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My family in Oslo is what I would call an " army family ". My brother is in the army, my grandfather was a general, my mom works within the military...and we all get affected by this, even me, the youngest one. But maybe in another way.
Madrid has amazing shopping, something I have noticed a bit too much during my stay here. Many of the designers here are unknown outside of Spain so I was very happy when my sister told me about Salvador Bachiller, the bag and shoe designer. All of his products are made of real leather and are at affordable prices. Last week I went to see his store and fell in love with a pair of high heeled shoes that I had to get. I loved the military/flamenco inspired look they have and they are so comfortable.
I have also seen " military jackets " around town and I think they are so stylish.
The one in the picture is a jacket for men from Zara and is of the new collection. The details are really nice and it looks very exclusive. shopping :
http://www.salvadorbachiller.com/http://www.zara.com/
The pioneer of the style worn during the Movida Madrileña, was the famous designer Agatha Ruiz de La Prada.
The word “Movida” is a word that the founder of ISEM, Covadonga O´Shea uses when talking about going out at night in Madrid. I wondered about the meaning of this word and decided to look it up.
The Movida Madrileña is the name of a countercultural movement that took place in the Spanish capital after Francisco Franco’s death in 1975. The movida is said to have represented the emergence of a new and different Spanish identity. The ways of being and actions that were seen as taboo during the Franquist regime were now acted out everywhere, and one would often hear things such as “ Esta noche todo el mundo a la calle” (Tonight everybody in the street) screamed by los Madrileños, or “Madrid nunca duerme” (Madrid never sleeps). This movement covered many music bands, photography, art and painting, graffiti and last but not least fashion movements.
The Spanish designer Agatha Ruiz de La Prada entered the fashion scene with her first collection in 1981. She was born in 1960 and experienced the Movida Movement up close as she was in her teens at the beginning of this period. She became a leading figure of the capital city´s sociocultural movement and the popularity of her bright-colored designs boomed. Today, the designer does not only make clothing, but also furniture, carpets, pens, notebooks, lip balms, scents, bed linen and many other things as well as clothes for children, men and women. She has outlets in Milan, Paris and New York, and her items can be purchased in many countries in the world. The colourful Madrileña continues to work and live in her native city in Spain. Agatha Ruiz de La Prada is a suprising and different designer. She has a very original, and what I would call “ happy “ collection, with joyful motives, bright colours and different shapes and forms.
She is famous for being an environmental friendly designer and is part of Spain’s Green Party, “The Confederation of the Greens”. She seems to be a designer that is true to her beliefs and responsibilities, and is against the use of animal materials such as leather or fur, so she therefore always uses faux-fur.
Last Friday, I was very fortunate to meet the designer at a lecture she gave at ISEM fashion and business school. She arrived in a charming and colourful (not suprising!) outfit, with a blue shirt and orange skirt.The lecture she held was very interesting, and her friend and design director Juan Carlos Mesa also accompanied her. The main focus of the class was “fashion and the fashion scene” where the relationship between fashion, art and theatre was explained and discussed, and the 60 alumni present were all very interested and attentive. During the International Theatre Festival of Almagro, Agatha Ruiz De la Prada collaborated on the presentation ofb a show. She was inspired by the comedy by "Lope de Vega" called “ La Dama Boba” (1613) and the design of the scene as well as the wardrobe was all created by Agatha. Pictures of the performances were shown on a slide show during the lecture, and she explained the motives and purpose of her collaboration. Agatha seems to be a breath of fresh air in the fashion world, where she is a unique designer with a very creative mind.
With her interesting, suprising and different talent, she is a designer that lets everyone get a taste of the colourful and fascinating movement of the Movida Madrileña – even in the sometimes grey XXI century.
Hennes & Mauritz:
Scandinavian simplicity based on American large scale efficiencyWhile walking around in my new city of residence until Christmas, the beautiful city of Madrid, I saw something that reminded me of home, namely the H&M store at Gran vía. Being a Scandinavian, more precisely a Norwegian, I always feel a bit at home when I see an H&M in a foreign country.
The shops of H&M have always been around as long as I can remember and have always been a place where you buy your, usually “basic” pieces of clothing. The first H&M shop only opened in Spain as late as in 2000, but in Norway, we have had shops since 1964. The Swedish company with the strange name, (Hennes= Hers, and Mauritz, name of Stockholms old hunting and equipment store), famous for selling and making fashionable clothing designs at cheap prices, was first founded by Erling Persson in 1947. After the Second World War, companies that were efficient and of high-volume became very important in production of clothes as well as other things. During a trip to the U.S, Persson noticed companies such as Barneys and Macys, and got impressed as well as inspired to create a similar company in Scandinavia. Today, H&M has over 70.000 employees and more than 1900 stores in 34 different countries.
From the 70´s and onward, H&M experienced a major expansion in Europe and by the 90´s there were stores in France, Belgium, Germany and most of Europe. The H&M company experienced a major boom in their sales in the late 90´s and more and more stores were created, thus making it necessary to have more designs and “Pret à porter” items in the store. The company now started making shoes, underwear, cosmetics, hair accessories, bags, jewellery, scarves and hats in addition to the clothing pieces. There was also created sport clothing, outerwear, swimwear and a very improved line of men’s clothing that included men’s accessories.
The design of the shops also improved very much, from being a bit unorganized to achieving a very simple and Scandinavian design which would make it easier for the costumers. Very clean and cut lines using brushed metal and clear colours are typical at H&M. The stores were divided into different stories for men, women and children. Today you also find departments for the teenage customers (DIVIDED) both for guys and girls, for pregnant women and for the more adult woman. There are often different stores for cosmetics and underwear but they are also found in different stories of the same H&M.
The H&M that is found in the Gran vía here in Madrid is truly amazing. However, it does not have the same design as the ones in Scandinavia, but the location in which it is found also makes it impossible. The building (a former movie theatre) is the most beautiful building I have ever seen an H&M in. It gives the store a romantic and southern-Europe look.
This autumn, the famous brand accessory “Jimmy Choo” will have a both men and woman bag and shoe collection at H&M. The collection will be available from November 14th in most stores.
In the later years, the company has collaborated with famous designers and celebrities.
Some names that are to mention should be British Stella McCartney and Matthew Williamson, Italian Roberto Cavalli, Japanese Rei Kawakabo and celebrities like the pop-singer Madonna or Kylie Minogue. This can certainly be seen as one of the reasons why H&M has been such a success these previous years as these star and designer appearances received a lot of media attention.
The two biggest competitors to H&M are said to be Zara and the American Gap. Although the Swedish company has progressed enormously, it does not have the same efficiency such as the Spanish Zara in renewing their collections. It takes a slightly longer time before new clothes are in the stores compared to at Zara where new collections appear every second week. However, the fact that H&M has a much larger cosmetic and jewellery collection than Zara makes it a good competitor.
The key points in the success of H&M have been to manage to copy the American business companies in Europe, making fashionable clothing at very low prices. The company is careful to assure that products are manufactured under good working conditions and has a set of strict environmental policies. Conversely, H&M´s production does not at all take place in its country of origin, in difference to Zara where 50% of production occurs in Spain. The company depends upon cheaper labour to exist. Sweden is not famous for clothing production and labour is very expensive so this may be why no production happens in Sweden.
On the other hand, H&M comes out after several comparisons as one of the worst clothing stores when it comes to customer service. One reason may be because the stores are far too big for the number of assistants available, as the company is more focused on the gains of large scale productions and is not famous for its customer service. The fact that they have reorganized their store and its design so that you easily find what you are searching for is also a key point in its success, but the customer is left to him or her-self while shopping. While collaborating with famous names, H&M has gained media attention – this may also show a weak point in the company as they rely on famous names for their sales. Then again, H&M manages to balance classic style with high fashion – meaning you can find the basic pieces you need and also the latest fashion.
Hennes and Mauritz has been called the “one stop shop”, the name says it all – you can find everything from baby clothes to men’s ties in one single store, but it will be up to you as a customer to look for it.
