Idealism

And your idea of total happiness?

Total happiness is the sum of many little moments of happiness. There’s no other formula

What’s the feature you like least about yourself?

My height: I’m ten centimetres too short

What trait can you not abide in others?

Being twofaced

What is your greatest extravagance?

Living above my means

What historical character do you most identify with?

Voltaire

What’s your highest virtue?

Honesty

What do you hate about your appearance?

The extra pounds around my waist…

What living person do you despise the most?

Financial speculators

Who is the big love of your life?

Only she knows …

In what situations do you lie?

When there is no other way of negotiating a delicate situation

Your favourite fictional hero?

I’m not sure whether it would be Mr. Swann or the Duchesse de Guermantes

What do you think is your biggest success?

To be – or at least try to be – one of the thinking heads for fashion in Spain

What is your most cherished possession?

My library

And your favourite activity?

Listening to classical music

What quality do you most value in a man?

Loyalty

And in a woman?

Loyalty

What defects do you detest in both?

Sudden changes in beliefs. The kind of frivolousness so typical of “stars”

What would your greatest misfortune be?

Having to deal with a serious illness unexpectedly

Your greatest fear?

To see my lifestyle altered by financial constraints

Your favourite colour?

Black

What talent would you have liked to have?

A musical gift. No doubt about it… If I were to start again I would be a pianist…

How would you like to die?

With peace of mind, being aware of the moment and with as little pain as possible

What are your favourite names?

Aureliano, Pedro, Soledad, Ginebra…

What’s your motto?

If it’s within your grasp, don’t stop dreaming till you get it…

Tell me one regret?

Not having studied more

What’s the main feature of Spanish fashion?

Its disconnectedness with reality. Which is why Zara – perhaps it’s most admired and at once most vilified example – does not seem like a Spanish phenomenon

In your view, what initiative would totally satisfy the fashion industry in Spain?

Addressing our international commercial presence seriously

What do you like the least about Spanish fashion?

Its stature. It’s missing a couple of zeros … (in turnover)

What trait in world fashion do you detest in general?

It’s dreadfully narcissistic

What is fashion’s extravagant feature?

Launching utterly impossible things onto the market, just to enjoy those famous “fifteen minutes of fame” Andy Warhol spoke about

What do you hate about aesthetics today?

The self-interested praise of bad taste, of banality and of vanity

When does fashion lie: on the catwalk or in its production…?

Both. Although I find it more worrying when the lie takes place in production

How do you think fiction, either literature or films, treats fashion?

With great admiration that, believe it or not, is not returned by the latter

What is the biggest success of all times of Spanish fashion?

Apparently the “Balenciaga legend” and its countless ramifications

What fashion design do you think should be included in the World Heritage list?

As in any other art, a well selected collection of its “masterpieces”

Do you think Beau Brummell is still alive today?

I think so, although sometimes you only see him in men’s fashion magazines. At the moment, the street isn’t the best place to “stroll impeccably dressed with a melon in hand…” if you wish to be irresistibly elegant. I don’t know if Nati Abascal’s eldest son would dare?

Should a businesswoman dress differently for work and for a social occasion?

Yes, I think so. Just as men wouldn’t go to work in a tuxedo…

How do you believe the world’s current economic-financial downturn will affect fashion?

Very seriously indeed, to the point that I see a paradigm shift: low cost will not be a passing trend and will become part of our lifestyle

Do you think that, at some stage, fashion will lose the affection and consideration it enjoys today?

I don’t think so. People are very cynical when it comes to fashion. It’s very cool to criticise it, but then everyone surrenders to its irresistible allure

What’s your view of the “Spanish” designs by international designers?

As a huge compliment: a confirmation that our eternal “inferiority complex” is not shared by those sensible souls that look at us from outside

What is it that Spanish designers are missing when it comes to achieving the kind of market recognition enjoyed by other countries?

I think Spanish contemporary fashion has some unfinished business: its lack of international presence, and very especially, its lack of commercial positioning. That is definitely our unfinished business

What type of outlandish finale would you accept for fashion?

To become downloadable on the Internet free-of-charge, like music

Name three favourite male and female garments

Coat, suit, tuxedo…

Trench coat, suit, dress…

If you can’t be elegant, at least be extravagant. What to do think of this as a slogan for fashion?

Moschino forbidding, the sentence could be mine

What is fashion’s mortal sin?

Having fallen into the hands of its worse enemy: a media much more interested in the model than in the designer, in the front row rather than in the catwalk…

In these times of economic downturn, the industrial sectors that have traditionally sustained the economy in Valencia are particularly vulnerable, given their corporate, financial and social structure. And this is true because, despite their well-proven solvency in the past, they complacently settled for an outdated market profile. Up until now, enterprises from Valencia designed their strategies based on an enviable relationship with the market that no longer exists: all they had to do was wait for buyers to come to them to discover, appreciate and acquire a product suitably tailored to their needs and their niche, and then wait for the profits to start rolling in. On the other hand, the structure of the labour market in the region, the wages policy and an excellent relationship with suppliers, reinforced over years of excellent service, based on a strict compliance with buying and selling conditions of raw materials, machinery, technology, etc., gave the system a critical mass of wealth that enabled a highly satisfactory situation for all parties involved. This remained the case in the years of economic boom until the first big financial crisis in post-Franco Spain during the early 1990s.

Nowadays, things have changed beyond recognition and the current global situation has hit the traditional sectors of the Valencian economy particularly hard. And the fact that the world economy in our information and communication society is so tightly networked means that the so-called ‘butterfly effect’ has an exponentially accelerated effect.

In these circumstances, executive officers at public bodies have an evident responsibility to sustain, support and promote the productive activity of these cornerstone industrial sectors. Any economic strategy or plan that does not bear this in mind is bound to fail, especially because of the high political cost that reneging on this responsibility would have on an extremely large portion of the local population which depends on these sectors either directly or indirectly.

While far from new, the political design for an official structure backing the financial, industrial and corporate development of the Valencian Community, has incorporated the necessary tools needed to implement this support.

Of course, a selective approach focused on reinforcing sectors with the greatest market potential should be applied. This would clear a path towards the future but should also limit negative side-effects as much as possible, especially in the social realm, given the complex short to mid term situation.

In these circumstances, the support lent by institutions and organisations like IVEX, IMPIVA and the various chambers of commerce, is absolutely crucial in maintaining industrial activity in our region.

Unfortunately, with the passing of time resources are harder to come by and the downturn has an increasingly tighter grip on us. That said, the political impetus, based on a conviction in the benefits of the promotional programmes devised and implemented by those bodies, continues in place, at least for the moment.

On the other hand, the corporate fabric in Valencia, across the various productive sectors, has been gradually putting in place a pretty solid and dynamic relational and associational structure that enables it to function as a lobby group, defending the interests of its associated enterprises and effectively administering the admittedly scant funding it manages to get from public sources.

CONTEXTO has well-proven experience in communication for institutional activities. Our close bonds with the long-standing industrial sectors in Valencia, based on a reciprocal emotional engagement, has been put to work in areas including textiles, wood and furniture, fashion and toys among others.

Thanks to the confidence placed in us by loyal repeat clients from those sectors, CONTEXTO has been part of the evolution of institutional policies to support the real economy in the Valencian Community.

Working hand-in-hand, and with a philosophy based more on partnership than on a purely contractual service relationship, CONTEXTO has created and developed campaigns for the promotion and communication of those policies, aiming particularly at international projection and at positioning those sectors within global markets, in most cases with excellent results and recognised success.

In these campaigns, the emotional component is critical – and this is particularly true in these difficult times – because it stimulates a feeling of pride in belonging, because it provides a sense of cohesion, because it emits positive and hopeful signals. And very especially, because it transmits to the market the message that, no matter the circumstances, the sector has still things to say and things to offer: design, quality, productivity, service… and that we have a key role to play.

The international projection of our long-established productive sectors is based above all on the existence of large nodes or hubs distributing information and knowledge (and, naturally, business) as well as on commercial fairs worldwide, from Japan to the Americas, with a special focus on the key events for each particular sector. In these cases, the joint visibility of companies exhibiting at trade fair events, obviously endorsed by the quality of the products the companies already commercialise in those markets, provides an added bonus to the brand that makes it easier to identify and strategically locate our businesses within these markets. We also lend special attention to the emerging BRIC countries in order to consolidate a foothold we all hope will reap fruitful results in the near future.

Therein the paramount importance of effectively communicating a political action supporting these productive sectors from Valencia. Furthermore, CONTEXTO designs and prepares initiatives to update communication channels, tools and philosophies, adding modernity, research, development and innovation to the communication mix in order to convey a dynamic, technological image. In the current situation these aspects are, more than important, absolutely key to improving the competitiveness of our corporate sector in a global market that is increasingly more demanding and sophisticated by the day.

The outcome of this joint collaboration was an exciting and varied programme that attracted a cross-section of audiences during the week-long celebration. We had everything from an evening party at the museum targeting a very young crowd, exhibiting works by graffiti artists for the first time in a museum in Valencia and featuring renowned DJs, to a cantà or traditional Valencian music session which MuVIM offered its neighbours in the Velluters district, featuring Cant Valencià d’Estil, some of the most prestigious singers and poets of this musical style. The musicians took their traditional tunes out into the surrounding area, paying tribute to the museum’s illustrious neighbours, like the El Pilar parish church, the Pensioners Home, the Carpenters Guild or the Silk Art College.

Other activities were guided tours, a roundtable on Museums and Memory, educational workshops and a concert by Xavi Morant on the closing day.

Thanks to this project, Contexto Comunicación tightened its bonds with this influential Valencian cultural institution, whose programme for the upcoming season is already full of exciting new ideas.