break the monotony, fill everything with color and why not, confront the status quo. The beginnings of Etnia Barcelona, the eyewear firm that best represents Barcelona were founded on the foundations of a family business that found, through creativity and risk, the way to become stronger in the face of adversity.
"The parents of David Pellicer, current owner of the brand, They had a glasses factory that supplied third parties and when the 90s arrived, Asian competition began to enter,” he says. Edu Pitarch, creative director of the firm . "Costs went up and David entered the business at 17," he continues.
Images from the Heritage campaign.
At such a young age, Pellicer realized that the business model had to change to be able to float. It is enough to see the current sign of identity of Etnia Barcelona to verify that it was like this: a clear commitment to risk and color , always present in campaigns that challenge and honor history, using as protagonists eternal influencers that have stomped throughout history.
"They managed to clean up the company by making a lot of efforts and selling properties. It was then that David realized that there was a niche to cover: that of colored glasses , which at that time were either very expensive or did not exist. We have probably been one of the leaders in democratizing color,” says Pitarch.
Not only that, but they have also known create a link with the city of Barcelona , a place that has witnessed its evolution and its character. “Our identity is united to our culture, art, innovation and rebellion. And, of course, gastronomy”, explains his team in Twenty Years, Twenty Places, the gastronomic guide that has just been launched to commemorate its 20 years along with the best clients and friends of him.
Alfonso house.
“This guide started because we have a sales team spread all over the world and they usually come to Barcelona a lot, either for a meeting, to see clients, for a convention... and they always asked us where they could go to eat ”, relates Pitarch. “We were always pointing things out to them and five years ago, just for our birthday, we said: ‘why don’t we make a guide to our favorite places in the city , of those to which we always return again and again? '.
Thus, they found a way to, through a good table, relate culturally with your city and include those who visit it under their own gaze. “We want to celebrate our 20th anniversary with a tribute to our origins: with a guide that highlights the twenty culinary institutions that inspire us and who have accompanied us throughout our journey”, they explain.
Kao Street.
Tomás Abellán's Alegría Bar, which occupies a space with more than 130 years of history; the new snacks Rafa Peña in Bar Torpedo ; Benzina's reimagined Italian dishes; the natural wines of Nassus , the street food of Kao Street or the tradition of Alfonso House they go hand in hand in a tour (photographed by Beatriz Janer) that marks the culinary step by step of a brand that has made itself on the street.
Torpedo Bar
After all, the team that gives life to Ethnicity Barcelona It's people who like it culture, cinema, music… and that always goes beyond fashion to be linked to daring characters and rebellious artists , or going off on a tangent of what they are “supposed” to do.
“That is why we have been attracted to Kubrick in our latest collection - winking at The Clockwork Orange with a symbol that accompanies one of the models–, and Napoleon , a constant character of our creativity. Our popular icon and an emblem for us of what fashion. We touch on all the topics that inspire us and we invent imaginaries that go further”.
Napoleon wearing The Kennedy Sun model.
And what awaits them in this year of celebration? “ new collaborations top with the art world and continue celebrating our anniversary until the end of next year. We will launch two more capsule collections for this reason and while they arrive, it will be our Heritage Collection the one that takes center stage, recovering the mythical colors of the firm, the chess print –the same one designed by Etnia for its 2006 collection–, the zebra print and new colors such as Klein blue".