080 Barcelona Fashion and the world of fashion in general experienced a historic moment this Friday in the modernist Sant Pau venue. The 31st edition has been especially sensitive to body diversity, and its program of shows has included one of inclusive fashion, which has been carried out by the Free Form Style brand.

The guests and professionals who have attended the parade have not been able to help but be moved to see people with reduced mobility, dwarfism or amputated limbs on the catwalk in wheelchairs, with crutches, prostheses dressed in fashionable clothes created according to their needs. . “For the first time, clothing has been adapted to these people and not the other way around,” explains Marina Vergés, one of the founders of Free Form Style together with Carolina Asensio.

The collection that has been presented has been created by Manuel Bolaño, a designer who walked the runway at the beginning of the 080 with his own brand. “It has been quite a challenge to create a collection that can be adapted to different disabilities with small tweaks. I had never had a commission of this height and it has helped me to realize that many people with reduced mobility have a hard time putting on clothes that we can consider normal”, says Bolaño. In this sense, he says that he has had to design pants with a fly and others with a side opening for those who need a catheter, as well as zippers on the legs for prosthetics. And jackets and coats have to have sleeve openings for easy putting on. And for those who use a wheelchair, you have to leave your back exposed so that the fabric doesn’t bother you.

On the catwalk, 17 Bolaño looks have been shown, including suits, jackets, pants, shirts, dresses, coats, skirts, sweaters or shorts. All were made with Gratacós fabrics, specially selected to avoid discomfort or chafing.

Some garments were difficult to differentiate from the so-called normal looks, which are usually seen in parades. “We want to normalize inclusive fashion,” say Marina Vergés and Manuel Bolaño almost in unison. In fashion shows, in general the models don’t discover the secrets of clothing, opening or closing garments, and that’s why we didn’t want to do it in this one either”.

The models are athletes and former Paralympic athletes, an actor, activists… during the parade they looked a bit nervous, but in the final carousel they smiled and looked very happy: “They looked handsome, seeing that their limitation can be solved as far as fashion is concerned”, affirmed an also happy Marina Vergés together with Carolina Asensio and Manuel Bolaño.

Agnés Russiñol, director of the Consorci de Comerç Artesania i Moda de Catalunya, was also very satisfied by the importance of this inclusive fashion show at 080 Barcelona Fashion. On this occasion, sitting next to her in the front row were Tània Verge, Minister of Equality and Feminisme of the Generalitat, and Meritxell Benedí, director of the Institut Català de les Dones, who, in addition to inclusive fashion, assures that it is also important to make it visible in the catwalk the diversity of bodies “women have to stop being at war with our bodies”. And Tània Verge adds: “It can’t be that women end up frustrated when they go shopping because they can’t find their size.”

The fashion journalist Marina Vergés and her cousin, the computer scientist Carolina Asensio, created the firm Free Form Style 5 years ago, seeing the problems that a relative of hers who had suffered a stroke had to find adapted fashion. They started designing basic clothes, but with a touch of style and fashion. They found support in foundations, institutions and associations of those affected. The pandemic paralyzed everything but “now we have been reborn with more strength.”

Not only have they had the collaboration of Manuel Bolaño, Oscar León previously designed a special edition of t-shirts that the firm has adapted to its clients. “With this parade we hope to take a big step to continue walking in inclusive fashion and dignify all bodies”, concludes Marina Vergés.