September is not only synonymous with the rentrée, with going back to school and to daily routines. With September begins the most anticipated month for fashion lovers. The world’s leading capitals celebrate their fashion weeks and dress in trends to present the new collections from the world’s most important brands.
Paris, London, Milan, New York and, of course, Madrid, shape a circuit that, run by run, unravels the aesthetic keys that will shape the trends we will see on the streets in the coming months. And Madrid’s Fashion Week, precisely, is what we are going to talk about here today. Because it starts today, because it is ours, and because, for many editions now, it has earned, with firm stitches and well-laid seams, the right to look eye to eye, without hesitation, at the world’s best runways.
1. How it all began
The Madrid Fashion Week was born under a tent in Plaza de Colón in 1985. The then Pasarela Cibeles did not take place in a large fairground, and six designers showcased their collections to an audience that barely foresaw the phenomenon it would become: Antonio Alvarado, Manuel Piña, Domingo Córdoba, Jesús del Pozo, Jorge Gonzálvez and María Moreira. In its second edition, six months later, Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada, Sybilla, Adolfo Domínguez, Roberto Verino, Pedro del Hierro and Juanjo Rocafort joined the list.
2. A historic name change
Although if you are one of those who already uses retinol you are likely still calling Madrid’s Fashion Week Pasarela Cibeles, you should know that this changed many years ago. In 2008 it was renamed Cibeles Madrid Fashion Week and, finally, in 2012 it adopted the international name Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid (MBFWMadrid) upon joining the global circuit of the car brand.
3. Madrid Fashion Week is two events with a common goal
The Fashion Week consists of two different events that coexist with a common goal: to valorize Spanish fashion. It opens with OMODA Madrid es Moda (focused on designer fashion, craftsmanship and the city as an urban runway) and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid (a traditional runway show held at IFEMA).
4. The launch: OMODA Madrid es Moda
Since 2015, the Madrid Fashion Week opens with OMODA Madrid es Moda, an initiative promoted by the Association of Spanish Fashion Creators (ACME) that highlights the country’s designer fashion, pays homage to the craftsmanship that threads the industry, extols the creativity of slow fashion, and brings design to the streets with shows in the capital’s most emblematic corners.
5. It all starts with a spectacular inaugural show
The Madrid Fashion Week kicks off with the inaugural show of OMODA Madrid es Moda, a collaborative presentation that involves the support of the Madrid City Council and features more than twenty designers. Its hallmark? It is held in extraordinary locations that are part of the city’s historic heritage. The Puerta de Alcalá, Plaza de la Villa, Plaza de Oriente, Plaza de España or, in the September 2026 edition, the imposing Sabatini Gardens, with the Royal Palace as a spectacular backdrop.
6. Fashion takes over the streets of Madrid
Although these extraordinary locations have been the traditional hallmark of Madrid es Moda, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid has also decided to storm the streets of the capital with shows. Traditionally, the former Pasarela Cibeles was held entirely in Hall 14 of IFEMA, but gradually it has moved out of the fairgrounds to showcase collections in other iconic venues such as the Palacio de Cibeles, the Real Casa de Correos, and the Jardines del Buen Retiro.
7. The impact of fashion in Madrid
The fashion industry in Madrid is one of the capital’s main economic engines, consolidating the region as the fourth most important autonomous community in Spain in the sector’s turnover, which generates more than 52,000 jobs a year in the region. Moreover, according to 2025 figures, the February and September editions of the previous year consolidated a combined economic impact of around 100 million euros for the capital.
