Fashion
Gran Canaria Swim Week closes most international edition to date, showcasing 44 brands and designers
Published
October 28, 2025
Swimwear once again takes centre stage in the Canary Islands. Gran Canaria Swim Week 2025, held from 22 to 25 October, brought together nearly fifty national and international brands and designers at the Expomeloneras exhibition centre, opening with an open-air first day.
According to the latest industry data, the event generates an economic impact of €6.25 million, boosting sectors such as restaurants, hospitality and transport, while the island’s fashion companies increased their turnover in 2024 by 24.58% on the previous year, when they recorded a total turnover of €1.1 million, consolidating Gran Canaria as the European epicentre of the sector.
A total of 44 brands from the local, national and international scene participated in this edition. Specifically, the event brought together 27 Canarian firms from Gran Canaria, La Palma, Tenerife and Lanzarote, as well as nine from mainland Spain and eight international. A line-up that demonstrates the consolidation and evolution of the event in recent years.
“You can see the evolution, and the project is taking clearer shape,” said Carlos San Juan, a long-standing figure on the catwalk, who highlighted the professional growth and international reach that Gran Canaria Swim Week has achieved.
Karolína Kurková, the star of the opening day
The opening day, held in Pasito Blanco, a marina in the south of the island, offered a different format with open-air catwalk shows by the sea. Czech supermodel Karolína Kurková, the face of the event, took part in several shows and provided one of the day’s highlights, arriving by boat to open the Victoria Cimadevilla show. The Oviedo-born, Madrid-based designer presented a collection inspired by Truman Capote’s Swans, “something glamorous, pure and that embodied the society of the time,” as she explained to FashionNetwork.com, crafted primarily in neoprene, in a black-and-white palette.
Local talent was once again a cornerstone of the event, with names such as Palmas, Diazar, Mare Far Niente, Pomeline and Elena Morales, underscoring the islands’ creative richness. Morales, one of Gran Canaria’s best-known designers, offered a more intimate, emotionally driven collection this time.
“Since my first show in 2018, the brand has evolved in all aspects. It is more developed and consolidated. I also enjoy the chaos of the catwalk more now,” she explained.
Her new collection, romantic and fluid in lightweight fabrics such as chiffon and kaftans, was presented in a show that departed from the energetic tone of her previous presentations, where techno music often took pride of place, in favour of something subtler, accompanied by Afro-Cuban notes, in tribute to the designer’s late grandfather.
Among the national brands, highlights included Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada, faithful to her playful and colourful universe; Bohodot, with its “Raíces del Sol”collection inspired by the Mediterranean; Fiona Ferrer, who combined local craftsmanship and international references, featuring Snoopy details that nodded to her FFL x Peanuts line; and the veteran Dolores Cortés, with decades on the catwalk.
“We are delighted to come, as always,” said Óscar Colomer, CEO of the family firm from Castellón and grandson of its founder, noting that, having taken part in practically every edition, “we have noticed a spectacular evolution of the event.”
The brand presented an exclusive selection from its “Earth” line, focused on neutral tones, natural fabrics and handcrafted techniques, reaffirming its commitment to meticulous production and sustainable design.
The international dimension of this edition came courtesy of names such as British designer Melissa Odabash, who celebrated 25 years in swimwear with the “Cruise 2026” collection, inspired by 1970s resort glamour; Colombian label Macaed, with a menswear offering imbued with Caribbean spirit and artisanal construction; Banana Moon, founded in Monaco, which fused Western style with a beach sensibility through fringing and synthetic suede; and Italian brand Miss Bikini, which presented “Boho Dream”, a collection blending craftsmanship and luxury with paisley prints, crochet and eco raffia accessories. “Beyond bikinis, our dress offering also accounts for a significant share of our sales,” noted Andrea Teofilatto, the brand’s founder and CEO, of a range made entirely in Italy with fabrics from Como.
The GCSW 2025 Awards recognised the work of three brands
The Gran Canaria Swim Week 2025 awards ceremony brought the final day to a close, with three brands receiving €3,000 each. Italian designer Dan Ward was recognised with the Best Collection Award, thanks to a collection that fused elegance and functionality with a resort sensibility, while the award for Best Sustainable Collection went to Canarian designer Elena Morales, for her artisanal work and commitment to the environment. Meanwhile, the Gran Canarian brand Mare Far Niente won the Best Emerging Collection award with “Viaje a la calma”, inspired by the Mediterranean and everyday life, underpinned by a commitment to the local.
The winning brands were selected by a jury comprising names such as Pepa Bueno, executive director of the Association of Spanish Fashion Creators (ACME); Simona Severini, director of White Milano; Scott Lipinski, CEO of the International Fashion Committee; Melanie Bauer, buyers’ representative; Araceli Díaz, representative of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria; Grisel Fernández, international adviser to the Chamber of Commerce; and Esther García Capdevila, director of Esma Events and creative director of Gran Canaria Swim Week.
With the backing of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, through the Gran Canaria Moda Cálida programme, created in 1996 by the Cabildo’s Department of Industry, Commerce and Crafts, and supported since 2017 by ACME, the event reaffirmed with this new edition its role as an economic driver and platform for talent. \
“Gran Canaria has established itself as the island specialising in swimwear and as the leading European platform in this field,” stressed Minerva Alonso, councillor for economic development of the Cabildo, noting that, looking ahead, “the goal is to continue growing and consolidating our position not only as the benchmark swimwear catwalk in Europe, but also as a global reference point.”
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Copyright © 2025 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.
Published
January 21, 2026
Testoni hails from Bologna, Italy, but in 2022 the luxury footwear and accessories maker came under the umbrella of Chinese group Viva China, which controls the Li Ning brand (which has just shown at Milan Men’s Fashion Week) and the British brand Clarks, having previously been acquired by Hong Kong-based Sitoy Group in 2018. The Emilia-based label, founded in 1929 and specialising in men’s footwear, has since placed greater emphasis on womenswear and, following a rebrand from a.testoni to Testoni 1929, in 2025 opened a 200 square-metre flagship on Via Manzoni in Milan.
The Milan boutique is part of the brand’s relaunch plan. In the same vein, the company has taken on a larger showroom to support retail and wholesale activities, at Via Sant’Andrea 21, where the presentation of the Autumn-Winter 2026/27 collection was held. “We currently operate 30 single-brand stores; we have just opened a new one in Taipei,” Philip Yau, CEO of Testoni, tells FashionNetwork.com. “They are located mostly in Asia- in China, Japan, South Korea and, indeed, Taipei. But after focusing on the Far East, we now want to look more to Europe, with Italy as a starting point, and then move on to the US.”
“We had a presence in America in the past, but we had closed the business there. Now we will reopen that market, where we were selling 10 million shoes every year. We have a large distribution centre in Hanover, near Philadelphia. Retailers such as Macy’s and Nordstrom, with whom we have established contacts, can help us successfully resume business in that market,” continues Yau, who is also aiming for “operational, logistics, marketing and other synergies with the brands Clarks and Li Ning and with the group’s market reach.” “Asia remains a strong base for us at Viva China, where we own many companies,” he says.
There are around 60 multi-brand stores that sell Testoni, making distribution highly selective at the top end. “Testoni has always been a more retail-oriented brand, but we are working to expand into wholesale as well, which we believe can be a strong driver of growth,” adds Testoni’s general manager, Enzo Vaccari. “So wholesale expansions are planned, especially in the US and other overseas markets. Nor are we neglecting e-commerce, which is quite small at present. It can do much more; we will work on it by leveraging the synergies we can establish with Clarks’ platform.”
Autumn-Winter 2026/27 has seen an increase in men’s styles and focuses on the Testoni brand’s core offer: loafers, moccasins, clean lines, no eccentricities, underscoring its craftsmanship. “In three years we will celebrate our 100th anniversary, so we have a very rich archive that could certainly form the basis of a museum,” Vaccari adds. “It is one of our dreams, because in our archive there are original products from the 1940s through the 1950s and 1960s, and we have all the original designs by Marisa Testoni, the daughter of Amedeo Testoni, the founder. At the moment, these materials are kept in Piazza XX Settembre, near the Montagnola in Bologna, but we are working to rethink the space and reorganise everything properly. We wanted Bologna to be the focal point of this project, because it is the city where we were born, where the company’s history lies.”
Testoni also makes handbags, another line that has expanded in terms of styles, while men still account for 70% of revenue and production. “However, we are trying to achieve a better balance between the collections: we need to develop more bags dedicated to women,” Yau notes.
From a financial standpoint, the official 2025 year-end has yet to be finalised, so Philip Yau does not intend to disclose Testoni’s annual turnover, which nonetheless grew in the single digits. The leading markets are China, Taiwan and Hong Kong combined- Greater China- accounting for 40%, followed by Japan. “But the US is and will be a key market for Testoni and for the entire Viva China group, as is the Middle East, not only through wholesale distribution but also via retail openings currently under consideration,” explains Enzo Vaccari. “In America we have just returned; we want to find a major retailer, like Macy’s, which has more than 300 doors. In the meantime, there will be consolidation of retail in Asia, where we are looking at other markets, such as Singapore and Malaysia, which we would like to enter within a couple of years, depending on the opportunities that arise.”
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Published
January 21, 2026
Add designer to Jaden Smith’s considerable list of professions- along with actor, singer, and rapper- after the Californian creator dreamed up an impressive Dadaist display for his debut at Christian Louboutin.
Evoking a whole plethora of influences from Greek mythology and the Great Paris Exhibitions to Dadaism and the great movement for Civil Rights, in an elaborate set in a disused warehouse in Montparnasse. Mount Parnassus, you will recall, was the home to nine muses in arts and sciences.
Two fine works of footwear even had Greek names: The Plato Loafer, a 2017 model with Swisscheese like holes, which Smith updates with the new Neo CL signature on a steel silver coin. And the Asclepius Sling- named after the ancient god of medicine- with the same emblematic coin detail and metallic hardware on the backstrap.
“I brought my personal interest on Greek mythology in as I thought it would resonate with people, as humans at the end of the day are all very similar. I’m combining my perspective of being an African American designer, linked to my more Dadaist thinking into the heritage of a French maison,” explained courteous 27-year-old.
Close by stood a Nam June Paik worthy mound of TVs, with video showing images of Martin Luther King’s 1963 March on Washington, The Sphinx, and clips from Dadaist filmmaker Hans Richter.
“That art piece is about the overdose of information we experience. This revolution that we are in the midst of right now. And the fact that information is being thrown at us all the time. And the psychological effects of looking at 10 screens at the one time. While also drawing correlations between my ancestry and Christian’s ancestry, and the history of art,” said Smith, attired in a giant gangster jeans, an oversized parka and pearl encrusted beanie.
Another installation was a broken temple with fluted columns on which were perched Jaden’s new bags. Notably a series of humungous backpacks and biker satchels, some with a dozen exterior zippered pockets with gold lettering reading- coins, pills, keys, tools, phone, documents, phones, and chargers. Alongside a surrealist tote finished like a bucket of overflowing paint and a Dadaist style back made in a black and white photo of an urban madding crowd.
The whole space was dubbed Christian Louboutin Men’s Exhibition, as a small group of models bathed, inevitably, in red light, circulated wearing the new footwear and bags. Large red fabric rolls made into benches allowed one to enjoy a large video montage, including Jaden as a Wagnerian hero posed in front of gothic castles. Which is where we spotted founder Christian Louboutin, in a video stirring a large vat of red paint, before symbolically handing over a paintbrush to Jaden.
“It’s about craftmanship, extreme luxury, and highest level of design. That’s what Christian Louboutin is all about,” said Smith, describing the brand’s DNA.
Eyebrows were raised when Christian appointed Jaden to the position of creative director, as Parisian designers with two decades long CVs gritted their teeth that an untrained talent got such a coveted position. However, judging by this display, Jaden Smith has the chops, talent, and grace to be very effective in this role.
One suspects the gods of style and time are probably rather pleased.
Copyright © 2026 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.
Published
January 21, 2026
To coincide with Milan Fashion Week, the S|STYLE 2025- Denim Lab is setting up at Fondazione Sozzani for an edition devoted to the future of sustainable denim and water management in the textile industry. Led by the S|STYLE Sustainable Style platform, founded in 2020 by independent journalist and curator Giorgia Cantarini, this initiative forms part of an ongoing programme of research and experimentation into responsible innovations applied to contemporary fashion.
The exhibition, open to the public on September 27 and 28, features a site-specific art installation by Mariano Franzetti, crafted from recycled and regenerative denim. Conceived as an immersive experience, it brings fashion design, technological innovation and artistic expression into dialogue.
Water: a central issue in fashion sustainability
Developed in collaboration with Kering‘s Material Innovation Lab (MIL), the Denim Lab brings together a selection of young international designers invited to create a denim look using low-impact materials and processes. They benefit from technical support and access to textiles developed with innovative technologies aimed at significantly reducing water consumption, chemical use, and the carbon footprint of denim production.
This edition places water at its core, an essential issue for a fabric whose production has traditionally demanded substantial volumes of water, from cotton cultivation through to dyeing and finishing. Denim therefore serves as an emblematic testing ground, both familiar and closely associated with the environmental challenges facing the fashion industry.
The fabrics were developed by PureDenim Srl, a specialist in low-impact dyeing techniques, while treatments and finishes were applied by Tonello Srl, a recognised leader in sustainable washing and finishing technologies. The selected designers, from Europe, Asia, and Africa, each offer a distinctive interpretation of denim, blending formal exploration, textile innovation and reflection on the contemporary uses of clothing.
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