How Spanish designers are reinventing the flamenco dress with contemporary flair

How Spanish designers are reinventing the flamenco dress with contemporary flair

Once worn solely by dancers, the flamenco dress and its contemporary variations are now used by women in Spain for weddings, fairs, and receptions. Transforming the classic flamenco dress into a blouse and skirt or a pant suit is something that many designers like Jose Hidalgohave done successfully.

We are in Seville, the largest city in Andalucia, Spain — also the home of flamenco dancing — at the boutique of designer duo Pablo Retamaro and Juanjo Bernal (aka Cloe) known for their flamenco style dresses.

The dress — which represents the passion and energy of the flamenco dance — had its origins in the costumes won by the working class women who attended Andalusian livestock fairs in Spain in the 18th Century. With a Chinese shawl draped over their shoulders, their attire was captured in paintings by master artists like Francisco Goya. Another inspiration was the ruffled dress with polka dots worn by the gitanos or gypsy women.

When the Seville Fair started in the middle of the 19th Century, the wealthy women also adopted this style, perfecting it and adding some details, as they wanted to boycott Parisian fashion. However, what actually made flamenco fashion mainstream was the launch of the International Flamenco Fashion Show in 1996, which has since become an annual event with catwalk shows.

The International Flamenco Fashion Week (SIMOF) is held just after the We Love Flamenco catwalk (from January 14 to 20) to promote and showcase new flamenco dress collections to an international audience. Started by Raquel Revuelta (director of Doble Erre) and the Palace of Exhibitions and Congresses of Seville (FIBES), the event is held at the Palace of Exhibitions and Congresses of Seville, FIBES.

“Though our outfits are rooted in folk tradition, we follow the latest international design and colour trends from Paris and Milan, and improvise our collections every year. This is the only regional tradition where fashion evolves every year,” explains Pablo, who comes from a family of fashion designers.

We visit their atelier where a team of six designersare engaged in producing the dresses. Reels of colourful thread, bales of Italian silk and crepe, and patterns on a board adorn the room. Two designers are putting the finishing touches to the ruffles on a dress on a mannequin. “We make dresses for the runway, for our collections, as well as customise them for clients. There’s no price limit on a customised design as it depends on many factors like fabric, patterns and hours of handwork. Most of it is handmade except for some machine tailoring,” says Pablo.