Raquel is the only woman in Spain who founded and runs a design festivaland which stands out for giving prominence to a wide range of disciplines in the sector. It is about the Mallorca Design Day. Since its launch in 2017, this Biennial consolidated its global impact with the creation of a international award in the Fashion category. It will celebrate its 5th edition in March 2025 in the cities of Palma de Mallorca and Inca, it is also the only national festival that rewards and recognizes the emerging talent through its National Awards. In this edition, cash prizes and Balearic second prizes will be awarded in the categories of Fashion, Architecture and Landscaping within the theme: Artisanal Intelligence.
As if she were the protagonist of a movie, Raquel personifies the phrase “when a door closes, a window opens.” After a sentimental breakup and a job termination, a trip to New York arises with the intention of improving his English for 15 days; However, this escapade would last almost a year, during which time he outlined Mallorca Design Day on a Starbucks napkinon one of the many afternoons he spent there while it was snowing. “They were the most creative eleven months of my life, as a person and as a designer.”
How did Mallorca Design Day come about in New York?
After 12 years as a teacher at the Palma Higher School of Design, I became aware of the difficulty that beginning designers have in making themselves known. Initially, the festival only focused on fashion design; Currently, we also cover architecture, interior design, landscape architecture and food design. Our National Awards, this year focused on three categories: fashion, interior design and landscaping, will reward the projects that present the best proposals aligned with our theme: Artisan Intelligence. Likewise, values that have been linked to MDD since its inception will be taken into account, such as sustainability, diversity, creativity and the integration of technology. I can affirm that we are the only national festival that offers a 360º vision of design and that, in addition, recognizes and gives maximum visibility to emerging talent. The origin of the festival is on a trip to New York, where I went for 15 days; At that time, I didn’t know I was embarking on the journey of my life. When I decided to stay in the city of skyscrapers, after taking a course that I searched on Google, I thought, how could I live in New York with practically no budget? It was fabulous, because when you trust in life everything happens. Posting: “I exchange a room in Manhattan for a room in Palma de Mallorca”, led me to meet very interesting people and live anecdotes that are the seed of this great festival. All the people I discovered during that year, in that city, inspired me and helped develop this idea that has been growing and is going to celebrate its fifth edition.
Because Mallorca Design Day Is it unique in the circuit?
In addition to because it recognizes emerging talent, offers a 360º vision of design or because it launched an international award in its second edition, Mallorca Design Day It is the only design festival that is thematic. This year, on the occasion of the fifth edition, the common thread is “Artisan Intelligence”, a new paradigm that merges the advantages of artificial intelligence (AI) with the value and richness of what is made by hand. We want to take people out of their comfort zone and turn everything around. We always try to make a difference in terms of talent and creativity; For example, in the previous edition, we held the world’s first catwalk of urban furniture.
Why crafts and artificial intelligence as a theme?
Craftsmanship is the new luxury and artificial intelligence is an added value that is not yet valued or understood in craftsmanship. It is rejected for fear that it will devalue the works or have come to take away jobs. However, it is a fabulous support tool for any designer and in any discipline without detracting from what is created with the hands, what is artisanal.
What is the dynamics of the festival?
It is held every two years, bringing together professionals, students and design enthusiasts on the island of Mallorca to participate in a variety of activities, such as exhibitions, workshops, conferences and expert talks on various design disciplines: graphic design, product, interior design , landscaping, fashion, food design…. It is a boutique festival that is celebrated in different enclaves as unique and exquisite as the Fàbrica Ramis, a century-old leather factory, restored by an architecture studio from Barcelona, where we hold the grand final gala and the delivery of the National Awards. Over the years, MDD has grown in popularity and budget, having quintupled since it was born in 2017. It attracts participants from different parts of the world and has become an important platform for the promotion of both national and regional design. .
Why do you decide to promote those starting out?
I think it is important to leave a legacy of your work and experience. Helping others and creating synergies, through a transversal approach, is the best way to do it. It is common for creative people to find difficulties in executing their projects because they are not good managers or they do not have the ability to find financing and convince companies to support them in their ideas or financially. I am very multidisciplinary, for me everything is connected, and this is precisely the philosophy of the festival.
It is common for creative people to find it difficult to execute their projects because they are not good managers or it is not easy for them to find financing.
From creative to businesswoman, what advice would you give to new generations?
I always say that the hard path of being an artist has forcibly made me a businesswoman. And I say it this way because, without the economic part, the ideas cannot be executed. My great ability is to connect. For example, from the experience of moving, an unexpected project arose: together with my students, from when I was a teacher at the Higher School of Design of the Balearic Islandswe ended up creating the costumes for 20 films in collaboration with the Madrid Film Library, and all because I was embarrassed to throw away all that bubble wrap that wrapped my belongings. I have managed to create decontextualized exhibitions that have had a national impact, like the one I did with a group of students using sugar clouds and jelly beans because I am addicted to sweets. I have gotten the hang of being an executor and when I get creative…, I have no limits.
Until when can National Awards projects be submitted?
Fashion and Interior Design projects can be submitted until January 12 and those competing for the Landscaping award until February 20. Afterwards, the Interior Design finalists will be announced, as well as the Fashion winners and runners-up, as they will parade on the catwalk at the grand final gala of Mallorca Design Dayand which will be on March 21 at the Fàbrica Ramis de Inca. The winners of the Landscaping and Interior Design categories will also be revealed on that special night.
Fashion and Interior Design projects can be submitted until January 12 and those competing for the Landscaping award until February 20.
What does the woman on the poster of this edition of Mallorca Design Day symbolize?
The woman on the poster is the common thread of the entire festival. It is a virtual assistant, created with AI, that represents an ancestral woman with her scarf and that neck that is reminiscent of African giraffe women. Her name is Lola, and she is a woman with Spanish strength.
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