Collection Mottainai: Upcycling Couture

Mottainai is a UPCYCLED COUTURE collection, made in our atelier with vintage oriental fabrics.

It is a declaration of love to traditional Japanese and Chinese fabrics, which we have been collecting for a long time.

As you already know we are in love with vintage kimonos. In our explorations, we find items that often can no longer be worn, but whose magnificent fabrics still tell many stories.

The garments in the Mottainai collection bring these stories to life: brocade silks Chirimen (silk crepe), Meisen or Omeshi.

These silks are wonderful materials, due to the fact that they can be textured, embroiderred or dyed.

This collection has been handcrafted in our workshop in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona.

After designing our first “one-of-a-kind” bridal collectionusing vintage lace, we are taking another bold step on our path towards sustainability

The collection features versatile garments: jackets, vests and dresses; Unique items of high quality, timeless and with a role in a sustainable wardrobe.

We like to call them ONE-OF-KIND, because each grament tells a particular story and is inimitable.

The term MOTTAINAI does not have an English equivalent; it means “inappropriate use of a useful or valuable resource”. This feeling inspires our process of selection, restoration and design.

This expression was popularized by the Kenyan ecologist Wangari Maathai, a Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2004, who used it as a synonym for the expression ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’.

They are ideal garments to be stylish at home but can also be worn casually, with jeans or baggy pants.

Their versatility allows them to also be worn on more formal occasions, combined with slip dresses or white shirts to highlight their elegance.

They can be combined with minidresses, high-waisted pants and chinos or with shorts and cropped top, and wearing mules or sneakers.

They are perfect to form the combo pants and over-dress, the star trend this summer 2021.

Mottainai is also a line of brocaded and embroidered silk bags following the zero-wash philosophy.

And is that if one thing is clear in the recent London exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Musuem, ” Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk” is that the kimono has always been a reference in fashion, and far from its image as an iconic and timeless piece, it has undergone multiple changes and has evolved over time.

And it is exactly play, joy and creativity that keep any fashion alive.

We invite you to have fun and get to know the Mottainai collection in full.

Artistic direction: @pablo_morenoguerrero

Photos: @pablo_morenoguerrero

Styling: @cara_cano

Films: @irradiansound @mei_kitsunne

Music: @irradiansound

Muah: @sararigola

Models: @juliaalcalde @hysteric_barbie

We thank the “Agència de Desenvolupament econòmic” of the AMB for the co-financing of the project.