Bread & Butter Barcelona wrapped up last week, January 18^th to rave reviews by most who attended, which reached more than 99,500—a 20% increase from last year. As a leading-edge trade show particularly for denim, upper urbanwear, sportswear, and street fashion brands, B&B has also gained a reputation for its unique approach to creating beautiful themes and aesthetics within each hall resulting in an atmosphere that is conducive for business and inspiration.

This winter, the show got off to vibrant start with an opening party at the Palace of the Fira de Barcelona where bowler hats were given out to attendees as a thank you and introduction of what was to come. Colorful lights illuminated the Palace dome and stairs making the atmosphere memorable and matching the show’s theme of “King Sized” to what’s become Europe’s leading and largest fashion trade show.

As usual, the denim hall had an amazing selection of brands such as G-Star, Levi Strauss, Killa, Bench, Hooch, gsus, Nudie, Mustang, Kuyichi, Ben Sherman, and others, and the expanded Sport & Street area in the multi-tiered building kept the buzz high. A new area called Sportswear included brands such as North Sails, Helly Hansen, and GANT, but ran a different sort of vibe from Sport & Street which continues to grow in representing various sneaker culture brands, T-shirts, hoodies, denim, and casual wear.

In the Superior Hall, which is where we discovered denim brands such as Nudie last July, among other denim brands wishing to take a step higher out of the denim category, included Thomas Burberry, and Copenhagen’s favorite, Mads Norgard.

The number of fashion runway shows increased this time around, including the highly anticipated G-Star Raw which in terms of trends, indicated the official move to high-waisted denim, slim denim jackets, and all-over-head hoodies (ala Undercover); versatile usage of bright colors from Custo’s collection, and tailored pieces from Philip Plein.

Exhibitions always round out B&B Barcelona, and while the summer show tends to have more outside in the courtyards in-between halls, the winter show did feature some excellent exhibitions, including “untitled” in the Sports & Street area (see also this month’s story “untitled” Exhibition at Bread & Butter Barcelona Features “Infinity” Theme Launch of “untitled” #8 Street Culture Book”), and Pepes Andy Warhol Collection complete with flying pillows and a fashion show of Andy Warhol inspired apparel. Other fun details to note from B&B included the Chamber of Gold with a plastic tank of gold tickets from B&B, on-going light shows to create specific moods within various halls, the Fetish area selling B&B branded apparel, bags, and accessories to benefit a children’s non-profit in Russia, and the variety of multi-tiered lounges and cafes that provide seating and networking opportunities for attendees.