The Federation of Textile and Clothing Industries of Aragon (FITCA) details to Go Aragón the challenges, projects, and demands of a sector that stands out in Aragon for its quality and specialization.
FITCA leads the Erasmus Plus DigiBranding training program at the national level and is planning an auxiliary textile workshop in Caspe as a model for other municipalities, while calling for a large textile recycling center in Zaragoza in light of new European regulations.
Despite the fact that the textile sector “has been in continuous crisis for 40 years, with large-scale relocation and price wars,” the Federation is committed with renewed enthusiasm and energy to the internationalization of Aragón Fashion Week and training, and claims that there is room in the market. Aragonese fashion is in vogue.
The Aragonese textile sector is “a great unknown, they only look at us with interest” at Aragón Fashion Week (Aragonese fashion week), but the sector is not just fashion designers or well-known brands, it is broad, and its specialization and consolidated third-generation business models have given it great quality, and it has a lot to say and do. Santiago Vicente, secretary general of FITCA (Federation of Textile and Clothing Industries of Aragon), is a whirlwind of words, ideas, and projects related to textiles in Aragon. “It even structures the territory,” he adds.
After a period of hiatus, FITCA is beginning to emerge with the desire to help the sector. “The Federation is in a good place: it works, it is growing,” says Vicente, “and in recent years we have consolidated Aragón Fashion Week, the annual event, the ‘talks between seams’ training sessions, the services we provide to the sector, and we have also normalized dialogue with the institutions.”
The Federation is currently working on several strategic projects with great enthusiasm. One of them is called DigiBranding, part of Erasmus Plus, a two-year European project led from Zaragoza. As Santiago Vicente explained, “this is a very important project for the Federation, with which we are going to lay the foundations for professional training in textiles at European level, which is no small feat. These projects are rarely given to a federation or business association—they are usually for training centers—but we got it and we have a Turkish partner, a Portuguese partner, a Bulgarian partner, a German partner, and a Greek partner. First, we investigated the difference between what the market demands and what is being offered in formal vocational training, and we tried to bridge that gap, especially in terms of sustainability and digitization, which are the two main challenges for the European market.”
“We have consolidated Aragon Fashion Week, giving visibility to local designers and brands, and now we want to take a national and international leap forward. To this end, we have joined forces with Jesús María Montes-Fernández, director of Flash Moda, a leading expert who is highly regarded by the industry.”
Another project FITCA is working on is the creation of a Textile Employment Workshop in Caspe, through the INAEM, with the idea of turning it into a model that can be exported or replicated in other municipalities. “In Aragon, there is a need for auxiliary clothing workshops that work for other companies, and we are convinced that this training model can lead to a real workshop, given that there have always been many textile companies in Caspe, so there is already a whole generation trained,” says Vicente. “We would like to replicate this model,” he adds. ”There is a lot of talk about structuring the territory or empowering women, and these are values that the textile industry has been promoting for 60 and even 80 years.” A third project is the internationalization of the job bank, one of the services that works best, according to FITCA itself. It is a highly specialized job bank with a lot of movement. “So much so,” says Santiago Vicente, “that there are sometimes requests that are difficult to fill, which is why we want to look to other countries and make it international.”
Aragon Fashion Week 2025 and the network of alliances
In parallel with the development of these projects, the Federation is committed to promoting the Aragonese textile sector nationally and internationally. “Together with the public company Aragón Exterior (AREX), we are working to assist and increase our presence at international trade fairs and also to encourage international buyers from London, Germany, and other European countries to come to our fashion week—Aragon Fashion Week—to buy Aragonese brands from our designers.” One specific project within the scope of fashion week that Santiago Vicente is passionate about is designing and weaving a network of alliances with fashion weeks in medium-sized cities similar to Zaragoza, with which to exchange designers, make exchanges, and direct purchases.
The FITCA secretary general argues that there is a gap in the market and young people willing to make and design. “Our job bank is one of the services that works best and we are going to internationalize it,” Santiago Vicente points out.
“Fifteen years ago it was unthinkable,” Vicente recalls, ”but now our politicians already wear fashion designed here, by Aragonese designers. Aragón Fashion Week has helped us realize what is being done in our region, that there are people designing fashion in Aragón and that not everything is H&M: there are quality brands from Aragón.”
However, the novelty of this year’s edition—Aragón Fashion Week 2025—is that it has a luxury alliance. “We want to make a national and international leap and we have partnered with Jesús María Montes-Fernández, director of Flash Moda (a TVE program), a great expert and highly valued by the industry,” in the words of the secretary general of FITCA and also the coordinator of Aragón Fashion Week, an event that the Federation conceives as a public service.
Vicente emphasizes that “the aim of Aragón Fashion Week is not only to showcase the latest Aragonese fashion, but also to put the Aragonese textile sector in the spotlight, on the map. It is not just about talking about designers, design or culture, but also about showcasing the Aragonese textile sector in general, reflecting everything that is done in Aragon and ensuring that the entire sector feels represented, from large, well-established companies and fashion designers to textile cooperatives that continue to manufacture in rural Aragon.”
Despite not having any internationally renowned brands, Aragon has been the birthplace of designers who have won national fashion awards—who are dressing Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez—and companies that have managed to stand out. Names such as Nacho Lamar and Irene Bielsa have managed to make their way in a mature and competitive sector, while brands such as Transgowork have managed to position themselves in the sportswear market.
«We want to have a greater presence at international trade fairs and for international buyers from London, Germany, and other European countries to come to our fashion week—Aragon Fashion Week—to buy Aragonese brands from our designers.”
From specialization to textile logistics
“What sets the Aragonese textile sector apart from the rest is its specialization.” The secretary general of the Federation of Textile and Clothing Industries of Aragon highlights cases such as Trango (specialized mountain clothing), Protocolo (the first company dedicated to making wedding suits, with stores in Madrid, Barcelona, and Mexico), and Confecciones Oroel (awarded for its quality in making workwear and uniforms, etc.). “Today, the level of specialization in Aragonese textiles is extremely high and is something that sets us apart,” says Vicente. He adds: ”We are very good when we specialize.”
“The new European waste legislation that came into force in 2025 is the most important challenge facing the entire sector at all levels. Zaragoza is the ideal location for a large recycling center.”
Aware that Aragon is privileged in terms of textile logistics, FITCA insists that the presence of Inditex at the PLAZA Logistics Platform and the announcement of the construction of a second large distribution center in the Malpica Industrial Park with an investment of 600 million euros will have a major impact by helping auxiliary companies to grow and attracting other companies in the sector. “We have an airport, good communications, and a network of ancillary companies that can provide services when needed. Given the current state of the textile business, reverse logistics is essential… returns, or being able to repair a garment, and that already exists.”
For the FITCA, one of the biggest challenges facing the textile sector is adapting to European regulations on textile waste management, which came into force in 2025. This legislation seeks to bring the treatment of textile waste into line with that of plastics and cardboard, prohibiting its destruction and incineration and promoting its recycling and reuse. In the words of Santiago Vicente: “Large clothing separation recycling plants are needed. It makes sense for there to be a large recycling center in Aragon.”
The textile sector employs around 3,000 people in the Aragon region. Inditex’s logistics activity in Zaragoza, as the epicenter of Zara’s global distribution of women’s clothing, explains the mirage in Aragon’s textile export figures (more than 2.5 billion euros). The textile sector—a very heterogeneous sector that includes the owner of a small clothing workshop, an auxiliary workshop that provides services to Inditex, a dry cleaner, and a large design company for a major brand—accounts for 3% of Aragon’s gross domestic product (GDP).
