The locals have been the main stars of Antoni Miralda’s first public fashion show in Barcelona to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the boutique concept store Santa Eulalia.
Last Friday, April 6th, the renowned multidisciplinary artist Antoni Miralda directed a performance of 3 km.
The official poster of the performance-parade by the artist Antoni Miralda
A delegation composed of 130 students of theater, dance and design and by 82 musicians, started from Pla de la Boqueria, the point where the first settlement was located, until the current store in Paseo de Gracia, 93 carrying 100 figurative and abstract patterns of the most iconic and representative garments of the firm over these 175 years. A 3-km parade of art and fashion that ended with an impressive light show on the facade of the store.
From left to right: Montse Guillén, gourmet and wife of Antoni Miralda, Sandra Domínguez and Lluís Sans, owners of Santa Eulalia, surrounded by their triplet children and the multidisciplinary artist Antoni Miralda in the Pla de la Boqueria.
“We have been allies of an unrepeatable artistic action that will last in the collective memory of Barcelona,” said Lluís Sans, owner of Santa Eulalia.
In this way, an amazed audience could appreciate the reinterpretations that Miralda made of work uniforms, dresses and haute couture. This presentation, completely open to the public, started the first live performance of Antoni Miralda in Barcelona.
This delegation walked 3 km around the streets of Barcelona
For the performance of the 175th anniversary of Santa Eulalia, Miralda reinterpreted 100 patterns of garments of the firm throughout its history.
Crossing the gardens of the Palau Robert decorated with giant screens, in a celebration with the press, family, customers and friends, to the store of more than 2000m2 situated at Paseo de Gracia 93, where the delegation began the brilliant crown jewel of the evening.
A giant cake with the form of a sewing thimble, as well as the catering were a contribution of the renowned confectionery and pastry school Escribà, open to the public since 1906.
The rapper Zèsar Martínez reinterpreted funky of the Goigs of Santa Eulàlia
During the event at the Palau Robert, in one of the different audiovisual projections, the Santa Eulalia logo was formed with negative pins. Below: chocolate thimbles and giant cake created by the prestigious pastry chef: Escribà.
Each of the patterns were raised to the top of the store’s facade, forming a large Dress of Lights. It was illuminated by more than twenty thousand LEDs. These LEDs were designed by the award-winning director of Catalan photography, Josep Maria Civit.
From the enormous Dress of Lights, thousands of diamond-shaped papers fell down simulating snow, as part of the legend of the fourth-century martyr St. Eulalia. According to the popular story, when she was crucified on a cross like a blade, she was completely covered with an inclement sudden snowfall. Popular phrases related to the world of fashion could be read in Spanish, Catalan and English.
The ‘Dress of Lights’ is lit every day at 8:30 pm until April 23rd. On the right, Lluís Sans and his wife Sandra Domínguez, owners of Santa Eulalia, thanking the participation of the collaborators and assistants.
Finally, 50 pigeons have been set free, representing another fragment of the legend. It says that when she died, Santa Eulalia let a pigeon escape from her mouth.
This final installation, product of Antoni Miralda, will light up every night at 8:30 pm for fifteen minutes until Saint George’s Day.
In addition, a video copy of Miralda will be donated to the Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona (MACBA).
Santa Eulalia, in its 175 years dressing so many generations of women and men, has wanted, “with this unrepeatable action, to remain in the collective memory of Barcelona, returning with our anniversary party part of what the city has given us during more than century and a half,” said Lluís Sans, owner of Santa Eulalia.
Its main stars
Santa Eulalia, which has been selected by the Pitti Immagine company in Florence as one of the 30 best men’s clothing stores in the world, celebrated everything in this special anniversary.
We also had the opportunity of asking Sans about the historical link of the firm with art in general:
“We have been pioneers in fashion and fashion designers since 1926. Haute couture is not art, but creators are needed as in any cultural manifestation.”
Antoni Miralda who returned as prodigal son to Barcelona with his first performance, is much more linked to “gastronomic art” (Food Cultura) with works of international reference as the artistic proposal ‘The International Tapas Bar & Restaurant’ carried out in the New York neighborhood of Tribeca between 1984 and 1986.
After that, he made the ‘Honeymoon Project’ in 1988. There he celebrated the nuptials between the Christopher Columbus crowning the Ramblas of Barcelona and the Statue of Liberty in New York.
For this festive occasion, so far away from the gastronomic world, Miralda assured that:
“Dressing is a ritual in which I have always been attracted by the ceremonial aspect that is part of the culture, united daily with colors and shapes”.
Talking about the reason for having chosen figurations of the firm patterns for this performance, Miralda exclaimed that “the pattern is the architecture of the dress”.
Lluís Sans, owner of Santa Eulalia and descendant of the fourth generation of the Sans family that has taken over the brand since 1915, highlighted that:
“For example, between 1920 and 1932, we gave great importance to the graphic arts. Posters artists, such as José Luis Rei, played a very important role in the graphic image of Santa Eulalia. On the other hand, in all fashion photography throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, what we have done is closely connected with art”, explains Sans.
Posters of Santa Eulalia illustrated by José Luis Rei
In this way, the Concept Store Santa Eulalia, with its large establishment designed by William Sofield, houses the most traditional and avant-garde exclusive firms, in a refined and comfortable environment located in the shopping area of Barcelona.
With this presentation by an unrivaled artist like Antoni Miralda, Santa Eulalia marked a milestone in the history of live art and fashion in Barcelona. In addition, he has given a unique gift for the senses to those people from the textile sector and other worlds.
