Would you ever have thought that Plato could boost fashion?
If you work in fashion, your life is about globetrotting. And Paris is your place to be. Nineteen students from the ‘Fashion Now’ Master’s program at Barreira Arte + Diseño, a higher education centre headquartered in Valencia, Spain, had the pleasure of experiencing the wonderland of fashion in the City of Lights during their 3-day course on ‘Fashion Communication and Marketing’ at Istituto Marangoni Paris. As Istituto Marangoni has been offering programmes specially developed in collaboration with other universities for years, these young people were given a tailor-made course where they could learn more about the emotional branding and narratives of the luxury fashion industry. But let’s take a step back. With a history dating back to the 1950s, Barreira A + D is a pioneering Spanish school for artistic education. Since 2018, Istituto Marangoni has collaborated with Barreira A + D to offer tailored short courses that integrate into Barreira A + D’s postgraduate programmes as an international experience for enrolled students. Are you curious to learn more through their words? We launched a contest and selected the best stories. Here is one from a ‘platonist’, a utopian and idealistic young woman who trained as a translator and sees clothes as a language to convey messages for a better future. “Fashion is not only about the surface but also about creation, tradition, inclusion, values, sustainability; it’s about people,” said Antía Enríquez Martínez, a talented student from Barreira A + D.
Nineteen students from the ‘Fashion Now’ Master’s program at Barreira Arte + Diseño, a higher education centre headquartered in Valencia, Spain, experienced the wonderland of fashion at Istituto Marangoni Paris. Photo courtesy of the author
When I was about seventeen, my ancient Greek teacher called me a ‘platonist’, a utopian. It was his way of telling me how idealist I was in a world far from being my definition of perfect.
Since I can remember, I have always questioned everything, looking tirelessly for the whys and wherefores. But there is one thing I never doubted: clothes being more than just clothes. There should be an explanation for why my grandma couldn’t go out without dressing up in my tiny Spanish village of one hundred inhabitants. My mum always tells me how that tradition jumped one generation, skipping her and reappearing with me—although I think she’s a fashionista in her own way. Maybe fashion didn’t skip one generation; it just shifted.
"Fashion is not only about the surface but also about creation, tradition, inclusion, values, and sustainability," said Antía Enríquez Martínez, a Barreira student. Photo courtesy of the author
It changed to adapt. Because that’s what fashion is all about: dressing someone’s personality and values, not the other way around. When someone mentions fashion being superficial, I can’t help but wonder why while I prepare my well-known speech on how beautiful it can be. Fashion is not only about the surface but also about creation, tradition, inclusion, values, and sustainability. Ultimately, it’s about people. Being able to share this idea and fight for a better future in the industry brought me here—after flirting a bit with the translation world (surprisingly enough, I’m also a translator). Many may think that language and fashion have nothing to do with each other, but every garment conveys a message that needs to be translated, and every garment is a language in itself.
"Many may think that language and fashion have nothing to do with each other, but every garment conveys a message that needs to be translated, and every garment is a language in itself," said Antía Enríquez Martínez, a Barreira student. Photo courtesy of the author
I couldn’t feel more grateful for where life brought me, through cities (like Paris), people and ideas that reassured me that choosing fashion was never an option.
And if idealists can change the world, then yes, I am a platonist. And I’m here to spread the word as an advocate of sustainability.
Barreira student Antía Enríquez Martínez who attended the 3-day course on ‘Fashion Communication and Marketing’ at Istituto Marangoni Paris. Photo courtesy of the author
Antía Enríquez Martínez
Student
In Partnership with Barreira A+D