No more sparkly clothes. Desigual brand like you’ve never seen before

T-shirts are loose, kimono drapes are flawless, sweaters are wool, and unisex babies offer chic minimalism. Who would have imagined that the new collection of Hed Miner, winner of the 2019 LVMH Karl Lagerfeld Prize, was actually designed in collaboration with… Desigual? As the end of the year holidays approach, the well-known brand from Barcelona signs a collaboration agreement with an up-and-coming designer. The result is an elegant wardrobe made up of timeless pieces and sexless (non-gendered, French). A partnership that allows Desigual to take a different direction, always offering colorful ready-to-wear, deliberately playing on eccentricity and patterns in abundance.

To understand this stylistic change, we need to go back to the sources. When it was founded in 1984 by entrepreneur Thomas Meyer, Desigual offered colorful fashions saturated with floral and psychedelic patterns. The brand, headquartered in Barcelona, ​​is becoming one of the leaders of the Catalan identity. Its name is the first inspirational code of its style; Desigual is inspired by “desigualdad” which means “inequality” in Spanish, a word used to describe any form of difference. Then the tone is set. the Spanish-speaking label intends to make a difference in the ready-to-wear market by focusing on creativity, diversity and optimism.

Display clothes with catalog

Their idea. “One Desigual outfit in the closet is enough, but it has to stand out, be special to justify the higher price,” the article states. Balance Published in 2014. Unlike its competitors Zara and Mango, Desigual offers a higher price range and has been cataloged since its inception. Ask a millennial (a person born between the early 1980s and the late 1990s, editor’s note) what does he think of Desigual? She will definitely answer “the perfect Spanish teacher’s wardrobe”.

Desigual, we love it or hate it, it doesn’t matter if we are familiar with fashion or not. It’s also what makes his signature, what allows him to play it. In 2010, he caused a stir by offering a free outfit to the first 100 customers who showed up in front of stores in Madrid, New York and Barcelona… wearing underwear. Or how to mix hippie spirit seventiesA brand specific to the ‘buzz’ craze of the 2000s. He also works with models of unusual beauty, such as Winnie Harlow, who suffers from vitiligo. For its Fall/Winter 2023-2024 collection, the label is banking on transgender model Harry Neff. The idea is to always break the label. It is paradoxical when we know that Thomas Meyer, its founder, is one of those reserved and backward businessmen.

Well regulated partnerships and advertising

In 2019, it’s changing direction to target younger, more connected customers. For this, he relies on a strong presence on social networks (up to 1.3 million subscribers on Instagram). There is nothing like it for a brand like Desigual. He also plays the influence card. content creator Maria Bernad (391,000 subscribers) frequently promotes the label’s clothing and accessories. When it’s not Sara Sampaio, a model with 8.7 million followers, donning a 100% Desigual ensemble in the middle of Paris Fashion Week.

Thanks to its capsule collection with Hed Meyner, Desigual further cements its status as a brand that regularly gives carte blanche to young emerging designers… or great couturiers. Since 2011, Christian Lacroix has designed colorful capsules for Desigual. We’re also thinking about his second collaboration with young French stylist Alphonse Maitrepierre earlier this year. Not forgetting the capsules with rapper Natty Peluso, designer Stella Jean or Spanish designer Maria Escote. In short, everything is calibrated to target the youth. or create buzz on social media. On TikTok, Generation Z’s favorite platform, the label is playing with its old image to better sell “New Desigual” through promotional videos that have thousands, even millions, of views. Its goal in 2023 is to follow fashion trends while maintaining this aggressive DNA.