“Barcelona ready-to-wear, from 1958 to 2008. Half a century of industry and fashion. Textile collection of Antoni de Montpalau” – an exhibition offering a relook into the recent past of Catalan textile and fashion culture is currently going on in Spanish capital of Barcelona.

The exhibition organized by the Catalan government, in association with Consortium of Trade, Craft and Fashion Catalonia (CCAM), offers a glimpse into changes in Catalan clothing fashion over time, by detailing the facts regarding the textile industry, fashion, brands and designers in the Catalan industry.

The show features over 300 ready-to-wear apparel pieces from every period of Catalan history. Most of the pieces on display at the show have been borrowed from Antoni de Montpalau collecion, an initiative created in 2004, which aims at collecting and disseminating heritage textiles and clothing mainly through donations. In addition, museums, institutions and design schools have also contributed to the collection on display.

Through the exhibition, the Catalan government aims at presenting an idea regarding the process of implementation and consolidation in making and designing of clothing during the last fifty years.

In addition to ready-to-wear costumes, the exhibition also depicts through several images and photographs, the incidences linking couture houses, garment makers, small outlets, boutiques and artists, which all boosted the Catalan textile industry and also the Catalan economy.

Several designers, brands, garment makers and small shop owners would be invited in the course of the exhibition, which would last till March 2014, to share their views regarding the showcase.

Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, with the official status of a nationality. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona.