The leading global event closes an edition marked by the qualitative leap in participating firms and international buyers.
The Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week (BBFW) closed the doors of a brilliant edition that certifies the good moment that the international bridal fashion industry is experiencing. The event consolidates its global leadership with a significant qualitative leap in the participating firms and buyers from up to 90 countries.
BBFW, organised by Fira de Barcelona with the support of the Catalan Ministry of Business and Labour, brought together over 350 brands and attracted 21,500 visitors.
The selection of these visitors was based on a qualitative profile, choosing multi-brand shops and leading distributors from growth markets such as China, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia and the USA. The percentage of international visitors to BBFW as a whole has increased this year to over 70%.
According to the Director of BBFW, Albasarí Caro, “this edition confirms the take-off of the global bridal fashion market after the pandemic and its good prospects for growth, as well as the positioning of Barcelona as the undisputed appointment to see trends and close business deals due to the quality and internationality of the firms it brings together”.
The main brands on the catwalk
With a full house at almost every fashion shows, the BBFW runway was the centre of attention. The collections of 34 designers from 15 countries were presented, among which those of Spanish firms such as Jesús Peiró, Pronovias, Rosa Clará, Yolancris, Isabel Sanchis, Marco&Maria, Ramon Sanjurjo, Ogadenia Couture, Pedro Palmas, and Lucas Balboa. International fashion shows included The Atelier (Malaysia), Wona Concept & Eva Lendel (Ukraine), Nicole Milano (Italy), Marylise, Rembo Styling & Carta Branca (Belgium), Cymbeline (France), Julia Kontogruni (Bulgaria); Demetrios and Carlo Pignatelli (Italy)…
As a general trend, brands opted for glitter and iridescent fabrics, with embroidery, beading and high-quality embellishments to create more handcrafted and personalised dresses that enhance the female figure. Many collections were inspired by nature with a predominance of floral motifs.
ELIE SAAB, the star of Barcelona Bridal Night
The highlight of BBFW23 was the fashion show by the haute couture house ELIE SAAB, which chose the Barcelona event to present its bridal collection on a catwalk for the first time. It was during the Barcelona Bridal Night held at the Maritime Museum that the 30 outfits were unveiled, 8 of them created specifically for the occasion. The “A sense of wonder. Spring 2024” collection is inspired by the blooming kingdoms of the Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai.
This year BBFW launched its own awards to recognise the best designs, collections, talent, and trajectory in bridal fashion and to highlight sustainability, innovation, art and quality.
The BBFW dedicated to bridal, groom, party, ceremony, and accessories fashion will return to Fira de Barcelona from 17 to 21 April 2024 to present the new bridal fashion collections for the coming season.
