Fashion with an Andalusian flavour at the final of the 'Andalusia, Fashion Destination' Designers' Contest held at UDIT

• The designer Emilio Alcalá from Jaén wins the first edition of the Designers' Contest 'Andalusia, Fashion Destination'.

The University Campus of UDIT, University of Design and Technology, has hosted the celebration of the first edition of the Designers' Contest 'Andalusia, Fashion Destination' in a gala with a fashion show format. An event in which the 16 finalists selected by the expert committee showed their proposals with a clear southern inspiration: each and every one of the Andalusian provinces.

Thus, in the final of this competition, which is sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport of the Andalusian Regional Government, co-financed with European Funds, there were designs with very clear references and reminiscences to Andalusian heritage, festivals and culture.

The fashion show was attended by the Delegate of the Junta de Andalucía in Madrid, Vicente Azpitarte, Rosa Pérez, president of UDIT, Juan Cayón, Rector of UDIT, and Gerardo Mochales, CEO and General Director of the University, as well as the model and promoter of the event, Laura Sánchez.

"The richness of Andalusia is as great as its numerous references in fashion and in other arts and disciplines. The finalist designers have managed to take a little piece of the south and bring it to this improvised catwalk that we have created in Madrid, where the Andalusian flavour has not ceased to be savoured throughout the show", said the model Laura Sánchez, organiser of the event. "For the jury, the decision was very close....In each of the proposals, you could clearly recognise the inspiration that it was their turn to materialise", she added.

From the embroidery that envelops the Virgen del Rocío de Almonte (Huelva), to the salt flats of Cádiz, the wrought iron grilles of Cordoba and the Carnival of Cádiz, the designs of the 16 fashion designers from all over Spain were a true journey along the coasts and mountains of southern Spain. There were also no shortage of nods to the Feria de Abril in Seville, the Alhambra in Granada, the olive groves of Jaén and the deserts of Almería. 

The designers who, from among the more than 40 initial candidates, have paraded as finalists were Ana Isabel Carrillo (Almería), Alba Marín (Pamplona), F. Javier Calzado (Seville), Anselmo Cruz (Seville), Adrián Romero (Seville), Antonio Arcos (Huelva), Rebeca Mercado (Huelva), Ernesto Sillero (Seville), Juan Alberto Guzmán (Jaén), Mª. Auxiliadora Castellano (Cádiz), Raquel Rúa and Jesús de Fariña (Huelva), F. Javier Mora (Jaén), Emilio Alcalá (Jaén), Joaquín Serra (Córdoba), Vicente Martos (Jaén) and Sergio Venteo (Córdoba).

Emilio Alcalá, a young designer from Jaén, was the winner of the first 'Andalusia, Fashion Destination' Designers' Competition. His design is inspired by Almería, specifically the Tabernas Desert, with a clear reference to the cracks in the sand caused by the drought. "I wanted, by way of protest, to focus the costume on the paradox that the Tabernas Desert is a world heritage site, even though the drought is a current problem", explains the young designer.

Vicente Martos, a student of the Degree in Fashion Design at UDIT, was a finalist with a spectacular design inspired by the province of Huelva.

The jury, chaired by Laura Sánchez, was made up of the model Laura Ponte, Maruca García Paredes, director of the Fashion Department at UDIT; Vicente Aztiparte, Delegate of the Andalusian Regional Government in Madrid;the Madrid influencer Paula Ordovás, Jorge Redondo, creative director of Redondo Brand; the stylists Paco Rus, Natalia Bengoechea and Chabela García; the designer JC Pajares and the photographer Valero Rioja, as well as the directors and editors of the national magazines specialising in Fashion and Lifestyle.

This competition is part of the second edition of the 'Andalusia, Fashion Destination' project. This plan to promote Andalusia as a destination has Andalusian and flamenco fashion as a common thread, and is made up of the 'We are April' themed exhibition, the 'Andalusia, Fashion Destination Designers Competition', and the 'Andalusia is Flamenco' fashion show that will take place in Madrid in the near future.