Held as part of 080 Barcelona Fashion, the meeting addressed the challenges of sustainability, digitalisation and internationalisation of the fashion sector

On 13 and 14 April 2026, Barcelona hosted the European Designer Fashion Summit, also presented as the International Conference on European Designer Fashion, as part of 080 Barcelona Fashion. The meeting, held at the Tinglados space of the Port of Barcelona, brought together institutions, creators, experts and international sector stakeholders with the aim of reflecting on the present and future of European designer fashion and addressing strategic challenges such as sustainability, digitalisation and internationalisation, as well as strengthening the role of fashion as a driver of creativity and innovation in Europe.

At Leather Cluster Barcelona we took part actively, sharing our vision and experiences together with Javier Gallego, manager of MOVEX (Ubrique), in a setting of dialogue with other relevant players in the European fashion and design ecosystem.

Organised by the Spanish Fashion Academy Foundation —FAME— and promoted by ACME, the summit addressed key issues such as cultural identity, sustainability, digitalisation, internationalisation, emerging talent and the need to strengthen the connection between creativity, industry and market. With voices such as Gilles Lipovetsky, Dana Thomas, Scott Lipinski, Pepa Bueno and representatives of various European fashion institutions, Barcelona has consolidated itself as a strategic space for debate and projection for designer fashion on the continent.

Particularly notable were the contributions of Gilles Lipovetsky, who reflected on the role of fashion in European cultural identity, and of journalist and author Dana Thomas, who offered a critical view of the contemporary fashion system and its future challenges.

One of the highlights was the talk by Gilles Lipovetsky, who warned that fashion “is no longer frivolous”, but that it also represents a major environmental problem. He defended the need to reduce the impact of textile production, commit to recycling, biodegradable materials and second-hand, and avoid greenwashing.

The meeting also raised the need for European designer fashion to gain structure, visibility, international connection and commercial capacity, especially in a context dominated by fast fashion, globalisation and competition from large platforms.

The European Designer Fashion Summit has consolidated itself as a strategic platform to connect talent, industry and critical thinking, reinforcing the need to build a more collaborative, resilient and innovative European ecosystem.

Leather Cluster Barcelona is a competitive cooperation environment that promotes cross-cutting, transformative strategic projects aimed at driving the ecosystem of the Catalan leather sector within the framework of Shared Value policies. The cluster is an accredited entity within the Catalonia Clusters programme and is supported by Acció.