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PROFILE

The creative and cosmopolitan spirit of María Lafuente, the designer from Leon, was shaped during her years of training that involved spending long periods in places as disparate as Paris and Denmark, until she finally settled in Spain and founded her own brand in 1996. Those years were crucial at a time when she was creating her own style, which was very feminine, modern and even included oriental references, which the designer reinterprets every season thanks to her mastery of pattern design.

Lafuente currently has two standalone stores: one in the city of her birth, Leon, and another in Madrid. However, her designs can also be purchased in multi-brand boutiques in Tenerife, Malaga, A Coruña and Castellón. Internationally, the designer’s outfits are in sales outlets in Miami, Illinois and California (in the United States), Dubai, Nigeria, Ireland, Germany and Kuwait.

The firm has a 10-strong workforce and also uses other outside agents and freelancers. Exports account for 20% of total production, a figure that it predicts will rise in 2009.

María Lafuente has been a regular at the Pasarela Cibeles fashion show over several seasons, since 2005 to be precise. However, simultaneously the designer participates in other international platforms such as Miami Fashion Week, which she was part of in 2007, and Tokyo Fashion Show, where María Lafuente presented her designs in 2005.

The designer has also been involved in several joint ventures that have led to her participation in projects as diverse as the creation of the corporate image for Caja España’s hostesses in 2006 and wardrobe design for film, theatre and television. Additionally, the designer has been the recipient of several awards in recognition of her contribution to the world of fashion, such as the CPD Igedo Company international award, in Dusseldorf (Germany), Miami Fashion Week awards in 2007 and 2008 and from several Agulha de Ouro International Competitions in Braga (Portugal).