Lara Malvesí
Barcelona (EFE).- The powerful Spanish bridal fashion sector, the fourth country in the manufacture of ceremony gowns and second in international sales after China, with flagships such as Pronovias or Rosa Clará, has its sights set on the Asian buyer , the great wedding market along with Latin America and the US.
Parallel to the fashion shows of the Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week (BBFW), until April 23, what has already become the main trade fair for wedding dresses in the world takes place, ahead of those in Milan and New York. , with the largest and most international roster of exhibition brands, up to 350 from 90 countries.
The global turnover of companies in the bridal fashion sector in Spain is 1,350 million euros (including wedding dresses, but also groomsmen, parties, footwear and accessories).
A sector with more than 13,000 workers
Despite the power of groups such as Pronovias, the bridal fashion sector is highly fragmented among large companies, SMEs and artisan clothing workshops, and BBFW estimates that there are some 730 companies operating that employ 13,400 people, according to data from 2022.
Of the nearly one million wedding dresses that are made in Spain each year (920,000 in 2022), 80% are sold to multi-brand stores and foreign department stores.
Wedding dresses alone represent 13% of the Spanish textile niche as a whole and their exports represent 670 million euros.
The fact that most of the dresses made in Spain are exported outside its borders is explained, according to the fair, by the fact that in Europe the links stand or fall, while these celebrations are on the rise as in other areas of the world, mainly Asia, including China and India, as well as Latin American countries.
Average price spent by brides in Spain
The average of what brides spend in Spain is 2,100 euros per dress, although more and more there is a second “look” in the celebrations, according to the bodas.net portal.
By Autonomous Communities, Catalonia has a share of 41% of the total Spanish turnover, figures that are partly explained because the headquarters of the Pronovias group are located there, or the firms Jesús Peiró and Rosa Clará, among others.
The new director of Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week, Albasari Caro, has highlighted to EFE that for some firms the fair represents “selling more than half of their turnover for the whole year”.
“Here we set up a stupendous catwalk, with all the glamour. But here they come to do business, and we are satisfied that many brands have already had all the purchase appointments closed for days ”, he explained.
From Jesús Peiró, designer Merche Segarra explained to EFE that, for the veteran specialized firm, Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week is “an unbeatable international and national showcase” and an “essential visit” because it attracts clients from all over the world”.
Of the 20,000 visitors and buyers at the Barcelona event, the number of Asians is growing this year.
Although ceremonies in other countries such as India do not have a long, white, western-style dress as their main suit, it is increasingly common for at least one dress to be of these characteristics and of a European or American brand at multi-day weddings. .
With its sights set on attracting this type of buyer, the BBFW invites luxury brands every year for the catwalk and the “showroom”, as on this occasion with the Lebanese luxury firm Elie Saab, a regular in Rania’s wardrobe from Jordan , the Duchess of Cambridge or the red carpet at the Oscars.