25th Barcelona Bridal Week focuses on internationalisation and has the US as guest country

Barcelona (ACN) - Barcelona Bridal Week is both the most important convention of the bridal industry in Europe and an international benchmark. This year, the Catalan capital’s event opened its doors on Tuesday with its bridal dress catwalk, the Paserela Gaudí Novia Fashion Show (5-8 May). On Friday, the international and professional trade fair NoviaEspaña (8-10 May) is opening, with 231 exhibitors participating. The event is held at Fira de Barcelona's Gran Via venue and is attended by the most famous and trend-setting national and foreign designers in the field. According to the organisers, this 25^th edition of Barcelona Bridal Week will be the most international in its history, with the USA as guest country, bringing together US trends, buyers and retailers.

This year's show also includes the US fashion designer Katharine Polk, the Californian founder of contemporary ready-to-wear bridal fashion brand Houghton. The designer will be taking part in both the catwalk show and the trade fair with her latest collection and designs created exclusively for Barcelona Bridal Week. The USA's starring role will also be noticeable by the presence of firms, exhibitors, buyers, trade professionals, bloggers and journalists from North America.

Paserela Gaudí Novia Fashion Show includes 23 firms presenting their collections

Between 5 and 8 May, 23 firms are presenting their collections in Hall 2 of the Gran Via trade fair centre. The event kicked off on Tuesday with the collections for 2016 of Catalan firm Rosa Clará. From 6 to 8 May, the catwalk will be showing the latest bridal creations from Jesús Peiró, Miquel Suay, Sabrina Saree, YolanCris, Isabel Sanchis and Inmaculada García, Natalie Capell and Cristina Tamborero from ‘Barcelona Couture by #MYLOOKROWENTA', Isabel Zarpardiez and Anna Torres, Cabotine by Gema Nicolás, Jordi Dalmau and Matilde Cano, M&M, Patricia Avedaño and Sonia Peña, Cymbeline, Carla Ruiz, Fuentecapala, special guest Houghton Bride and Justin Alexander. Finally, Pronovias - a Barcelona-based internationally renowned firm founded in 1922 - is presenting its collection on Friday night at the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC), on the last day of the event.

NoviaEspaña Professional Trade Fair will host 231 brands from all over the world

The NoviaEspaña trade fair is directed exclusively at professional visitors and will take place from 8 to 10 May. The show will showcase 231 brands, half of them international, featuring over 20,000 examples of articles for brides, grooms, occasion wear and accessories in bridal fashion. As well as thousands of trade visitors, 200 VIP buyers mostly from the USA and Europe will be attending the show - almost four times as many as last year, having been directly invited by the organisers.

Half of the 231 bridal fashion brands showcasing their Spring/Summer bridal creations are from some 15 different countries including the USA, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Lebanon, Portugal, South Korea, the UK, Turkey, Romania, Greece, Hong Kong, the Netherlands and Denmark. Overall, they will be occupying some 30,000 sq. m of space in Hall 2 of Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via centre.

75% of exhibitors return to the show each year, the event's organisers say

According to the organisers' press release, 75% of exhibitors return to the show each year, proving a high level of loyalty to the event. For this 25^th edition, new international firms taking part in the trade show for the first time will be located in a dedicated area called ‘What’s New’.

"It's really important to increase our internationalisation to promote the show's brand", said Marta Raich, the new President of Barcelona Bridal Week. "We need to showcase to the whole world the innate characteristics of the 'Made in Spain' brand for bridal fashions, which combine creative and innovative design, the highest standard of craftsmanship and very competitive production costs and sale prices", she concluded.

The show's director, Miquel Serrano, confirms that "at this year's show we're focusing on the United States because it is unquestionably a key strategic market for bridal fashions. But this is just our first step in making Barcelona Bridal Week a truly global event".