Fundação Adolfo Domínguez involves Portugal in a linen project

A executive president (CEO) of the Spanish fashion brand Adolfo Domínguez advances, in an interview with Lusa, that the foundation advanced with a three-year project linked to flax, in which it has the participation of Portugal.

Adriana Domínguez, the founder's eldest daughter, took the executive leadership in 2017 and, in early October, attended the first parade of the Spanish brand in Portugal, a market where she has been for 32 years.

With the brand celebrating 50 years, the manager who also leads the Adolfo Domínguez Foundation highlights the project linked to the flax that is developing, and more than half of the flax that the group buys comes from northern Europe, that is, Normandy, Belgium and Holland.

“We signed an agreement with the Galician Board and a foundation called Legados. Together, we will drive a project, which is an agricultural project, which will be followed by an industrial project” and “we also have the participation of Portugal – specifically the regions of Guimarães and Porto”, reports.

This project, first of all, has “the goal of obtaining seeds”, since it is “very difficult” to achieve for the cultivation of flax, says the manager.

Then, “we will harvest the flax and then we will carry out the so-called “enriado”, an industrial process that serves to soften the fibers. “Since there are no factories in the Iberian Peninsula capable of carrying out this softening, we are working with Portugal and the Junta da Galicia to create an infrastructure that enables this process,” Adriana Domínguez said.

In addition, “we have already contacted wire manufacturers in the border region with Portugal — as they have the industry needed — so that we can make production possible on an industrial scale”, he continues, saying that he hopes that “everything will happen”.

This is “a three-year project and we are currently in the first year”, he adds.

According to the CEO, this project is one of the two “most important things in the foundation” carried out this year, along with the release of the film about her father, Adolfo Domínguez, which was carried out by her.

“ I confess I tried to invite two directors to the project, but they were unavailable. As my father is a very complex man — fascinating but very complex — I decided to take on the realization myself,” because “I have experience in the cinematic area and I felt that otherwise he would not be portrayed with due fidelity,” he says.

As for the brand Adolfo Domínguez, the CEO tells how Portuguese suppliers have quality, certification and are important in the production of their products.

“ We produced a considerable amount in Portugal. We work mainly with shoe suppliers — specifically tennis. We love our Portuguese suppliers, because they produce footwear in a sustainable way and offer very high quality products”, says the manager.

In addition, “they are very advanced with regard to sustainability. In our sneakers, we use quality materials, such as cotton and skin, and the soles are made of natural rubber” and “everything is certified — which is very good for us, since we are a company certified as B Corp”, reinforces.

In textile, the brand launched in the summer “a line of t-shirts made with Spanish cotton”. That is, “the cotton was grown in the outskirts of Seville”, then it was sent to Portugal, where it was transformed into yarn. Then the yarn was converted into fabric and finally the fabric was transformed into t-shirts, detail.

“ This whole process took place in Portugal, it was an excellent project and I believe we will repeat, since it was a real success. It is an Iberian project, produced largely between Spain and Portugal ", reinforces Adriana Domínguez.

Still in Portugal, highlights the “good suppliers of shirts and poles”.

Before the pandemic, “we did not work so much in Portugal, but during and after the covid, we started working much more. We realize that the great advantage of producing in Portugal is that production is of a very high level”.

The quality “is very good and the country is very advanced in terms of sustainability, it is a competitive differential that they have in relation to other countries”, he says.