The Brands
Purificación García
Her working life began in a textile company in Montevideo, where she emigrated as a child. There she acquired a great knowledge of fabric, forming the basis for her future profession. At the age of twenty-one she moved to Canada where she entered into contact with the world of leather and, after a fleeting period in New York, she decided to return to Spain in 1978, taking up permanent residence in Barcelona.
In 1981, she presented her first full collection and in 1983 she became established in the market, exhibiting each season in Barcelona and in Madrid. In 1985, she opened her first boutique in Antwerp, Belgium and in 1989 she participated for the first time in the Milan Fashion Week, where she received a warm welcome from Italian critics.
Owing to the opening of her boutiques in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, in 1990 she put on her first fashion show in the Japanese capital. In 1995, she opened her workshop-boutique in the Barcelona boulevard Avenida Pau Casals where, apart from prêt-à-porter, she personally oversaw what she called “nouvelle couture”.
In 1998, she signed an agreement with STL for the design, manufacture and distribution of a prêt-à-porter line of women’s wear, men’s wear and accessories. One year later she began her collaboration with the photographer Chema Madoz, National Photography Award winner. This relationship has grown stronger over time and their images have become a keenly-anticipated object of desire each season, as well as one of the most personal and outstanding publicity contributions of contemporary Spain.
In 2001, she published the book “Tener Estilo” (Having Style) through the publishing company Temas de Hoy and in 2003 created the Purificación García Photography Award, following in the wake of her Photography Collection. In April of 2011 this initiative broadened its horizons with the Purificación García Latin-American Photography Award within the framework of the prestigious Mexican art fair Zona MACO.
Over recent years Purificación García has, in similar fashion, been involved in several different collaborations in the artistic field. In 2005 collaborating with the German artist Sweltana Heger in her series Playtime and in 2010 developing the handbag solidarity initiative Thinking of Dallipur in collaboration with the artist Alicia Framis and the LABoral Art Centre. In 2013 a project centring around stone with the Mexican artist Sofía Táboas and the RAC Foundation saw the light of day. In April of 2014 she collaborated with the painter Nico Munuera in the project Ribbons, her first capsule collection in collaboration with a visual artist.
In 2006, she began to collaborate with the photographer and art director Juan Gatti to produce images for her campaigns. To date she has portrayed celebrities who are representative of the socio-cultural life of the country such as Russian Red, Geraldine Chaplin, Maribel Verdú, Estrella Morente and Javier Conde, Ángela Molina and Martín Rivas, Elena Anaya and Únax Ugalde, and Ana Belén and Marina San José.
In December of 2011 she was awarded the Silver Medal for Merit at Work awarded by the Ministry of Labour and Immigration.
Endorsed by a solid track record and after opening up markets in Spain and Portugal the label has experienced rapid expansion in the American and Asian markets and it currently has more than 350 points of sale all over the world.
The label has experienced rapid expansion in the American and Asian markets and it currently has more than 350 points of sale all over the world.