Lara Serrano is the designer and founder of Laretta, a hip Catalan brand based on modernity and craftsmanship. She emphasizes the beauty of local Spanish culture. As I talked with Lara, her joyful smile, incredible enthusiasm, and optimism stood out like a shining beacon. With her winning personality combined with her gorgeous designs, we felt intrigued to speak with such a rising star in the Spanish fashion scene.
Fashion, not Economics
We wanted to know how Lara Serrano started and if she had always dreamed of being a fashion designer. Lara told us that she had always known she wanted to be creative from her very young days. Nonetheless, initially, Lara started her university by studying economics, but she quickly switched to her ultimate passion, fashion and art. Lara has always felt supported in her adventures and goals by her loving family, including her twin brother. With her family advocating her creative journey, Lara threw herself successfully into her fashion career.
After ditching economics, Lara Serrano studied at Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) to complete a Master’s in Fashion in 2021. After graduation, Lara concentrated on producing gorgeous, creative clothes meant to be avant-garde yet still retaining a commercial sensibility. Lara’s work is distinct since it uses lots of volume, contrasting colors, and textured fabrics. Although she is now in the eye of the Spanish fashion world, she has always been humble and thankful for her success.
Lara told us her experiences were “a magnificent opportunity to make the brand known and for my clothes and my collection to gain visibility.” Lara had already presented an earlier collection in the previous edition of Madrid Fashion Week 2023. She was again in the capital in September to participate in the Allianz EGO Showroom at MBFW with her brand, Laretta.
Acta est Fabula
Lara Serrano told us that her core client is a person who feels empowered, adventurous, and not afraid to appear different and beautiful from the rest. Lara called her collection “Acta est fabula,” inspired by Gustav Klimt’s artwork “Death and Life.” Her work this last season reflects her thoughts on the cohabitation of life and death as a daily aspect of humanity.
Lara Serrano is not afraid to be prolific, with twenty-four looks in her latest collection. One of the other repeating items in Lara’s collection is a top mimicking a carnation presented in rich colors. These tops also have extensive volume but still emphasize the beauty of a woman’s torso without appearing bulky.
She told us that although life and death seem to come in polar opposite directions, they are not as far apart as they seem; she stated, “What if death and life go hand in hand?” These thoughts have led Lara to create unique separates that contrast and combine in color, textures, and different volumes.
Lara Serrano created these tops and combined them with various skirts and pants in lovely color combinations of white, black, rose, and flowerlike purple. Lara’s color palette is striking. She has all-black outfits that focus on sumptuous layering while still focusing on being modern. In other clothes, Lara has combined a bright, almost poppy red to create contrast and drama. It is challenging to select a favorite design, but two exemplary outfits on the runway help to represent her aesthetic.
The Looks
One is totally black, while the other is white. Both tops are intricate, textured, form-fitting jackets with eye-catching puff sleeves, trending in women’s fashion. The pristine white jacket is meticulously designed from over forty separate fabric pieces, which avoids being overly complex and presents a riveting look combining bustier and tight long puff sleeves. It looks slick, modern, and angelic. The jacket was stunning, combined with a unique and beautiful pair of voluminous white pants. The pants are luxurious, and they mimic a full Gothic skirt while still emphasizing the freedom of trousers.
The black jacket with the same cut and pattern hints at being more of a futuristic motorcycle jacket. The fabric has a sheen that imitates leather and is also paired with rich black trousers resembling a full-draped skirt reaching the floor. It was beautiful to view these looks along with the foggy, dream-like runway presentation and Catalan music.
So Many Favorites
Another favorite look was on point with tops that looked like flowers. The fashion trend has been with us for over a year, but Lara Serrano boldly experiments with this shape. Instead of pretty tops, Lara created stunning statement pieces that combined multiple elements that mimicked a carnation. The top was full but still allowed women to show their shapes without overpowering the wearer. Lara also paired these tops with elegant, sublimely tailored bottoms, which only re-emphasized the statement top. Lara’s coats were indeed one of a kind.
In addition, some longer jackets provided jaw-dropping moments through their careful construction, which tailored them closer to the body but gave expression to artistic freedom by providing a take on a puffer coat. They were exquisite and, at the same time, super fun. One favorite coat was a puffer-style short jacket in a gem-like purple paired with a flirty puffer skirt in the same fabric and color. This outfit looked beautifully constructed and out of this world, but it was something that could easily be seen in the fashionable parts of New York and Europe’s colder weather.
Unique Enthusiasm
The colors in the collection were fascinating; if viewed singly, they were simply black, white, red, purple, and pink. But Lara infused such enormous energy into her fabrics. When she contrasted two colors, the garments popped against each other and became energetic, modern. This is something I would love to wear while having cocktails. Other times, Lara Serrano went monochromatic for some of her designs, and here, Lara focused on textures and volume, which provided a rich, sumptuous outfit. Her aesthetic enabled her to play with complicated textures and shapes while keeping them beautiful and sleek.
Lara stated that during Madrid Fashion Week, she felt calmer and connected to her stylists, hair, and makeup. She stated: “Clients and peers all provided me positive feedback, which felt wonderful.” Her next steps involve studying further to enhance her aesthetic and marketing her clothes to a broader audience. Lara is very conscious that she has to have a commercial sensibility. So, although she adores her more avant-garde pieces, she is also cautious about creating tailored, elegant foundational pieces.
Although Lara Serrano loves to be unique, she is supremely enthusiastic about being able to dress all types of women. She also wants to be a presence in the daily turbulent world of Spain and beyond. Her clothes are unique and one-of-a-kind, but Lara wants women to wear them often and not just for special occasions. Speaking with Lara Serrano was exciting; she has a joyful personality, and her excitement translates into unique clothes that demand to be seen and worn.
