Hola, Miriam Ponsa
Let’s say we were playing a game of word-association and “Barcelona” came up. Quickly, what comes to mind? Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia. La Boqueria. Ferran Adrià. Or — this may be a stretch, but I know some of you might even say — Mies van der Rohe, referring to his iconic chair and ottoman named after the capital of Catalonia, of course.
Now, how about fashion? This is the home of Custo, after all.
While Barcelona isn’t New York, Paris or Milan, it does have its fair share of avant-garde designers and chic boutiques.
If you’re not so much into mainstream and prefer to shop for the progressive, walking the streets of the trendy El Born neighborhood of Barcelona is the way to go. A crop of young designers have set up shop in the area — the most intriguing among them, in my opinion, is Miriam Ponsa.
Fashion is in Miriam Ponsa’s blood. She comes from a family with a long textile tradition that dates all the way back to 1820, when her ancestors started a weaving plant. The business that has been passed on from one generation to the next is called Creasilk — referring to the silk thread that Miriam and her kin have worked on for ages.
The mill that was built in 1885 to house the factory still stands today and functions not only as Miriam’s studio, but its magic and mystique also serve as an inspiration for her collections.
Influences
Aside from the family trade, Miriam is strongly influenced by the art world via exhibitions and artist friends. She admires Jean Tinguely for his conceptual manifesto on painting and sculpture; and the Bauhaus movement for marrying the art of handcrafting with the industrial world. She is also a huge fan of land art, especially that of Andy Goldsworthy, one of the art form’s main proponents.
Miriam also takes her cue from the sartorial creations of Antonio Marras, Dries Van Noten, Miguel Adrover, Rick Owens and Jose Castro. Japanese designers like Junya Watanabe and Jun Nakao. Brands like Undercover and Comme des Garçons have also made an impression on her.
Among her contemporaries, Miriam is known as an innovator. In art school she began to experiment with latex and now applies the technique to her pieces. The old methods of weaving also play a big part in her collections. She develops exclusive fabrics together with local artisans by mixing natural fabrics like cords, palm sheets and virgin wool.
Miriam defines her design aesthetic as an amalgam of her personal history and letting her unconscious go. She reveals her persona not only in her collections but in her retail spaces, as well.
To say that she is passionate about her craft is an understatement. To her, it’s not just a simple piece of fabric; it’s art.
Les Trementinaires
Miriam Ponsa’s Summer 2010 collection, “Les trementinaires,” is named after and dedicated to local women who produce medicinal remedies from herbs and turpentine extracted from trees to treat all sorts of ailments — from aches and pains, to infections and insect bites.
The trementinaires traveled around Catalunya selling their wares during the 19th and 20th centuries. For weeks they would travel, carrying the load of their goods on their shoulders.
For this collection the basketry technique was employed, combining palm leaves and plait fabric to create baskets and accessories. The shoes are specially customized and based on the Catalan espardenya shoes typically worn by the country folk.
The oversized forms offer freedom and easy movement for travel. The cords hold the waist and give volume to the hip.
The color story takes inspiration from nature and combines turquoise, pink, white, khaki and green. The fabrics are made from natural, breathable fibers such as cotton, cotton-silk, and double silk.
Social Texture
Miriam Ponsa’s Fall/Winter 2010 collection, called “Social Texture,” is inspired by the nomad culture, known to use hand-woven methods for most of their fabrics.
The collection represents the fusion of ancient and present-day nomadic cultures. Wood and tricot pieces are made to look and feel like elements that constantly change — be it by season or by travel. The accessories symbolize the transient nature of the culture and the load that they carry along with them — as inspired by the Sherpas.
Layered and oversized looks abound. Predominant colors are black night, green moss and green ice. Fabrics are made of piece-dyed double cotton, 100 percent wool, virgin wool and cotton with wool.
The Miriam Ponsa flagship store is located at C/Princesa 14, Barcelona. Another store in the city is at C/Elisabets 20.
Her collections are also available at Garde-Robe National and Labels Inc (Antwerp, Belgium); Nuria Disseny (Palma de Mallorca); Fourstore (Berlin, Germany); Muse Inc (Saitama-ken, Japan); and Absinthe (Paris, France).
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