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The collections contain just the right amount of fashion so they stand the test of time. How important are trends for you?
J: Our garments are not about being all the rage. We try to keep them versatile and wearable, with something a bit special that will make them last. We always include elegant detail, to give the garment class and style, and sometimes to add a bit of fun.
G .: But there’s still a series of styles and fabric trends you can’t move too far away from. The autumn/winter 09/10 collection, for instance, is based on grey and black, which is the trend, but we’ve added cyclamen pink, fuchsia, red and yellow - bright splashes to combine with black and grey.
J.: The company has grown and we’ve had the ability to make our own prints and colourways for some time. We’ve also tried to extend our area of influence when it comes to production. At first, we made all the garments close to the Bilbao workshop, but now we farm them out to places all over Spain and Portugal, depending on the amounts and difficulty involved.

The complexity of some of the garments suggest a lot of painstaking work goes into them. What proportion of the Jota + Ge collections is handmade?
G.: A lot, perhaps as much as 70%. We make complicated garments which require very specific cutting. We need a big team of pattern cutters and dressmakers to cope. There are four of us designing at the moment and another two to support us. You need to put a lot of care into it and have a special sensitivity.

You also design a line of accessories. How important is it to the collection?
G.: Accessories – bags and belts – are not that important in themselves because they are intended as part of the total look. What we want to communicate to the end customer is a specific brand image. Experimentation and discovery are lengthy processes. We still have a huge area to explore in womenswear and we don’t yet intend to move in any other direction. We did consider swimwear, but we decided it wasn’t for us. Our field is womenswear and outerwear.

“Velvet is the richest of fabrics. It’s in all our shops and winter collections”

Describe the woman who buys Jota + Ge designs.
G.: She’s a confident woman who wants something a bit special. We’re always being told that our jackets are a constant feature in their wardrobe, because they can keep combining them with different things. That gives us great cause for satisfaction. We design them for a dynamic woman who is young at heart. We don’t design for particular ages or sizes: we cover from 36 through to 48.
J.: Age is no longer relevant anyway. Women are young and restless. Essentially we’re all looking for the same thing, whatever our age: to look good and comfortable, to feel at ease and have confidence in our look. It’s interesting that most of our customers buy total looks from Jota +Ge. Although we don’t have many basics, we do have simpler garments that allow multiple combinations. We don’t make fixed sets or suits that can’t be worn with anything else.