Desigual-Spanish brand named after positivity and fun

Desigual fashion house, known for its bright colors and playful patterns, is one of the most popular Spanish brands. The company has stores in more than 72 countries and continues to grow exponentially. Located in the vibrant and tourist-favorite city of Barcelona, the brand has adopted the phrase “La vida es chula”, which can be translated as “Life is beautiful”, as its motto.

Content:

• Bright and scandalous style
• Desigual Clothing
• Desigual Dresses
• Desigual Bags
• Desigual today
• Collaborations

Bright and scandalous style

Desigual was founded in 1984 by two brothers, Swiss designers Christian and Thomas Meyer. The second of them still remains the sole shareholder of the company. When Thomas was in his early 20s, he was enjoying life on the island of Ibiza. His goal was to create something different that reflects the individuality and uniqueness of each person. The designer made a jacket out of pieces of old jeans. At the time, the Swiss entrepreneur couldn’t have imagined that this original piece would be the beginning of the Desigual fashion house.

The name literally means “rough”. When Thomas came up with it, he was inspired by the works of director Isabel Coixet. The first slogan of the company was the phrase “no es lo mismo” – “not the same” (as other brands). The old logo had an inverted “s”. Today, all the letters are written in a mirror image, with a dot at the end.

After the first successful collection, the brand opened a retail outlet located in Ibiza. However, the growing interest of buyers caught the founders by surprise. They did not have enough funds to maintain the store. In 1988, the Meyers were forced to declare bankruptcy. Despite this, Thomas decided not to close the brand, having invested all his funds in the project. He saw further development in providing vibrant and revealing collections. First, “Feel you sexy” was released with prints that became the most characteristic feature of Desigual. Thanks to this, in the mid-1990s, the company entered the foreign market, selling products in France and Portugal.

While traveling across the Atlantic, Meyer met Manel Adell, a former manager of companies such as Agrolimen, Bang & Olufsen, and Schweppes. Together they sailed on a sailing boat, and 10 years later Adele will join the Thomas brand. By 2002, a businessman with extensive management experience had already led him to significant growth, first as an adviser, and then as a partner and CEO. Thanks to him, Desigual began developing innovative promotions, such as Paint-parties – parties where customers decorated their own stores. There were also “Kiss Tour” or “Naked” campaigns, where customers entered stores naked and came out dressed. Manel held a senior position until 2012, selling his shares to Meyer after leaving.

Desigual Clothing

The brand’s philosophy is based on positivity, tolerance and fun. Every season, a team of 25 designers prepares a collection of more than a thousand items, including clothing and accessories, based on a single idea. Some of the concepts used by the company are expressed in words:

• Real Life;
• Magic Stories;
• Luxury Feelings;
• Me&You;
• Better&Better;
• Wow;
• Life is Cool;
• All Together;
• Handmade.

In 2011, Desigual began working with the French designer Christian Lacroix, who no longer worked in his eponymous fashion house.

Christian said that he first saw the brand’s clothes on a girl in Paris:“When I observed her, I was able to recognize her as a member of my own tribe. It was an explosion of flowers and patchwork under an elegant, understated and always monotonous French sky. It was fantastic, love at first sight, a breath of freshness, colorful, scorching, revitalizing, radiating Mediterranean colors and aromas. An image creeping into this global and colorless magma populated by zombies and clones.”

Desigual then entered into an agreement with Cirque du Soleil to develop a collection of 80 pieces and accessories. Currently, the brand has offices in cities such as Berlin, London and New York, and stores are open in the United States, Asia and the Middle East.

Desigual Dresses

Actress Laverne Cox, designer Iris Apfel and supermodel Karolina Kurkova are among the fans of the brand who wear her bright outfits and dresses. A favorite of brands such as Dior and Bulgari, Bella Hadid appeared at the Desigual 2014 fashion show in a form-fitting yellow and white dress with platform sandals. The image was completed with a headband and a sign in his hands with the words “Happy to be here”. She then donned a floral button-down cardigan with matching shorts and hot pink sandals. Bella finished off her ensemble with a floral headdress and large earrings. Brazilian model Adriana Lima appeared on the same year’s show. She wore a batik-patterned mini dress that was paired with bright pink platform sandals, a colorful purse, and a flower-decorated head.

The signature style of the dress “Desigual ” is inspired by the Mediterranean. The company mainly creates light silhouettes decorated with tropical, marine prints and African motifs.

• Material: viscose combined with polyamide or polyester;
• Details: wooden or mother-of-pearl buttons, decorative coins;
• Cut: Loose and tight designs;
• Style: Dresses for the beach, summer holidays or evening gatherings.

Desigual Bags

Accessories, like clothing, are designed in the style of fun. Whether it’s a small lady’s purse, shopper or backpack, the brand decorates them with ornate patterns and embroidery. The metal logo is located inside or outside, and various solutions are used as materials.:

• Polyester;
• Cotton;
• Polyurethane (artificial leather).

In the women’s collection, you can find both restrained designs for lovers of elegant style, and airy forms with fringe in the hippie style. The men’s line offers backpacks marked with bright details and inscriptions.

Desigual today

Despite the fact that the brand initially focused on a female audience, today it also offers full-fledged men’s collections. There are also sportswear and a relatively new direction for the brand – denim. In 2019, a line of denim products was launched as part of an exclusive collection dedicated to the 35th anniversary of the Iconic Denim Jacket, the brand’s first denim jacket, launched in 1984 and made from recycled vintage jeans.

Klara Delmus, the brand’s Product director, talks about Desigual’s strong connection to denim and its further evolution:“Denim has been one of our most important items since 1984, when our founder Thomas Meyer had the idea to create clothing from stocks of used fabric that couldn’t be sold. The jacket quickly became a must – have piece of clothing, introducing reuse as a starting point for a new creation and establishing some of the key concepts that later became the brand’s philosophy. In 2019, we completed a reissue of this iconic model, and this is an example of how important denim is in the history of Desigual.”

The jacket is made in the style of “patchwork”, decorated with the image of Mickey Mouse on the back. It is available as a permanent item in the jeans collection. Other designs feature new color washout techniques and colorful patches.

Returning to light materials and prints, the brand presented a spring – summer 2020 collection called “el LOVE”. It is characterized by colors, camouflage motifs and clothing painted in the “tie-dye” technique. The method got its name in the 1960s in the United States, when the hippie culture wore bright outfits with streaks. The very technology of “twisting and dyeing” fabric appeared in the early 20th century. Thus, not all places were painted over, so uneven streaks appeared on the material.

Collaborations

In 2017, the brand collaborated with Jean-Paul Goude, a graphic designer, photographer and filmmaker. He became the creative director of the fashion house, bringing bold novelty and unique appeal to collections. Jean-Paul also independently designed the 2018 “Desigual Couture” collection and helped launch a magazine for the brand.

Years after the collaboration with Christian Lacroix, Desigual brought back the most important images of the collaboration, releasing tracksuits, culottes, T-shirts, dresses, blouses, jackets and jeans. All of them are made in the designer’s corporate style and decorated with floral patterns. The brand also presented a collection with Ecoalf, known for its use of recycled materials. It includes:

• Patchwork denim jacket made from recycled denim;
• Short and long down jackets made of recycled nylon;
• Recycled polyester Running shoes;
• Backpacks and panama hats are also made of polyester.

The brand strives to return to its roots and consolidate its creative identity. It plans to open new stores in Barcelona and Paris. The company currently employs more than 3,700 employees.:

“The goal is to make creativity a daily habit. The innovation here is that we are going to start working more actively with film and art figures, “ the company says. The new approach covers everything from the collection with actors Miranda Makarov and Jordi Moglia to working with musicians King Jedet and Aleesha. The brand is also associated with urban culture, creating projects through initiatives such as Elrow Art with artist Okuda. It is the official and exclusive partner of the Sónar Music Festival, held in Barcelona once a year.