Meet ONRUSHW23FH, the creative duo leading Barcelona’s fashion revolution
Welcome to CHEW THE FAT WITH…, our long-form profile series where we invite you to sit down with fashion’s next generation as they dig deep into their memories. To chew some fat - defined as an informal conversation brimming with small talk - we encourage you to pull up a chair and take a big old bite as we spill the tea on the life and work of the industry’s need-to-knows. Just remember to mop up after yourself.
The collapse of the global fashion calendar has placed the industry into a state of flux. With fashion week now solely online – and juggernaut houses like Bottega Veneta, Gucci and Saint Laurent dropping off the schedule entirely – new creative voices have been able to navigate the spotlight. One of which is Barcelona’s ONRUSHW23FH. The brainchild of ALBERT SÁNCHEZ and SEBASTIÁN CAMERAS, the duo describe the label as more of an artistic, experimental project as opposed to a traditional fashion brand. “The purpose is to fulfil our desire to create, design and have fun,” say the pair.
ONRUSHW23FH is a purveyor of experimental, high-quality design – using fashion as a vehicle for reflection on the current state of contemporary society. The duo both studied fashion design in the city of Barcelona, though admit that they were not entirely keen on one another when they initially met. “We were friends but never that close until third year, that was when we really started to bond,” they explain.
Whilst Sánchez was born and bred in Spain, Cameras grew up in Mexico until he was nine, before moving to Barcelona. “For me, my roots and culture play a very important part in my creative process and inspiration,” Cameras says. “Not only because it is part of me but because I have grown to have a great admiration towards the indigenous culture, which for me is full of beauty and emotion.” For Sánchez, it was growing up in a house full of women that brought on his cultural awakening: “I remember afternoons at my grandmother’s with all of these women reuniting and supporting each other in their everyday life, that’s where I received Spanish culture, with my roots coming from the strength of Flamenco, its art and stiffness.”
In their last year of studying as part of their final thesis, the pair were challenged to envision their own fully-fledged project. Cue ONRUSHW23FH, where the duo’s shared interest in art and design was channelled through experimental dress. Their emerging brand was put on hold whilst they briefly moved to London post-graduation – interning with both DAVID KOMA and PREEN BY THORNTON BREGAZZI through 2019.
The two designers explain that emerging themselves in the international fashion industry really fine-tuned their design skills. “On the whole I feel in a way that there were some very important things I lacked regarding design, especially when you compare Spanish fashion with other countries,” says Cameras. Taking their knowledge back to Barcelona with them at the beginning of 2020, the duo began morphing mundane, everyday staples into utterly desirable pieces.
Their full debut collection was unveiled during the SS21 shows in Barcelona, which was the first digital edition of 080 Barcelona Fashion. Dubbed Almost There, the designers paired boomerang-like 3D crop tops with barely-there undies; ruched office shirts with topsy turvy trousers and morphed Fair Isle jumpers into going-out dresses for all genders. There’s a hedonistic sexiness to these pieces – sheer bodysuits and jeans with dangerously low waistlines being a testament to that – although that wasn’t the designers’ original intentions.
“We are aware that some of our clothes are sensual, but that was never our aim,” they say. “What we do is strictly create without thinking of any connotations that may be attributed to the garments afterwards, and growing each look from there.” They say they’re throwing everything they have into this project, set on expanding their business and showcasing Barcelona’s emerging fashion scene on a global stage. “We wholeheartedly believe that Barcelona has amazing creatives from so many different disciplines,” they say. With ONRUSHW23FH at the forefront, the city’s in safe hands.
Credit: @celinamartiins and @stephaniayepes, courtesy of @onrushw23fh