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PROFILE

Juanjo Oliva´s interview

Juanjo Oliva was born in Madrid in 1971. After completing his diploma in Fashion Design at IADE, the Madrid Artistic Institution of Education, and following a fashion illustration course at the Parsons School of Design in New York, he undertook his first job for designer Isabel Berz in the early 90s, working for her catwalks at Cibeles.

During that decade he worked as an illustrator, fashion designer and catwalk coordinator for top names like Zara, Helena Rohner, Antonio Pernas, Sybilla and Amaya Arzuaga.

After this prolific stage in his career, in 2000, Juanjo Oliva decided to open Egotherapy, a shop-studio originally located in the heart of Madrid’s chic Salamanca district which has since moved to 7, Calle Orfila, where the designer currently sells both couture and ready-to-wear.

In 2003 he made his first solo appearance at the Cibeles Catwalk with an autumn-winter 2004-05 collection of his own, called Debut. Since then, he has been present at every edition. Oliva also exhibits his bridalwear at Gaudí Brides. In September 2009 he gave a “virtual” presentation of his spring-summer 2010 collection at New York Fashion Week.

His extensive and solid career has brought him many accolades. Awards include two L´Oréal prizes for Best Collection at Cibeles – autumn-winter 05/06 and spring-summer 2009 – the Prix d´Excellence Marie-Claire International 2005 for Best New Designer and the “T” prize awarded by Telva in 2006 for Best National Designer.

His collections are designed for a woman who loves discreet elegance, and are always surprising for their pendulum swings between total black and unbeatable colour mix, with silhouettes that echo couture.