face adverse weather conditions. In the 19th century, the English aristocracy found in this fabric their best ally for carrying out country activities and outdoor sports. The person who knew how to give tweed an aura of glamour was, without a doubt, Coco Chanel, who in the late 1920s incorporated it into the women’s wardrobe in garments that have become symbols, such as her short jackets or pencil skirts. This fabric provided the woman of the time with extra comfort without losing an ounce of elegance.
Discover all our seasonal tweeds.
Mikado
The mikado is a textile jewel that is distinguished by its exclusivity and sophistication, enclosing with it an ancient history. Originally from Japan, this fabric has managed to captivate designers thanks to its uniqueness and its ability to transform seemingly simple garments into authentic works of haute couture.
We start with his name. It means ’emperor’ in Japanese, a title that reflects its royal splendor. Mikado is produced through a special manufacturing and finishing process, giving it a luxurious appearance and a firm structure. Initially intended for making imperial kimonos and other ceremonial garments, the mikado symbolizes nobility and elegance. Given this rich symbolic load, it is not surprising that it is currently one of the most used and demanded fabrics in the bridal field.
Mikado is distinguished by its heavy structure and slightly shiny surface, giving it an opulent look and distinctive feel. Often composed of silk, this fabric stands out for its softness and the ability to create elegant folds. Additionally, its ability to maintain its shape makes it the ideal fabric for making couture dresses that require volume and structure.
Find our mikado proposals. From smooth designs to floral or geometric-inspired motifs.
Sequins
This fabric does not need presentations. Sequins are the true protagonists of women’s wardrobe, displaying their brilliance throughout decades. Whether day or night, on any occasion, sequins add luminosity and are linked to luxury and glamour.
Its historical legacy dates back to ancient times, when these tiny shiny pieces were used in clothing in Ancient Egypt, adding sparkles to the clothing of that era. However, their revival occurred in the 1920s, during the Jazz Age and the swinging twenties, becoming symbols of opulence and sophistication. Its heyday came in the 1930s, when Hollywood stars began wearing dresses decorated with this fabric on red carpets. Since then, sequins have been synonymous with glamour and a certain extravagance. World-renowned designers, from Coco Chanel to Versace, have incorporated this shiny fabric into their creations, cementing its status as a timeless element in luxury fashion.
What defines sequins is their ability to transform any garment into a masterpiece of shiny elegance. These small pieces, usually made of metal, plastic or reflective material, are sewn into patterns to create a dazzling visual effect. Its shine, often associated with the light of gala evenings, has been an essential component in evening fashion and haute couture.
Today, sequins have transcended festive occasions, conquering urban fashion with contemporary proposals that adapt to any style.
Find the sequins that suit your style.
Floral jacquard
Floral Jacquard is a textile masterpiece that fuses technical skill with elements inspired by nature. Originating from France, this fabric is distinguished by its elaborate relief pattern. The key lies in its technique, named after Joseph Marie Jacquard, which has left a distinctive mark on the history of fabric making, becoming a symbol of luxury and sophistication.
In the 19th century, its inventor introduced an innovative weaving machine that revolutionized the textile industry by allowing the creation of intricate and detailed patterns. This pioneering technology took fabric manufacturing to new levels, enabling the precise reproduction of ornamental motifs and complex designs.
What makes Jacquard weaving unique is its ability to generate raised patterns with a variety of colours and textures. This process is achieved by carefully combining threads of different colours and types, creating a three-dimensional work of art in each thread. The resulting texture is rich and luxurious, providing a unique visual depth to the fabric. Jacquard has also earned its place in the fashion world thanks to its versatility in design. From haute couture suits to more casual garments, Jacquard has spread into a wide range of garments that incorporate everything from geometric patterns to the most exquisite floral motifs.
Add a touch of romanticism and femininity to your creations with these floral Jacquards.
Houndstooth
The houndstooth fabric is one of those timeless classics that resists ephemeral trends to become a symbol of elegance and style. Its history dates back to the 19th century in Scotland, where local weavers created it with care. Initially known as houndstooth , the pattern is distinguished by abstractly shaped blocks that evoke the footprints of a rooster. Over time, this pattern transcended Scottish borders, becoming an iconic element in global fashion.
What gives houndstooth pattern items their distinctive appeal is their ability to combine simplicity and sophistication. Typically composed of repeating black and white blocks, the pattern creates a bold and balanced visual effect. The versatility of this fabric is manifested in a wide range of garments, from suits and coats to skirts and accessories, adapting to both formal environments and casual outfits. From the catwalks to the streets, houndstooth continues to be a stylish choice that evokes an air of classic sophistication.
At Gratac贸s we recommend this houndstooth fabric.
080 Barcelona Fashion鈥痠s celebrating.鈥疶he catwalk, which will take place from 26 to 30 June in the Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau, is celebrating its 20th edition with a large fashion programme that goes beyond parades to include more parallel activities, business conferences, evening parties, special presentations and a guest of honour who will become one of the main advertisements for the Catalan catwalk.
The Missoni saga in Barcelona
In this edition,鈥Margherita Missoni, third generation of the prestigious Italian firm, will collect the Fashion Tribute which the parade is devoting to his mother,鈥Angela Missoni,鈥 current co – owner and creative director of the brand.鈥 In turn, Margherita will offer a talk about the Missoni saga and its influence on fashion entitled “The Missoni Family. 鈥疊orn into fashion “.鈥 This talk will be shared with Vogue ex-director Lisa Lowatt-Smith.
The debut of new talents
In the field of design there are some absentees, such as Sita Murt, Mench茅n Tom脿s鈥or鈥TCN,鈥痓ut for the first time on the catwalk there are emerging talents like鈥Mietis, Jnorig, AMT鈥痮r鈥 the designers鈥Colmillo de Morsa鈥 who we interviewed a few months ago.鈥 For the first time in Catalonia the designer鈥 Maria Roch鈥 will be in the parade with her feminine creations and the designers 鈥疎lena Estaun鈥 and鈥疓ema Sach.鈥 They will join the catwalk cast along with the regular brands and designers from which鈥痺e highlight鈥 Brain & Beast鈥– whose daring and rebellious parade is always a must -. As is usual in summer editions, swimwear also takes centre stage on the catwalk with companies such as鈥 Red Point, Como un Pez en el Agua鈥痮r 鈥Guillermina Baeza.
In total there are 37 designers and companies that will parade on the catwalk, with a clear modernist accent.
Special activities
To commemorate the 20 editions held over the decade, 鈥080 Barcelona Fashion鈥痟as scheduled a special calendar among which is the presentation of the capsule collection by the Catalan company 鈥疢acson, which鈥痠s celebrating 75 years in the business. 鈥疘t sees the debut as designer of the choreographer and dancer 鈥疪afael Amargo,鈥 the concert by鈥Andrea Motis鈥 which is part of the鈥080 Barcelona Fashion Nights鈥痑nd a special catwalk party entitled 鈥Anniversary party鈥痓y Zalando.鈥 On the solidarity front the Catalan parade is also promoting a philanthropic action with the Casal dels Infants, by marketing a commemorative T – shirt designed from a figurine by the prestigious New York illustrator 鈥Rub茅n Toledo.
Finally, the parallel activities include the holding of the 080 Barcelona Fashion Showroom, which will be transformed into a fair and will be held on 28 and 29 June;鈥 it further includes the鈥080 Investor Day,鈥痶he鈥疘nternational Investment Forum of the Fashion Industry鈥痑nd the annual meeting of the textile-fashion sector,鈥Texmeeting by TEXFOR.
Access all the programming of 080 Barcelona Fashion鈥here.
In connection with young designers and the industry ‘s future we want to highlight the new edition of鈥Barcelona Fashion Summit鈥 as a meeting of professionals in the fashion business.鈥 This time the conference will focus on the theme ‘Next Generation: the future of the fashion business’ with topics for analysis such as young business leaders, the new consumers, generational changes or new forms of鈥痬anagement鈥痑nd business in the fashion industry.
080 Barcelona Fashion is finalising preparations for a new edition which will exhibit the talent and creativity of 33 brands and designers who will present their collections for the coming season Autumn-Winter 2017/2018. This time the competition will take place from 30th January till 3rd February in the National Theatre of Catalonia (TNC) which is celebrating 20 years of existence. An archetypal stage-setting for Barcelona, conceived of in order to strengthen links between fashion and theatre. Given this motive it is not surprising that the inauguration of the fashion parade will welcome the presence of the celebrated French designer Pierre Cardin, who will come to Barcelona to present his new production 鈥 Dorian Gray. Beauty shows no mercy鈥, a musical montage about the world of Oscar Wilde which had its premi猫re last summer in Venice.
On the creative front some great designers, such as Sita Murt or Mench猫n Tom脿s, are notable for their absence, although there are new additions, such as the young designers Daniel Rosa, Anel Yaos and Pilar del Campo, the company Aubergin, the designs for children by Little Creative Factory and men’s underwear E.S.Collection. Special mention should be made of the participation of designers who collaborate closely with our shop, such as Justicia Ruano, who will present his collection 鈥淗edonism鈥 for the rebel-seductress woman; also Brain and Beast with their presentation 鈥淭rilogy Vol Y Playback鈥. Angel Vilda will surely surprise with new designs whose aesthetic is that of the seventies and with large doses of humour- sometimes with a show of temper -whose conception we find fascinating. The fabrics in the collection are by Gratac贸s and soon we will be seeing the results.
Commercially one of the most surprising innovations is the introduction of the trend ready to buy 鈥 seen on other international fashion parades and in companies like Burberry or Tommy Hilfiger 鈥 in some of the collections by the Catalan designers. Specifically this is the case with companies such as Custo Barcelona, TCN, Escorpion and the designer ZE Garc铆a. This means that the garments exhibited on the cat-walk can be bought on the spot and in this case they will correspond to displays from this coming Spring season. What seems all the more interesting is the offering by Manuel Bolano, who is adopting this trend; his presentation is in the format of an exhibition of his 鈥’Plan B鈥 collection, where he reinterprets studio pieces which will be commercialized exclusively on his web-page and which can be acquired on the same day of the parades. I see it, I want it, I’ll buy it.
In connection with the young designers and the future of the sector we should like to mention once again the new edition of Barcelona Fashion Summit as a meeting point for professionals in the fashion business. On this occasion the day-session will centre on the topic 鈥淣ext Generation : the Future of the Fashion Business 鈥 with analysis of topics such as the leading young entrepreneurs, the new consumers, the change in generations or the new forms of management and business demanded by the fashion industry.
Imagination is the blank canvas of every designer and it is through the fabrics that the garments start to assume shape, volume and colour until they are transformed into the final works that the creator had in mind from the beginning. Throughout our history we have seen how our fabrics became transformed, as if by magic, into delicate jewels of garments eminently suited to stand out on special occasions: exuberant dresses, delicate semi-transparent blouses, full skirts… Clothes that can only make us marvel. Even then, when we find a designer capable of adding a nuance to our fabrics to transform them into more informal and casual garments, conceived for day-to-day wear, it never fails to surprise us, because above all our passion is for creativity and experimentation. This is the case with Mois茅s Nieto ( born in Ja茅n in 1984 ) and his latest collection Spring-Summer 2017 presented in the September edition of the fashion-parade Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid.
The Olympic Games continue to inspire fashion and the frenzy for sport continues to excite the interest of designers. So with his watchwords鈥漅eady, Set, Go ! 鈥 the designer from Ja茅n presented a Summer collection inspired by the uniforms of elite sports-people in an atmosphere where the sounds of the legendary 鈥淐hariots of Fire 鈥 gave ambience to setting the scene on this sporty theme. The models bore the looks of this hyper-feminine exhibition by virtue of bodys inspired by the dress of gymnasts, belts which found their reference in the martial arts or uniforms inspired by the tennis- players of the seventies. All laid-out on a 28 metre-long athletics- track displaying the designer麓s signature. What stands out is the use that Mois茅s Nieto makes of Gratac贸s fabrics to express this sporting essence, where the classical and the most innovative fabrics merge: little metallic grills which are super-imposed on one-another or circular motifs beautifully embroidered in cotton, creating a stunning optical effect.
Once again we applaud the talent of Mois茅s Nieto who by dint of hard work and tenacity has been able to overcome those dips in career needed to survive in the fashion industry. One of the goals achieved was to be pronounced the winner of the latest edition of the competition for young talents Who’s On Next ? organised by the magazine Vogue Espa帽a. His innovative spirit, his great capacity for organisation and his tenacity in attaining objectives were decisive in his walking away with the prize in a brief professional career 鈥 started in 2011-which foresees many more triumphs. There is no doubt whatsoever that we shall soon be seeing Mois茅s ‘s next goal…
As we approach the end of the month of July, we can safely say we have completed all of our assignments and managed to tie up all important loose ends before we begin our long awaited holidays. It has been a busy couple of weeks both in Spain and abroad. In the shop, the summer sales continue with a great many discounts and fabrics that really are a bargain to invest in and design mid season garments. In August, we will maintain the window display by the interior designer Antonio Iglesias.
Abroad, Gratac贸s continues its task of presenting new collections for next season and strengthening business relations with international customers, as we have been doing since the year 2000. To achieve this, we have been present at three relevant fairs in Paris, Munich and New York. During these fairs we have exhibited the new fabric collection for next year: autumn-winter 2017/2018 and representatives from all over the world have valued our innovative proposals. Just to highlight that fancy jacquards and prints on eyecatching garments with graphic motifs are back.
Parallel to this, Gratac贸s continues its expansion into the European Union through wholesaling and widens its network of representatives, agents and distributors.
In summary, we have come to the end of a good season with high standards, but we must not lower our guard, the competition is always very fierce, but our compromise, quality and experience vouch for us.
“The fabric’s paradise” according to La Vanguardia. Thanks a lot!
Our new premises combine various activities under one roof. On the one hand, it is a retail sales point with an extensive showroom displaying the new collections to customers and industry professionals. Furthermore it has a space dedicated to promote experimentation and talent of students from various fashion schools in Barcelona.
The space is clear and unobstructed and has an industrial character. It is decorated and furnished in noble materials, reflecting our international vision and the values of creativity, spirit of improvement, innovation and passion for fabrics. We have on display three collections of fabrics simultaneously: the current season and the two upcoming ones.
The premises are split into two different ambiences. The ground floor is intended for retail sales, current season fabrics and customer service in general. Now, any customer who wishes to buy fabrics will be able to see the catalogues and available samples, choose amongst almost a thousand fabrics on display and process the order to later collect or receive by courrier.
The upper floor is dedicated to industry professionals and is where the upcoming collections are on show. In this multidisciplinary space, we also manage the online sales, support young creators, develop new proposals and display bridal fabrics.
Gratac贸s聽has been chosen as a finalist to receive the National Fashion Award in the聽category of Leading Textile Industry, tanning and other raw materials. This category recognizes the importance of the manufacturing industry of all types of yarns, fabrics, leather and other raw materials.
This is now the second edition of the National Fashion Awards. An event organized by the聽Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism聽to recognize the merits of the Spanish Fashion Industry and vouch for the prestige of this sector. The finalists are those companies, individuals, institutions or organizations that have made a special effort to achieve聽entrepreneurial excellence in the sector.
The Committee of the Technical Evaluation of the National Fashion Award is made up of ten professional experts in Administration and Fashion Industry.聽The jury鈥檚 decision and award ceremony is to be convened and will take place before the summer.
Gratac贸s has the pleasure of introducing Unlimit, the fourth edition of forecast of trends and contrast-material inspirations for Autumn/Winter 2016-2017 by The Color Community.
The presentation will take place in Barcelona on the 24th April at 5pm in the Pau Gil conference room in the Hospital San Pau historic site (C/Sant Antoni Maria Claret 167). Participants include three members of The Color Community team: Gloria Jover, Pere Ortega and Rosa Pujol.
The Color Community is the result of four design professionals who got together to share in a cross cutting way the studio, their expertise and capture of colour. The team is led by Gloria Jover (designer and cool-hunter), Eva Mu帽oz (specialist in colour&trim), Pere Ortega (architect and teacher) and Rosa Pujol (stylist and textile designer).
The presentation of trends for upcoming seasons is an activity which is especially beneficial for young students studying fashion. Gratac贸s has been developing this twice a year since 2006.
Photo by The Color Community
On this occasion, a competition will be held amongst the design students attending the presentation. The winner will have the opportunity to participate in the next meeting of The Color Community; an important gathering where the forecast of colour range for the next season Spring/Summer 2017 will be decided. Those who want to take part in the competition must write a text explaining the reasons why they would like to participate and also what they can contribute to the meeting. The Gratac贸s and The Color Community teams will check through all the questionnaires and decide upon the winner.
We hope you can attend!
