Miriam Ponsa: "Wine is a way to celebrate life."

BarcelonaMíriam Ponsa (Manresa, 1973) is one of the most well-known and rebellious figures on the Catalan fashion scene. The designer, who has had her own brand since 2000, creates pieces woven with materials sourced locally from the old silk thread factory her great-grandmother opened in 1886. Since the pandemic, and as a gesture of rejection of a model of cumulative consumption, the brand only produces on demand.

In 2016, you created a charity design in collaboration with Codorníu. What was the experience like?

— It was a wonderful experience. Before filming the commercial, we spent a weekend at the winery. We were alone, and they showed us the entire process, from how the grapes are harvested to the more technical explanations. We participated in a tasting of their products. And we took a trip on a little train through the cellars! I was able to immerse myself in the significance of wine and cava production in the region.

What surprised you?

— That so many different products with so many distinct nuances could come from a single variety. But it's like perfume: a drop changes everything.

What did the protective case you designed represent?

— It was part of a charitable initiative to help refugees [in collaboration with the NGO Proactiva Open Arms]. But my design also sought to go back to its roots and vindicate the value of craftsmanship.

Social demands are often part of their collections.

— The collections are autobiographical, stemming from my personal interests. I see something on a trip, or read a news story, and I realize I want to tell it, or make it visible, or pay homage to it. For example, the collection Aral Sea It arose from a family trip to Kazakhstan, where we saw ships stuck at sea. I soak up things, and when I come back, I want to communicate them. And my way of doing that is by creating.

And he communicates this through unconventional models. Why?

— I'm convinced that the work we do at MIRIAM PONSA should serve to open minds and foster diversity. We can't just stick to a small part of reality, with a single profile of tall, thin girls, because that's the established beauty standard of this era. I wanted to break away from that. Fashion shouldn't be a dictatorship, but rather an aesthetic freedom. It can be much more diverse and much more friendly. Maybe I was a bit naive, but I thought I was going to set a precedent, and I didn't.

In an interview He said he's always liked being different from everyone else. Is it also because of wine?

— I love dry white wine and dirty cava. I don't like sweet wines. I'm interested in minimalism, the soul of things, staying with the essence, away from superfluous things. In 2016, we created a collection, Arte Povera, using only materials we had in the workshop. I like everything to be straightforward, raw [raw], as they say in English. Also what I chop.

When you were studying at Winchester School of Art, did you discover any wines?

— That's where I discovered peinetas! And I learned to drink them very quickly. The pub closed at ten in the evening, and the group of Basques, Catalans, and Sevillians I met always went at nine-thirty. We got used to drinking one, or one-and-a-half, in that half hour. Wine is very expensive in England.

Do you value local produce?

— If I have to choose between two fabrics, I'll choose one made in Catalonia. And the same goes for what I choose: the wines we drink are all organic and local. We buy them at the Batea cooperative or at Celler el Molí, here in Manresa. We have some really good wines at home.

A designation of origin?

— Terra Alta.

A variety of wine?

— Very clear: Garnacha.

Because?

— A few years ago, a friend invited us to the grape harvest at the Batea cooperative. We were a fairly large group, with lots of kids. We went to the vineyard, watched the trucks arrive with the grapes, crushed the wine with our feet… When I tasted the Garnacha, both the white and the red, I said: that's what I like.

Any quirks?

— I like white wine super cold, like it's straight out of the freezer. And I like to drink it in a good glass, where the wine can breathe. Drinking it in plastic cups... But since we often get together with twenty or thirty people, we end up drinking good wine in ugly plastic cups.

Do you associate wine with an aesthetic experience?

— Yes. But above all, I associate it with celebration: dinners at home with friends, gatherings with lots of people. I don't drink wine during the week, or on Fridays after work. For me, it's a way to celebrate life.