Tras el espejo: moda española

This exhibition - organised by the Sociedad Estatal para el Desarrollo del Diseño y la Innovación (DDI) (State Society for the Development of Design and Innovation) in collaboration with the Ministry of Science and Technology is one of the events held in the 2003 "Year of Design", to spread and showcase Spanish fashion. The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía hosts this exhibit spread out over the allegory of mirrors created for the occasion by filmmaker and writer Gonzalo Suárez and which gives way to the following six sections of the exhibition: “El espejo retrovisor: mirada fugaz al pasado más reciente de la moda española” (The rear-view mirror: a fleeting glance of the most recent Spanish fashion history). “El espejo transparente: En la moda, como en la calle, todos buscamos nuestro sitio, vemos y miramos” (The transparent mirror: In fashion, as on the streets, we all seek out our place, we see and look), “Reflejos y destellos: Seducción, ensueño y privilegio”" (Reflections and flashes: Seduction, dreams and privilege), “El espejo angular: Cuando la moda está en el centro del objetivo” (The angular mirror: When fashion is at the centre of the target, “El espejo con zoom: Una apuesta por los nuevos creadores, gente joven con ideas y con ganas” (The zoom mirror: A bet on new artists, young people with ideas and enthusiasm) and “El espejo en que nos vemos: Moda española en los medios de comunicación” (The mirror where we see ourselves: Spanish fashion in the media).

A team of specialists in various fields, among which are included: Pedro Mansilla, Jorge Wagensberg, Chiara Arroyo, Gervasio Pérez, Víctor Fabregat, Pedro Narváez and Jesús María Montes-Fernández, has given these sections content, providing creators and brand references, market facts and figures, references to photographers and media in charge of fashion public relations, sociological material and consultations on the technological component of the creations on display.

The exhibition ends with forty-seven visions of fashion, reflections by industrial engineers, designers, historians, journalists, artists, economists, actors, researchers and writers who give their opinion about their personal concept of fashion.

Tras el espejo: Moda española brings together nearly four-hundred pieces -one hundred and thirty physically present at the exhibition and the rest displayed through audio-visual format- representing the sectors of clothing, footwear, accessories and jewellery. The works are distributed in the space between different props, a gateway, mannequins and a multitude of different sized mirrors.

On display is everything from the classics such as: Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Manuel Pertegaz, Paco Rabanne, Manuel Piña and Pedro Rodríguez, to new generations such as David Delfin, La Casita de Wendy and Custo. The most well-known brands also appear in the exhibition. Thus, Zara, Camper, Don Cotton, Panama Jack, Loewe, Lois and Callaghan display their most famous creations.

This exhibition is the third chapter of previous exhibitions held at the Museo Reina Sofía dedicated to design: industrial design exhibition Diseño en España de 1987 and graphic design, Signos del Siglo: 100 años de Diseño Gráfico en España en el 2000.