PRESS RELEASE  Spring – Summer  2024

Once more, Agatha Ruiz de la Prada returns to the catwalk with a firm step, full of explosive, multicoloured and revolutionary intentions.

Africa and its abstract geometry (with colours turned to full blast) has been the primary inspiration of our Spring/Summer 2024 collection. The houses of Ethiopia and Somalia, painted in evocative geometric designs – designs that are both ancestral and yet totally futuristic – are rendered homage in this fantastical agathistic phantasmagoria which plays with the frontiers of cultural exchange. The iconic tribal beaded necklaces become swollen Michelin collars that lie like intergalactic breastplates which have borrowed a little something from The Jetsons. Imaginary snakes slither out of our dreams and take on new theatrical proportions as large ruffles about the cuff and neck. Strands of neon tule are plaited into surrealistic dresses and skirts. There is even a deconstructed a giraffe hidden in plain sight, for those with discerning eyes to find.

Neon tassels, multicoloured sheer fabrics, sequins, yellow feathers, fuchsia feathers, will be mixed with all manner of patchwork to evoke an imagined and mythological world full of vitality and colour and movement. We have done all within our power to work with recycled materials and create out of the unexpected (or the neglected, such a whole range of Agatha Ruiz de la Prada Jeans entombed in Cosima’s closet for years, that are ready to take on new life forms). Our agathist icons – the heart, the flower, the star, the eye – also come to life as giant walking masks, ready to practice an agathist voodoo whose consequences are difficult to foresee.

Crepe and taffeta, in bright mate colours as well as in lush metallics, are the two main protagonists in terms of textiles used in our atelier collection, whilst the circle reigns supreme among our patterns. Devotees of the fashion world understand better than anyone the eternal recurrence of inspiration, marvellously demonstrated by our commercial collection, which features fishnets, towel fabrics and psychedelic prints worthy of Timothy Leary and his followers.

Men’s fashion will also return to our catwalk with four ‘agatho-afro-futuristic’ looks that play with oversize shirts and wide bloomers as trousers.

Just in case there weren’t enough multicoloured synergetic transfers going on, the music of the catwalk has been especially created by Ambizius and Anadie, two emerging artists at the front-lines of Spanish rap and pop music.

ANADIE

ANADIE is one of the freshest voices of the new national pop scene, with lyrics that are incredibly honest and distinctive. Navigating the currents between urban, pop and indie music, her songs are racking up thousands of plays in digital platforms. The young promise from Malaga is composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist of her songs (playing the guitar, the bass, the piano, the ukele and the banjo) and she has produced songs for Foyone, Elviruss, Virual and Moneo, among others.

Ambizius

Ambizius is a singer and song-writer who boasts both Belgian and African ancestry. She moved to the Canary Islands at a young age, where she began to develop her musical career. She began composing her own songs when she was merely 13 years old and two years later, she launched her first music project ‘Do What You Gotta Do’, produced and recorded by Powabeatz.

For more information:
ARP Press and Communications Department
Lucía Cordeiro
comunicacion@agatharuizdelaprada.com

CV

Agatha Ruiz de la Prada (Madrid 1960) studied in the Escuela de Artes y Técnicas de la Moda of Barcelona. At 20, she began working as an intern in the studio of designer Pepe Rubio in Madrid. A year later, she presented her first collection in Madrid at the design centre LOCAL and ever since her designs have been shown in the international capitals of fashion: Paris, Milan, Nueva York, Berlin, Madrid and Barcelona.

Agatha has been a guest of honour and a representative of Spanish fashion on the main catwalks of Albania, Germany, Argentina, Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Slovakia, The United States, France, Gambia, Georgia, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Morocco, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan…

The collections of the following fashion shows stand out:

Tribute to Cristóbal Balenciaga. Museo San Telmo, San Sebastián. (1987)

Unfinished dresses. Berlin and Madrid. (1989)

Expo ’90. Tribute to Sean Scully. Osaka, Japan. (1990)

Fashion Cantata: Lady from Spain. Kyoto, Japan. (1992)

Museum of Modern Art, Paris. (1994)

Tribute to Chillida, The Reina Sofia Museum. (1996)

ABSOLUT Ruiz de la Prada. Madrid, Stockholm, Miami and Punta del Este. (1996-1998)

The Canary Islands, a paradise of flowers, Carrousel du Louvre, Paris. (1998)

International Women’s Day, Hôtel de Ville, Paris. (2003)

Tribute the Meninas of Velázquez, Milan Fashion Week. (2008)

Tribute to Surrealism, Milan Fashion Week. (2009)

Agatha vs. Agatha, Mercedes-Benz Madrid Fashion Week. (2012)

Las autochicas, Mercedes-Benz Madrid Fashion Week (2013)

Prints Retrospective. MBFW, Madrid (2014)

Pool Party, MBFW, Madrid (2016)

Espectacular MBFW, Madrid( 2017)

Agatha’s designs have become a true medium of artistic expression. During her first years as a designer she began displaying some of her master pieces in galleries and museums in different cities of Spain, France, Italy, US, Germany, Portugal, Austria, Belgium, Greece, Sweden, Colombia, India, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong… In 2014 and 2015, Agatha presented a new retrospective exhibition in different countries of Latin America. In 2017 is selected by Google Arts & Culture to participate in their initiative #WeWearCulture with two exclusive digital exhibitions.

Agatha has collaborated with numerous artists like Enrique Vega, Gloria García Lorca, Eduardo Chillida, Pep Guerrero, Luis Galliussi, Philippe Andrieux, Bárbara Juan, Ciuco Gutiérrez, Christopher Makos, Miguel Ángel Molina, Michel Bresson, Ramiro E., Orlan, Nicole Herzog, Karim Rashid…

Since 1986, the company has counted on the collaboration of more than 100 fashion accessory licences. Ceramics coatings, bed and house linen, books, accessories for pets, perfumes and stationery are examples of the many products distributed through Agatha’s flagship stores and her online store, as well as a number of multi-brand stores present all over the world.

Due to her collaborations with different companies and official organisms, Agatha has designed uniforms, wardrobes, set designs for theatre, opera and dance performances, Christmas lights, children’s parks, urban furniture, theme parks, murals, gardens, restaurants, posters for events, cars etc…

In 2011, the Agatha Ruiz de la Prada Foundation was constituted, conserving an important representation of Agatha’s progression during her past thirty years of history in the world of fashion and creativity, with the purpose of classifying and diffusing her impressive documentary legacy.

In 2017, Agatha was awarded the National Prize for Fashion Design 2017 by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport in recognition of her more than 30 thirty years of experience and the ability to link her work in fashion to other manifestations of the arts.

AWARDS:

GSM of Alcatel Award for the most audacious communication. (1996)

International Award of Ecology Delta D’Oro. Ferrara, Italy. (1997)

Laurel de Oro Award for the trajectory and presence in the fashion sector. España. (1998)

3 FIFI Awards for the female fragrance AGUA: best fragrance, best packaging and best communication. (2003)

Keys of the city of Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. (2004)

La Kore, Oscar of Fashion. International Stylist. (2004)

2 FIFI awards for the male fragrance LIO: best packaging and best advertising campaign.     (2005)

FIFI award for best communication for the perfume IMAGINA. (2006)

Special award T de Telva for her trajectory in the world of fashion. (2006)

Award Colombia is Passion, Colombia. (2007)

New Yorker of the Year. Spain US Chamber of Commerce. New York. (2007)

V Award Top Glamour for best Spanish designer of the year . (2007)

Prix of Fashion of the magazine Marie Claire for the best professional trajectory. (2007)

Kapital Award 2008. Mejor diseñadora.

Perséfone.Award. Club de los Medios. Gala Aniversario 2008.

Gold Delantal, Award for the Arts. Madrid Fusión. (2008)

Award for business excellence. Government of Aragón. Zaragoza. (2008)

Max Leones award for scenery arts. Best designer. Madrid. (2008)

Award for the best international designer 2009. Miami Fashion Week.

Ambassador of Fashion 2009. Sevilla.

Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts. Santander. Spain. (2009)

Antena de Oro Award 2008 for her trajectory in the fashion world.

Award Golden Thread of Honour. Designer of the year. Lodz, Poland. (2009)

Distinguished guest of the city of Santiago of Chile. (2009)

Guest of honour in the city of Buenos Aires. (2009)

Expomoda award for international trajectory. Miami, U.S.A (2010)

Women Together award in recognition of her professional trajectory linked to women’s rights. New York. (2010)

Dedication to Fashion award. Seville. (2010)

CECOMA award for business innovation. Madrid. (2010)

Lorenzo El Magnífico award. Florence Biennale. Italy. (2011)

Diálogo award of the Association of Hispanic-French Relations with Jean Paul Gaultier. (2013)

Dedal de Oro award for best designer. Madrid. (2013)

ACOTEX awards 2013. Best designer. Madrid.

Serbia Fashion Week Award (2014)

Designer of the Year award. Miami Fashion Week. (2014)

Tendencias award. Best Designer. Valencia. (2014)

Corazon award. Professional trajectory. Gala Starlite, Marbella (2014)

Huesped Ilustre de Barranquilla. Colombia. (2015)

Puente awards 2015. American Club of Madrid (2015)

Estrella de la Fama award. Cochabamba, Bolivia. (2016)

Honduras Marca Pais award. Honduras (2016)

Fedeltà al laboro. Vigevano, Italy (2016)

Personaje Joya award. VOGUE. (2016)

Doctor Honoris Causa in Moda (Bucarest (2017)

Lifetime Achievement Award, Bucarest (2017)

Ilustre Municipalidad Medal, Viña del Mar (2017)

Premio Nacional Diseño de Moda (2017)

Reconocimiento Cámara Oficial Comercio Belux. Bruselas. (2017)

Premio al mejor diseñador internacional. Fashion Week Dubai. (2017)

Huesped de Honor de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Argentina. (2017)

Prix Marie Claire a la mejor carrera profesional. España. (2017)

Premio a la trayectoria de Club de las 25. España. (2017)

Premio a la diversidad poco frecuente. Premios EPF. España. (2017)

Medalla de Oro Mayte Spínola 2017. España. (2018)

Premio ARI al diseño. Madrid. (2018)

Premio diseñador del año ADYMO 2018. Asturias.

Premio Nacional Honorífico de la Industria de la Moda 2018. España.

Premio Diversa a la Moda 2019. Madrid.

Premio Senda Senior del Año 2019. Madrid.

Premio Nacional de Hostelería 2020. Madrid.

Premio Madrid Magazine 2020. Madrid.

Carlos, incorpora estos cinco premios en prensa de la web.

Premio Bombín de San Isidro 2021. Madrid.

Premio Alfiler de Oro 2021 a la “Trayectoria profesional”. Málaga.

Premio Luxury Awards 2021 a la “Trayectoria de Marca”. Madrid.

Premio Mujer Fearless 2022 en “Moda Sostenible”. Madrid.

Medalla de Madrid en San Isidro 2023. Madrid.