The presenters, actors, dancers and directors of the galas at San Sebastian Festival’s 69th edition will once again wear fashion made in Gipuzkoa and the Basque Country thanks to an initiative promoted by the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa’s Departments of the Environment and Culture, the Film Festival, the San Sebastian City Council and the Basque Government through the project Dressing the stars at Zinemaldi 2021. The initiative offers all brands in the territory the chance to participate in the project and is an endeavour by the aforementioned Provincial Government Departments of the Environment and Culture to coincide with the Festival’s commitment to sustainability and to the local and green economy.

In a year when COVID-19 has once again created a complicated situation for industrial and commercial development of the fashion sector, and where the importance of building local value based on the green recovery has become clearly obvious, the Film Festival will once again become the best showcase for our culture and sustainable textile creations at home and abroad.

Following a public call for submissions channelled through the provincial body, to which 40 companies from Gipuzkoa, Bizkaia, Alava and Navarre responded, and a pre-selection made by the Festival stylists after analysing each of the submissions received, 22 companies will finally participate in the initative, “Dressing the stars at Zinemaldia 2021”during the nine days of the Festival.

Of these 22 companies, 19 are from Gipuzkoa, one from Bizkaia, one from Alava and one from Navarre; while two specifically belong to the Sustainable Fashion Cluster promoted by the Department of the Environment at the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa: Adriana Astiazaran, the AEG School for Professional Innovation, Álex Vallejo Joyeros, Amagoia Etxeberria, Amaia Albes, Ana Loreto Martín, Charo Casteres, Matsu Studio, Eli-two (GK Green Fashion), Getary, Isabel Astiazaran, Isabel Zapardiez, Javi Pérez Chalbaud, Joyería Munoa, Loreak Mendian (GK Green Fashion), Maialen Campaña, Minimil, Miren Arruabarrena Zapirain, Sophie & Voila, Torrubia & Torrubia and Unai Fernández (Lasai Wear) are the chosen companies and designers.

While a great deal of the jewellery and accessories has still to be decided, a number of Basque brands have already received the confirmation of their presence at the galas or on the red carpets. Isabel Zapardiez will dress Cayetana Guillén-Cuervo at the opening gala and Anne Igartiburu will walk the red carpet wearing a design made in Gipuzkoa by either Isabel Zapardiez or Amaia Albes. For their part, actors Asier Etxeandia and Enrique Bárbaro will both wear designs by Aldabaldetreku. The dancers from Kukai will wear outfits exclusively produced by AEG, while the musicians will also be dressed by Aldabaldetreku and the DJ by Lasai Wear. As far as the presenters are concerned, Vanesa Rodríguez will place her trust in Minimil and Mihdu; and Edurne Ormazabal in Elixabet Perdiguero (Eli-two). The other decisions will be taken from today until the closing gala of the edition.

The Deputy for the Environment, José Ignacio Asensio, stressed that “this is an initiative to promote sustainable local fashion. This year the presence of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa acquires greater relevance given the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected all sectors of the economy, and very directly the fashion industry”. Furthermore, the Council representative indicated that “we institutions must support all sectors and, specifically, local fashion, workers and shops. But we must also make the most of this opportunity to build a new normality, a new green economy: the Green Recovery.”
Harkaitz Millan, Deputy for Culture, added: “we at the Department of Culture join the initiative of lending visibility to the local fashion sector. Fashion is a twofold form of cultural expression: on the one hand, from the point of view of the creator and what they want to transmit with their designs and, on the other, that of the person who wears them and the way they communicate.”

For his part, the Festival Director, José Luis Rebordinos, emphasized that it is not only a pleasure to do our bit in helping to improve the international visibility of Basque fashion, but that it is also an obligation to do it in terms of sustainability: “A few weeks ago we published the report on the Festival’s environmental impact, also explaining what we will do to reduce that impact. At that time we already said that sustainability is not a choice. All experts agree that immediate measures must be taken to prevent destruction of the environment from becoming irreversible, and this backing of local fashion, while it may seem small, is in fact a necessary grain of sand which joins other measures already underway at the Festival”.