My fabric route: from Europe to Asia

When I talk about fabrics, I inevitably think of Paris, one of my favorite cities that I have visited several times, with “H” or with “B”, where I have my favorite corners and where I like to get lost while walking through its neighbourhoods. Anyway, today’s article is not devoted to this beautiful city. Today I come to tell you about my personal route in the endless search for fabrics for my collections.†

When I started in the fashion world I actually had no idea (I remind you that I am self-taught because I studied ADE and not fashion) and of course I did not know where to buy fabrics.

In my first collections, I used fabric stores that I had around (where I still occasionally go for generic fabrics)… The fact is I was researching how to find suppliers, and I came across a scholarship against that It was held in 2014 in Barcelona (Stibbcn). The truth is that I made a lot of contacts and got new suppliers, mainly Catalan, and I must say that I still work with many of them today, as the textile industry in that area is quite developed and they are very efficient.

Just before the pandemic (February 2020) I discovered a very funny fair, Mod’tissimo in Portoand I recommend that, but I’ve never bought anything from their suppliers because with what happened weeks later the samples didn’t arrive, I got cold and fell on deaf ears… Over the years I’ve had fabrics everywhere bought wherever I went When I travel, my favorite souvenir is to buy a special fabric that I find nearby. I remember a neon pink silk that I bought in New York in 2013 and ended up in a collection in 2019, an artisan Moroccan sabra that I bought in Fez and that I still have clothes on sale with this fabric that I love, our Italian linen-like viscose that you can find in many of my current guest designs, a beautiful cotton print from Liberty in London…

But if I have to highlight a place where I emphatically go for fabrics, we first talk about “Premier Vision”, a wonderful fair that takes place in the French capital, in which suppliers from all over the world are represented in its 6 large pavilions. You’ll need a few days to comb the fair, but my recommendation if you ever visit it is that you do your homework: study the website where all the information about suppliers comes from, and that way “do the work” because it’s crazy and you don’t have time. In addition, it is of great creative use to look at the corner of inspiration that they mount in the center of each pavilion, where they mood board with samples from all participating providers, from there you can get good references.

Visiting this fair allows me to work directly with French, Korean, Japanese or Indian suppliers, this way I have direct contact with the manufacturer. Secondly, I have to tell you something about Turkey, which has become “the place to be” for me since last year. It is currently one of my main supply countries, I take a direct flight every time I have to design a collection, I go crazy selecting fabrics because that is a world of possibilities and also inspiring (I will also write an article devote to Istanbul ) and I return home with creative hyperactivity from the plane back where I sketched new ideas.

Every day I learn new things about my profession that experience teaches me and especially the mistakes I make, I learn the most from that, discovering for myself is wonderful and enriching, I will further develop my personal fabric route with a focus on Asia†