Bread and Butter is a bi-yearly fashion event that takes place below the Palau Nacional, in the Montjuic district of Barcelona, Spain. Essentially, it is a trade fair bringing together thousands of fashion fiends from countries as far a field as the United States and Japan.
Mainly the event allows big brands to unveil their forthcoming collections, but it is also an opportunity for upcoming designers to showcase their work and possibly gain interest from the heavy flow of press, buyers and agents desperate to find the next big thing in the fashion world.
Back in 2006, Monorex pitched an idea to the people at Bread and Butter requesting to get involved, not through clothing, but by doing what they do best … live art. The pitch was accepted and it was not long before plans were fully underway for artists Teck 1 and Alfamale to journey out to the event for the Autumn/Winter 2008 collection.
Held over a three-day period, Bread and Butter is one huge networking party. With free flights, accommodation and food on offer, the week was set to be filled with excitement. We were invited to fly over two days earlier to prepare for the initial set up prior to opening on Wednesday the 17th of January.
The first day was focused more on getting to grips with our surroundings than on the tradeshow. The hostel Gat Xino was our humble abode for the week, slap bang in the centre of Barca in the district of El Raval. Probably best described as the most populated area in the whole of the city, the hostel was situated on Carrer de Hospital just off La Rambla through the ever-winding darkened passages crammed with endless curry houses and kebab restaurants reminiscent of areas like Brick Lane in East London.
Once settled, talk turned to food, which I’m sure one person in particular regrets to this day. The choice was made to hit La Rambla, the equivalent of London’s Leicester Square. Now shoot me if I’m wrong, but Leicester Square isn’t really known for its Nouveau cuisine and as we found out neither is La Rambla. It was suggested to hit one of the many cafes on the strip with an endless choice of bread like snacks. I went for the bog standard chicken salad variation, whilst others were a little more adventurous. Now with dinner ingested we strolled up to Placa de Catalunya, one of the largest squares in the centre of the city. After about 30minutes taking in the hustle and bustle of the busy shopping area, Teck 1 started to complain of an upset stomach. Little did he know, his oh so grim steak sandwich would soon be paying him another visit.
With Teck 1 bed bound for the night, it was decided that we would hit the town exploring what else El Raval had to offer. I had previously been recommended to visit a particular bar in the district about a year ago during my first visit to Barcelona but had unfortunately never got round to checking it out. I thought it would be a great idea to visit the bar with the guys to get them hyped up before our busy week ahead. The bar itself is probably one of the oldest in the city having been founded in 1820. Named Marsella, it was only a stones throw away from our hostel in the soon to be named area of Hooker-Ville.
Made famous for its absinthe, Marsella was certainly a good spot to hit with its ancient décor and potent beverages. Even with a mix of sugar and water the absinthe was still pretty lethal. The next stop for the night was Bar Raval, which played host to a Salsa band, who hyped up the crowd and even got a few of the lads swaying their hips to the music. It was such a random night, and got even more chaotic when artist Alfamale and cameraman Matt (Evo Films) decided to clamber on to the back of this giant bronze Cheshire cat in the middle of La Rambla del Raval. They looked absolutely hilarious.
About 6hours and a trumpet jam session later we woke up just in time for breakfast. With Teck 1 still feeling rough, we rested until mid afternoon when we had to make our way down to the fair to meet the organisers and set up the space for painting. We met two of the organisers Peggy Schott and Aga Kurek who briefed us on what was needed over the next three days. The guys were set to paint approximately three areas, one outside and two inside. Because the initial space was so large, the guys wanted to make a head start by spraying a throw up on the inside wall in advance of the show. With the option to stay spraying way into the night before show opening, the guys had more than enough time to involve themselves in the task at hand.
The theme of the guy’s throw up was brown. Using shades like black red, flesh, sand and nougat each colour really blended well together. With that graffiti underway all that was left to do was get a little grub before hitting the sack early all in line up for the big day.
Working alongside the charity Casa dels Infants del Raval, Bread and Butter set up the Fetish for Charity stand for Monorex to paint in order to raise the awareness of child hardship in Barcelona. Its main aim is to fight social exclusion for those who are more impoverished. Since 2006 Bread and Butter has helped defend the equality of opportunities for everyone. These things have been achieved through things like the children’s open centre and the family community service.
Show opening and it was go go go. After a rather late start, we soon got into the flow of the hectic schedule. Teck 1 and Alfamale got down to business on the outside wall, composing a cityscape scene with a marvellous skyline and ghetto characters in the foreground. The colours, still staying true to the brown theme incorporated additional shades of green, purple and yellow.
The event itself was bustling with the constant stir of catwalk shows and freebie stands. There were often hundreds of people showing interest in the guy’s piece, hopefully sparking future job opportunities around the continent.
The trade show itself was divided up into six main areas coinciding with each fashion style. The six areas were, Fashion, Superior, Studio.04, Sport&Street, BBKids and Denim. Each area had a totally different vibe about it.
Fashion was an eclectic miss-match of various brands all of whom (second to Denim) showcased their collections with some of the most eye-catching sets in the whole show. The installs consisted of everything from Meowing Cats on the ‘Pussy Deluxe Forever’ booth to the leather padded walls outside the ‘Ugg’ stand. There was even a booth by the label ‘Cooked’ where the clothing was displayed in fridges. Each booth gave a chance to encapsulate the essence of each brand.
Superior was probably the most plain out of all the areas, not much going on in terms of wow factor, although the booths did have the most sophisticated clothing on display. Whilst roaming around the area I was asked to model for American label ‘Ed Hardy’ in a live customisation on half naked Brit routine, which was great fun, and at least I got a free t-shirt out of the shame of having my boobs nearly exposed to half the fashion world.
Studio.04 was an area catering for all the new upcoming designers mainly from countries in Europe. The area itself was set in a room with giant upside down napkins hanging like chandeliers and glitter ball headed mannequins covering the walls. The fashion was pretty simple but gave a decent chance for the 32 new designers to get noticed.
Sport&Street was probably the most hectic of all the areas, with so much going on. The whole area was staged in a car park so you had the levels of booths spiralling in an upwards direction giving the impression of endlessness. As you made your way towards the entrance of the area you were surrounded on each side by live art installations from the likes of SheOne and 56 crew. The first thing that caught my eye upon walking inside was the massive camouflage wall of caps surrounding an entire side of the space. Each of the booths had quirky features such as the ‘Onitsuka Tiger’ giant shoe made of “collectibles to challenge misconceptions about Japanese culture” created by Gary Baseman. The ‘Nike’ stand looked really spectacular. Positioned as a focal point of the whole area, the booth consisted of rotating running characters kitted out in the latest ‘Nike’ gear moving in a circular motion round the roof of the stand. Just an important thing to note that the theme of the whole event this winter was Activity and being active, Nike certainly didn’t get it wrong with their installation.
BBKids was just like a much smaller scaled version of the fashion area, obviously targeted at children’s clothing. Cool in design, the central point of the area was the colossal scooter that backed off from the ‘Brio’ toys stand and also a junk yard installation of a character with an old computer on his head by the MTV DJ set proved to be quite popular.
Denim was by far the most visually creative of all areas. Not so much for entertainment value, but definitely for all out effort with the design of the booths. There were whole two story houses inside. On the night before the show, we even saw a life size horse being handled out of a lorry, heading towards the Denim area, however I never managed to find it inside after that. There were upside down mannequin displays, play boy bunnies, light boxes around every corner and even a stuffed moose head managed to catch my eye. This area was the business.
With our free grub digested, we sauntered back to the hostel to get a bit of rest before the big night out at the Bread and Butter MTV launch party at club Shoko near the Olympic Port. We left Teck 1 and Alfamale at the events fifth birthday drinks back at the tradeshow where a free taxi service would take them straight to the party. With our glad rags on we headed off to the club where free champagne flowed for about an hour. We found Teck and Alfa slightly worse for wear, downing endless glasses of the fizzy beverage whilst clad in their Addict ski gear. The night gave us a chance to let our hair down and boogy to tracks like the funky house version of our favourite channel four show, Countdown. I even spotted Teck 1 jumping up on stage and have a little wiggle in front of the crowds. Amazing what a bit of tipple can do to someone.
The next day saw the artists move on to the inside Lunar Space with a focus on the Edding markers that Andy Gutteridge had provided for free on his visit to the tradeshow on Wednesday afternoon. The aim was to fill the whole space of the Fetish for Charity wall in the traditional black and white Secret Wars style. After getting numerous shots of the guys pieces, we managed to get some time to ourselves, some people wandering off for a look around and others visiting the grounds of the Palau Nacional. We also managed a quick trip up to the faux medieval village of Poble Espanyol for a nibble of some tasty tapas whilst taking in some crazy scenery and random exhibitions before heading back to gather the troops and venture back to the Hostel to prepare for yet another crazy night out.
Rather than hitting one of the many Bread and Butter events, we decided to go and check out the Vice Party taking place at the Side Car club in the Placa Reial. Known for their wild events, it was also an opportunity to support the Shakes (Monorex house mates) who were flying out from London to perform a gig at the party. With free booze on offer till 1am the night got off to a great start and with an amazing set by the Shakes we were glad to be there and show our support. Terry was being particularly generous with the noted free drinks and was forever ordering additional tipple for everyone. I recall seeing Alfa at one point with at least seven glasses of rum and coke on the go at the same time. Funnily enough he was one of the first in the group to make it back to the hostel in one piece.
Final day at the tradeshow gave a much-needed chance to take some snaps of the finished Monorex pieces. We also managed to grab ourselves a copy of the tradeshows answer to the Holy Grail, the Bread and Butter Bible. Filled with information and contact details of all the companies taking part, it will surely act as a great networking tool in the near future. Most of the day was spent networking and finishing up conversations with newly found contacts and possible business associates. Terry gave a Secret Wars T-shirt to Nico the right hand man to New York, Pigeon Dunk designer Jeff Staple. Who knows, maybe roles will reverse and Staple Design will start to take note of what Monorex are up to in the UK.
We said our goodbyes’ to the organisers after a busy day filled with constant job propositions. One guy even offered to fly the artists out to India for a job sometime later this year. It will be interesting to see if that offer follows through. With our goody bags in tow we caught our last cab from the tradeshow back to the Hostel for a quick drink in the artists room to reminisce on the week that had past. With Evo Films Matt Green and Edding pens Andy Gutteridge already on their way back to England, the alcohol was in plentiful supply. Sangria, rum and beer were on offer alongside some rather dodgy snacks such as Alfa’s soggy Olives, Teck’s Pistachios and Terry’s Doowops. It was a great chance to just chill out and have a laugh on our last night in Barcelona, despite being in the dark for most of it as the whole street had a total power loss right up until we decided to get ready to go out for a last night supper at about 11pm.
Terry took us to an amazing restaurant we discovered earlier in the week called Candela Raval. Even though it was late, we stilled dined on some rather tasty grub. The guys had Steaks, whilst Terry went for Weakfish and I went for a curry creation. With our stomachs’ full we headed back to Hostel for some kip before our flight home the next day.
Obviously being a Ryanair flight, we had to take extra care with the weight. Now throughout the course of the week we had collected well over the limit in magazines, stickers, leaflets, posters, bags, umbrella’s, clothing and Spray Cans. After breakfast, before check out, the morning was spent disposing of all the crap to lighten the load of our luggage. With that achieved, we hopped on our bus to take us to Girona airport for 4pm.
We had a great time at Bread and Butter, Monorex definitely made a great impression on everyone there. We sincerely hope we will be invited back to the summer show in July and possibly work alongside them in various other future projects. The event itself, apart from promoting Monorex, gave a chance to gain some more knowledge of the fashion industry, allowing Terry to take tips on board for his new Monorex fashion venture, Opus Dopus, hoping to be released sometime in the near future. Big thanks to everyone that made the week possible, thanks to Andy Gutteridge for the flights and the endless amount of Edding markers; the free supply for spectators at the event went down a storm. Thanks to Evo Films, Matt Green for filming the artwork from start to finish. And finally thanks to those at Bread and Butter who sorted us out with the free accommodation and food for the week, it was much appreciated. We are glad that you valued our work and decided to include us in the show and in the events magazine. Maybe see you all at the next event in July.
