It rained since Valle-Inclán and Pío Baroja wore the Seseña capes, but the Madrid house continues to exert a similar fascination on countless personalities, ranging from Jeff Bezos to Jeremy Irons. “Not long ago he was with us and he left delighted. I was very impressed to meet him; he took an Alfonso cape and his wife, Sinéad Cusack, a Nicole cape with a hood ”, he recalls Marcos Seseña, director and fourth generation of this centennial atelier of the neighborhood of the letters.
Seseña has designed goalkeeper uniforms of the Food Hall of Galería Canalejas, which opened its doors a few weeks ago, as well as those of the customer service team. The luxury and haute cuisine center thus reinforces its link with the capital's idiosyncrasy, putting in value the tradition of Spanish trades transmitted from generation to generation.
It is, on the other hand, one more step towards the global opening of the more than 40 luxury boutiques of Galería Canalejas, which will be completed in the spring of 2022.
The Canalejas Gallery uniforms, designed by Seseña.
"This collaboration arose spontaneously," explains Marcos. The uniforms have been handcrafted piece by piece by artisans who continue to work on every detail with the traditional methods of pattern making, sewing and cutting that the Seseña family has been perfecting in their workshop for four generations.
“Until 1960 we dedicated ourselves to men's tailoring, then capes became our first product. We don't do uniforms, so it was a challenge and we also wanted a very Madrilenian model but one that was not archaic”. The capes –navy blue with mustard velvet details– require more than five meters of cloth to ensure its characteristic flight.
The buttons on the uniform evoke the art deco grille of Galería Canalejas.
Inspired by monumentality of the buildings of Galería Canalejas and in the elegance of the classic Spanish cape, incorporate a slave embroidered in gold thread with the name of Galería Canalejas and the buttons have been exclusively designed reproducing one of the details of the imposing historic art deco ironwork that decorates the entrance of Galería Canalejas on Calle Alcalá. The cap reinterprets with sporty visor the chulapo parpusa.
Façade of Canalejas Gallery.
The uniforms are also completed with accessories from other emblematic centennial shops in the capital, how are the gloves Luque Gloves Factory, recognized for more than 100 years for the quality of its fabrics, as well as the umbrellas signed by the traditional Diego's House, Madrid's Puerta del Sol, a shop from 1858.
The fabric is gabardine type for summer and 100% merino wool for winter, with the precise openings so that the front can be lifted and comfort prevails. For the doormen there is only a male version but, for reception staff, they have also created a feminine variant.
PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
Given that the spirit of Galería Canalejas is to establish a great connection with the neighborhood and its most emblematic businesses, It is not surprising that they wanted to have one of the most representative houses in the capital. Only with the first proposal they made, everything started to go smoothly. “It was a challenge, as I mentioned before, we don't normally make uniforms. In addition, we wanted a model that was very Madrid-like but not archaic,” Marcos explains to Condé Nast Traveler.
When Marcos Seseña took over the house eight years ago, he introduced some changes that updated the Seseña concept: collaborations (for example, with The Countess or with Ulysses Merida, with whom they paraded at Fashion Week), some contracted designers, improvement of social networks and the web... although, precisely in the latter, his father had been a pioneer, installing the online store already at the end of the 90s.
This has since facilitated sale to the American public, for example, very fond of this traditional garment. It is possible to assume that Marcos, who confesses that he is not a fan of air travel, has to travel from time to time for this reason. He tells us yes he fantasizes about getting to know Japan and China as soon as possible, although without disdaining closer destinations. “I really like Europe. And I want to go to Burgos!”
Marcos' goal as head of the house was to "rejuvenate the image a bit, since Due to the nature of our product, we do not stop targeting a clientele between 35 and 55 years old”. The team they form is small, but dedicated: two people in the workshop, Marcos, a designer and a shop assistant.
The process of creating the uniforms has been completely handmade.
What are you most satisfied with regarding this project with Galería Canalejas? “If I had said yes,” Marcos replies to Condé Nast Traveler. It was unknown territory for us but it has been fortunate to be able to collaborate with such an emblematic establishment”.
We wonder if, for the future, they have in mind to carry out a similar initiative with the hotel sector. Although Seseña has already had some collaboration, not so explicit (with the Urso hotel, for example), Marcos is clear about it: "Right now we want to focus on this wonderful, very, very exclusive project."