Fashion is one of the most decisive industries in the future of contemporary capitalism, but it is also an expression and a record of social memory. Fashion establishes class protocols and codifies norms, although it also operates as dissident liberation. Fashion worships the body and individualism, but it has often been a vehicle that has marked collective rebellions. Fashion reinforces the power of exclusive images, but it also undermines any preconceived imaginaries.

This colloquium forms part of the activities surrounding the Miralda and Elle exhibition. It explores the critical and historiographical aspects of ways of dressing. It also addresses the various fields and media in which fashion is expressed (from publications to teaching, from museums to productive work).

Peter Knapp was born in 1931 in Switzerland. In 1952, he settled in Paris and started producing paintings. Robert Rauschenberg encouraged him to paint on a large format. In 1953, at age 23, he became artistic director of Galeries Lafayette.
From 1957 to 1965, the artist took part in numerous collective exhibitions. But it was as a fashion photographer and artistic director for Elle magazine (1959-1966) that he enjoyed worldwide fame. From 1966 on, he worked for magazines such as The Sunday Times, Vogue and Stern, before his return to Elle from 1974 to 1977. 
In 1975, he moved away from fashion photography with the “La photo et l’art” exhibition where he exhibited alongside artists such as Andy Warhol. Peter Knapp has also made documentaries for the TV show Dim, Dam, Dom, films on the history of photography, and film portraits of graphic designers.

Antoni Miralda (Barcelona, 1942) is internationally known for his multidisciplinary art practice and has been one of the most versatile artists of the Spanish avant-garde of the last fifty years. His work is characterized by collaborative art projects rooted in the social context that involve major interventions in public spaces, and by a quasi-anthropological interest in food and ceremonial culture. In 2018 he was awarded the Velázquez Prize for Plastic Arts. 

Silvia Rosés Castellsaguer has a degree in Art History and a doctorate from the University of Barcelona. Her doctoral thesis investigates the history of haute couture in Spain. She teaches university degree subjects such as the history and theory of fashion and design in general at institutions such as the Blanquerna Faculty of Communication (URL), the Faculty of Design and Engineering of Barcelona (ELISAVA), the Escola Massana Art and Design Centre and the BAU University Art and Design Centre of Barcelona. In addition to teaching, she is also engaged in academic research focusing on the theory of fashion from a gender perspective.
As an expert in the history of fashion, she collaborates with institutions such as the Museu del Disseny de Barcelona and the Museo del Traje de Madrid. She also regularly disseminates thought on fashion in the media, including the newspaper ARA, the RAC1 radio programme Vostè Primer and the Betevé television programme Plaça Tísner.

Josep Casamartina i Parassols (Sabadell, 1956) is a historian, art critic, screenwriter, director of documentaries and independent curator specializing in architecture, Catalan and Spanish art and fashion from the 19th to the 21st century. He is also director and vice-chair of the Fundació Antoni de Montpalau and a member of the Royal Catalan Academy of Fine Arts of Sant Jordi, the Catalan Association of Art Critics (ACCA) and the Association of Catalan Language Writers. He was a contributor and art critic for the newspaper El País from 1998 to 2017. He was awarded the 2010 ACCA Award for the best heritage initiative together with Anna Maria Casanovas Crusafon for the Antoni de Montpalau Collection, the 2016 GAC Award for Art Criticism of the Guild of Art Galleries of Catalonia, and the 2017 ACCA Award for research for the exhibition and book Ishmael Smith. La bellesa i els monstres presented at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya.

Joana Bonet (Vinaixa, Lleida) is a journalist and writer. She has promoted and directed several magazines, such as Woman, Marie Claire, ICON or Fashion&Arts and has worked with the main national media, written and audiovisual. Currently, she is a columnist for La Vanguardia and director of La Vanguardia fashion Magazine. She collaborates with Julia en la Onda and the Argentinian newspaper Clarín. Her books include Mi vida es mía (2000, with Anna Caballé), Hombres, material sensible (2003), Las metrosesenta (2007), Generación paréntesis (Planeta, 2013) and Fabulosas y rebeldes. Cómo me hice mujer (Destino, 2019). Chacón, la mujer que pudo gobernar (Península 2012) is her last book.

Laura Casal has a doctorate in Art History and is a specialist in the history of fashion. Her doctoral thesis was on the beginnings of creative sewing in Barcelona and the configuration of a new fashion system. She has written several scientific and media articles, and in 2016 she was awarded the Lluís Carulla Prize. She created and directed the Museu Virtual de la Moda de Catalunya (www.museudelamoda.cat) and collaborates sporadically with various institutions and media in the analysis and dissemination of the history of clothing. Since 2017 she has been coordinator of exhibitions at La Virreina Centre de la Imatge.