The Exhibition

Carlota Barrera's collections form a whole universe and require meticulous conception and elaboration, and a series of processes that fuse the individual and the collective with professionals who, in many cases, turn the garments into works of art in themselves.

The same can be said of the scheme on which this exhibition at the Central de Diseño has been based, in which Carlota Barrera recreates a day-to-day life focused on the process, on what is unfinished, on the trial and error that is as necessary as it is little visible.

Reference images, garments under construction and other objects make up this exhibition, opening the door to an intimate part of the daily process in the atelier. In this space, the pieces developed in the atelier coexist with those created in collaboration with artisans, generating a series of synergies that fuse experimentation and tradition in the relevant conversation between craftsmanship and fashion.

Among the pieces are objects made in collaboration with Ábbatte, Javier Sánchez Medina, Steve Mono, Carmen Ma Castañeda, Aldanondoyfdez and Estaños de Pedraza. Pieces that combine straw and silk, hand embroidery with PVC pieces, optical effects in braided leather, tin appliqués on denim to pay homage to a trade with a long history on the verge of disappearing, silk shirts spun on handlooms with countless hours of work, patterns, mood boards, process sketchbooks and interactive visuals immerse the spectator in the universe of Carlota Barrera.

The aim of the exhibition is to draw visitors' attention away from impersonal, aseptic mass production and towards a human process full of imperfections and personal gestures. The exhibition will be divided into each step of the production process of the pieces of the collections, from the initial references to the photographic campaigns and fashion shows, passing through the development sketchbooks, the materials and the tests or toiles under construction.