3 Preppy emerging streetwear brands from Madrid

Madrid is considered a Spanish commercial and financial centre, which
from an international perspective is often overshadowed by the quirky port
city of Barcelona with its mix of Gaudí buildings, beaches and an
alternative lifestyle. The Spanish capital, however, also has a lot to
offer with its art and cultural institutions – including its own fashion
week. While Barcelona has a more relaxed and casual feel, the style in
Madrid is a little more preppy and chic.

But how does this translate to a younger generation that has also grown
up with urban streetwear? In Madrid, this youth style mixes with a more
classic wardrobe, with skaters and young businessmen shopping for their
leisurewear at the same brands. FashionUnited explores three brands from
the city providing just that.

Dito Collective

Ditto Collective’s founder Eduardo García launched in November 2021 with
a range of T-shirts. He quickly expanded the product selection to include
items such as jumpers, jogging bottoms and accessories. The focus is
particularly on rugby shirts and half-zip jumpers, which are intended to
appeal to a more preppy and dressed-up streetwear community. It’s about
standing out from the crowd, but not standing out too much, García told
FashionUnited, whose nickname ‘Ditto’ lent the brand its name.

Pieces from the collection, which comprises around 15 items per season,
are currently only available in bricks-and-mortar stores in Spain and
worldwide via the company’s own online shop. Following an initial pop-up
trial in the north of Spain, Ditto also wants to get started in physical
retail in the direct-to-consumer sector soon. The first store is due to
open in Madrid in September.

The company’s own sales area should then also lead to an expansion of
the product portfolio. The brand is currently still reliant on its
wholesale partners to achieve the quantities of products that are produced
in Portugal and China in particular – shirts are currently produced in
Spain and can also be manufactured in smaller quantities. After the
domestic market, Dito is targeting the neighbouring markets of Portugal and
France.

The Nude Project

One step further in the market is the Nude Project brand, which was
founded by Bruno Casanovas and Alex Benlloch in 2018 – at that time still
under the name ‘New Polynesia’ – and is already active in markets such as
Portugal, Germany, Italy and the US in addition to Spain.

The founders of the Madrid-based brand didn’t even live in the same city
before launching and got to know each other through social media, Benlloch
said. They realised that they were driven by the same entrepreneurial
spirit and that they both lacked a brand in Spain that embodied their
style. As a result, they invested 600 euros and worked on T-shirts and
jumpers in their respective university halls of residence, which they
printed themselves. “It was clear to us that we would stand out from the
crowd through the inspiring content we uploaded to our networks, and that’s
how we gradually became known,” explained Benlloch.

In terms of fashion, Nude Project goes in the direction of classic
streetwear with hoodies, puffer jackets and workwear pieces such as denim
and cargo trousers, but also offers a preppy style with knitwear, rugby
shirts and cardigans.

After the first six months and thousands of garments labelled with the
acronym “NP”, the unregistered brand ‘New Polynesia’ became the brand it is
today, which describes itself as “authentic, organic and passionate” and
sees artists and Generation Z as its greatest source of inspiration.

Nude Project achieved a turnover of 26 million euros in 2023, which is
to now be driven forward through expansion within its own stores in markets
in which the brand is already active and an expansion of the product range.
In addition to seven own shops – including in Madrid, Milan and Lisbon –
the brand has also been active with international pop-ups in Berlin and
Paris.

Pompeii

The story of the Pompeii shoe brand also began when founder Jaime
Garrastazu Enrique was a student. While studying finance around ten years
ago, the ‘sneaker lover’ came up with the idea of creating a shoe that
would meet the formal requirements of presentations in the lecture theatre,
but would also be a casual shoe.

He then had 350 pairs produced near Valencia and started advertising for
a pop-up launch. Even before the opening, the brand already had 4,000
followers on social media, according to the founder. It was therefore not
surprising that the shoes were sold out in no time at all. Based on this
success, Garrastazu developed the event into a pop-up tour, which was later
followed by the brand’s own online shop. In e-commerce, the brand initially
focused on limited editions and organised three-day drop events – the only
time the online shop was open.

With the help of three Asian investors, the first physical store was
launched in 2019. This was quickly followed by up to five more locations,
although these were paused due to the pandemic and the focus was placed
more on the wholesale launch. This also drove internationalisation, as 50
percent of the wholesale customers now come from abroad, including
Portugal, the UK and France via the Parisian department stores Le Bon
Marché. Germany, Sweden and Denmark are also set to be added this season.
In the domestic market, Pompeii is also represented by four shop-in-shops
at the retailer El Corte Inglés.

In addition to shoes, Pompeii has been offering clothing collections for
around two and a half years, which are a “mixture of streetwear and more
traditional menswear in Spain”. The brand sticks to basics such as jumpers
and shirts, as well as football shirts, swimming trunks and T-shirts with
large prints that coordinate with the sporty, elegant style of the shoe
models. Collaborations such as with the sportswear brand Kappa and the
drinks supplier Pepsi are also part of the brand’s range.

FashionUnited was invited to Madrid by the Spanish economic and trade
department in Düsseldorf.

This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.DE.
Translation and edit by: Rachel Douglass.