The rise of Internet and social media has radically transformed the fashion and accessories sector, allowing initiatives born out of passion to become jobs with global reach. Projects like Lola's Clay, by Anna Vidal (Torregrossa), or MF Atelier, by Maria Filella (La Granadella), use Direct Messages (DM) to manage orders arriving from around the world, combining digital sales with participation in local markets and fairs.
Many of these projects, driven by young people trained in Graphic Design or Fine Arts, initially grew from hobbies. Virality has placed them in a digital context full of competition. While Vidal and Filella have collaborated with influencers, others, like Noemí Marsal (Delanao Studio, Alcarràs), are reluctant, prioritizing “giving value to the work behind it”.
“"They served as a springboard for me, but they are also tricky and cause a lot of frustration, when it's not your fault."
This duality of social media is shared by other entrepreneurs. Ernest Costafreda, a pioneer with the brand Costalamel (active from 2013 to 2018), decided to leave social media due to the “perverse logic” of the algorithm. Furthermore, global reach has created a linguistic dilemma: many creators, including Mayor, Marsal, and Filella, admit having had to relegate Catalan in favor of Spanish or English to reach a wider audience.
Despite digital dependence, creators keep the local origin of their projects alive by participating in fairs and markets to build a physical community parallel to their digital followers. Noel Pons, from Juneda, emphasizes the need to strengthen regional ties: “it would be interesting to network at the regional level so that these small projects help each other”.
