Adriana Iglesias, the firm that dresses Hollywood in silk: "In Spain we value things when they succeed abroad"

Talking to Adriana Iglesias (Asturias, 1972) puts one like the first coffee in the morning. Wake up. Because it is a whirlwind of stories that evolve at breakneck speed. She considers herself a "fashion interloper" because she, unlike other faces in the industry, studied telecommunications engineering (she did it because she was a good student and at that time she understood that she should dedicate herself to it). "A teacher warned me: 'you are going to get brutalized with so many boys around," he recalls in a video call conversation.

Far from becoming brutalized, Adriana immersed herself in the unfading world of silks until she ended up starting a firm, with kimonos and dresses as a hallmark, for which international celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Jane Fonda or Irina Shak. From Valencia to the sky (of the stars).

He studied 'teleco' and got into the business world. He held high positions in an Ibex firm, with which he pocketed generous salaries and with which he was able to travel practically all over the world. But he felt that, beyond the pockets, the work did not fulfill him. "How could I tell my daughters to put passion into theirs if I didn't do it myself?" Was the question that was asked at the time. With this reflection, and with a divorce involved, Adriana packed her bags to leave with her two daughters for Valencia.

QUESTION. As in all radical decisions, there is someone who raises their hand and complains. Did you have to endure any reproach?

RESPONSE. My father, who did not understand this twist, spent two years without talking about it. It was a decision as risky as (now that I think about it) almost irresponsible. I wondered if I had the right to do it with two daughters in charge.

It was there that she set up her first workshop to focus on silk, a fabric that inspired her since she was a child. She, who was an avid consumer of fashion magazines, never understood why, at the time, men were the designers who dressed or dictated how a woman should dress, without understanding the demands that routine imposes: "I saw a corseted style, marked, exuberant and that did not correspond to the day-to-day".

That for one thing. On the other hand, she never understood the cost of certain luxury brands: "I understand that when people buy a brand it is because they want to participate in the universe that it offers them, they want to make you feel like Natalie Portman in a helicopter. But the price is not justified."

With these two thoughts and her fascination for silks, Adriana created her first capsule collection, with which she was successful enough among her inner circle to dare to take the definitive leap. She prepared her first collection, took her car, headed to Monte Carlo ("she wanted a place where money was not an issue") and sold all of her clothes. With what he earned, he went to the Italian city of Como to buy fabrics to work on. Remains of collections, to be exact, because at that time the money did not give him much more.

Today, her garments are successful on the other side of the Atlantic, and her company has more than a million euros in turnover.

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SILK FETISH

Adriana is one of those who thinks that when a monkey dresses in silk, she becomes a queen.

P. Where does this obsession come from?

R. Since I was little I used to wear my grandfather's silk pajama shirts to go out. I combined them with jeans. It is a pleasure to put it on, it is 100% natural, it slips, it is soft. It falls to the body and adapts to everyone, it is elegant, exalts and when I feel it I feel empowered.

And here she reflects on "femininity". For her, the concept is not related to exuberance, as some insist on dictating, but to feeling good about oneself. Because when one gets it "it shines and you want to be with her". And silk, in this sense, makes it possible.

Her clothes are a concession to hedonism and, above all, to elegance. A succession of smooth and patterned kimonos, dresses, shirts and pants, fluid, soft, placed on models in seaside and stately places, which invite you to dream far away with your imagination. Or at least a peaceful sunset on a breezy balcony facing the Mediterranean. With 'Perduto', by Ornella Vanoni, playing in the background, as she likes to listen to at night while she works with her canvases.

It is no coincidence that celebrities like Hailey Bieber, Vanessa Hudgens, Alessandra Ambrosio or, here in Spain, Isabel Preysler, have chosen their models to wear on one of their escapades. But don't be fooled. The fact that a public figure of this stature is allowed to be photographed with one of the garments does not guarantee success. "I have seen brands that they have worn and that now do not exist," he says.

Indeed. Reaching an artist today can be relatively easy thanks to the work of the agencies, who put their time and soul into promoting the brands they represent. But it's not enough: "I can't work anymore, there are nights when I go to bed at 4 in the morning to get up at 7 because the hours in the United States are different." And how does it hold up? He explains that it is like someone who runs a marathon, that a rush comes over him and a subsequent satisfaction after the effort.

The tranquility and calm that her collections give off is far from the busy life she leads, and it is not known if she is the one who seeks adventure or the other way around. She studied piano, she also plays -regularly, she confesses- the cello, she studied ballet, her journeys on the highway have left her stranded more than once with the car in the middle of nowhere, she managed to contact Ana Patricia Botín herself, she has made friends with the actress Elizabeth Gillies, he was left on the verge of ruin... A history on the verge of attack from which, with great difficulty, he manages to disconnect with Chopin at the piano or a walk by the sea.

INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS, NATIONAL MODESTY

Adriana Iglesias has found her main niche in the United States. There she exports almost 70% of her collection. It is a difficult market to enter, he explains, but they are responsible with commitments and payments. Not like in Dubai, where he also tried his luck, but without success, due to political instability and his inexperience with haggling.

Why is this product valued more abroad? "In Spain, in general, we tend to put things on the rise once they have been valued abroad," he laments, like many other designers and entrepreneurs who miss a little love at home. Like silk at night.