MADRID: The wedding fashion industry has reached a benchmark at a global scale. In terms of exports, Spain is only behind China, making 755,000 wedding dresses and earning 507 million euros per year. The bridal business has a total turnover of nearly 13% of the whole Spanish textile sector and the most important part of this comes from Catalonia, which concentrates more than 40% of production. One of the reasons for this is that Catalonia is the home of huge firms such as Pronovias or Rosa Clará, as well as the already established Jesús Peiró or YolanCris brands.
In less than a decade, Spain has emerged as one of the heavyweights in the wedding dress industry. In fact, it has become the top designer and manufacturing power at European level and the second exporter in the world, only surpassed by the Asian giant but exceeding the United States. Regarding these figures, there is an important thing to take into account: while China mass-produces, Spain designs in the prêt-à-couture style, a mix of custom and pattern-based designs.
According to the Centre of Information about the Textile and Clothing Industry (CITYC), a non-profit statistical organization, of the 700 million euros billed revenues, 70% corresponds to bridal dresses and accessories, which means 504 million euros of the textile industry. In addition, the wedding dress business involve more than 700 companies, which employs about 14,000 workers (both the large companies and the workshops), and has an aggregate turnover of around 1,300 million euros per year.
Each year, 755,000 wedding dresses are made in the State. Spanish bridal fashion has become an international reference point: European countries are the main customers (77%), although the market is rising in countries of the Asia-Pacific Region (10%), the United States (5%), Latin America (7%) and the Middle East (1%).
That said, what makes the ‘Made in Spain’ bridal’s fashion industry rich is Catalonia. Around 42% of market share, which implies 317,100 dresses, corresponds to Catalonia, making Barcelona the European Bridal Fashion Capital. However, that all eyes are on Barcelona when it comes to the textile industry is nothing new.
