The new Avellaneda collection titled “Au réveil il était midi” was presented during 080 Barcelona Fashion.

Summer is not to be dreamed, but to be lived. Avellaneda’s new collection takes us to tropical latitudes, but it focuses on the intermediate shades that have given meaning to summer elegance for decades: natural fabrics, striped prints, bright or fiery tones – pink, orange, coral – that take the lightness to its ultimate consequences. There is no room for stiffness here. That is why several jacket models range effortlessly from men’s to women’s wardrobes. Everything goes with everything, everything harmonizes with everything, and everything flows like a perfect summer. The prints avoid clichés and embrace a Mediterranean version of ikat that provides ethereal skirts and tuxedos with characters that shy away from boredom. The garments recall the practical elegance of the Saharan woman and the hedonistic tailoring of those mid-century summers immortalized by Slim Aarons. The blouses caress the body and intertwine. The trousers dance and the dresses cling to the skin or unfold great volumes. At dusk, the music begins, bodies relax and the air is charged with electricity and a light, radiant humidity that looks suspiciously like happiness.”

We spoke with the designer right before he presented his collection and here’s what he told us:

Au réveil il était midi. Tell us a little about the new collection that you present at 080 Barcelona Fashion.

With this collection, apart from looking for what I explain in the text of the collection, I was looking for a mental oasis of positivism, of good energy, and optimism because I think it is necessary in the times we are living. I was looking for an elegant, sophisticated, but at the same time, a relaxed collection, a very relaxed hedonistic point that (as always in my collections) will work both in feminine and masculine and with an emphasis on tailoring, but that when you saw it you could escape for a moment to some optimistic and positive thought that I suggested to you.

“Summer is not to dream it, but to live it”. How do you live the summer and how do you expect the man and woman who wears AVELLANEDA to live it?

I believe that summer is that moment of the year that we allow ourselves everything, we allow ourselves to be lazier, or to be more social, we allow ourselves to be ourselves without judging ourselves because summer is that relaxing moment of the year in which I believe your essence comes out 100%, and that is what I hope with this collection, that the AVELLANEDA man and woman can be who they are, without masks, without protocols, without corsets but I have always believed in hedonism and the search for pleasure (in any of its forms ) is something important and something that in summer, due to the mental state we are in, is easier to achieve, and clothes are part of all that. In summer we travel, or we escape from the routine and many times in that getaway we allow ourselves to put on clothes that perhaps during the year we do not dare so much, we give ourselves more licenses and we can relax when dressing or go overdressed and it is the essence of the collection too.

Pattern has always had a strong presence in your creations. Where have you been inspired to look for new prints for this new collection?

As you say, I always incorporate a pattern in each collection, and always very colorful. This time I added an IKAT because it is a print that reminds me of my childhood in the Mediterranean, the summer houses, and that pleasure of being in summer enjoying the “dolce far niente” and many times when I did this, I was happy and many times with this type of print nearby, that’s why, as I wanted to get that feeling, this print had to be there. In addition, it has always seemed to me a very elegant pattern.

We normally see summer as the season of the year when we can be more relaxed. Can you be relaxed even in a suit?

Without a doubt, imagine a sunset, in a wonderful house with views of the sea, or on a sailboat, barefoot or with some espadrilles, the dress rolled up in the sleeves and in a summer color or an ivory color, enjoying alone or with friends. The idea is that the suit is like a second skin and remove that rigidity. In the end, it is an attitude and if you have the right attitude, the suit is not armor, it is a second skin that adapts to your body and you do not notice that you are wearing it.

Let’s imagine that we are in the middle of August on a warm night in the company of good friends and with a cool drink in hand. What music is playing?

If it’s live music, I’d like a guitar, and suddenly whoever plays it makes it sound “Mediterranean” by Serrat, or suddenly something with flamenco notes, and if you also hear the sea and laughter, it’s already wonderful.

How was the experience of presenting your new collection at MACBA, hand in hand with 080 Barcelona Fashion?

It is always wonderful, the team is very top and they make it easy, also it always appears in incredible spaces that we do not usually have access to, such as MACBA and it is a luxury.

Any interesting project coming soon?

I put out a collection with Multiopticas, the second one because the first one worked really well, some television projects and some collaboration with a firm but that I still can’t reveal. The truth is that I feel super lucky and every day is to be able to live the dream I had as a child, but improved.

Take a look at the collection below: