MARÍA ALBORÉS LOJA: FROM GALICIA TO ANTWERP

María Alborés Loja is part of the Royal Academy of Antwerp Master: Class 2025 and the representative of Spain in one of the most important fashion schools in the world. After acquiring some industry experience under the creative direction of Eudon Choi in London, the Galician young designer enrolled in the Antwerp program in 2021, where she has developed a strong sensibility and understanding on what it is like to play with culture and tradition. Which led her to learn from the work of Henriette Ernst in Antwerp and discover the fashion consulting industry.

Her work over the years has been focused on representing the female gaze questioning perception and proportion, focusing on the Galician women. She craves to honour her land and create from everything it has given her. Respecting the past but not constraining her work by it. Thinking conceptually and playing with absurdity and sensibility, becoming an expert of translating memory into clothing and questioning fixed narratives. She always seeks to instill a feeling through her clothes in each person who wears them, empowering the person and letting them shine.

Álvaro Ramos: First of all, I wanted you to tell us who María Alborés Lojo is and how she got here. What has been your academic/professional journey so far?

María Alborés Lojo: I graduated in 2019 from ESDEMGA at the University of Vigo. That same year, I moved to London to complete an internship at the studio of Korean designer Eudon Choi. At the same time, I pursued part of a Fine Arts degree, with the goal of preparing for the entrance exams to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. In 2021, I applied, was accepted, and began my Bachelor’s studies in Fashion at the academy. During the summers of my degree, I had the opportunity to collaborate on various projects with designer and fashion consultant Henriette Herns. Just a few weeks ago, I graduated from the Master’s program at the Antwerp Fashion Department, a dream come true.

AR: Could you elaborate on your Master’s degree in Fashion Design and Creative Direction that you completed at the University of Vigo?

MAL: When I studied fashion for three years at the University of Vigo, ESDEMGA was still a “degree” title of the university. In fact, I was part of the last graduating class before the school became a master’s degree. Those were years of great learning that I remember with great affection. I always say that thanks to all my teachers in Pontevedra I was able to acquire the necessary tools to be able to work confidently at the Antwerp Fashion Department. Studying fashion in Pontevedra was the basis I needed to grow, both personally and professionally. I have only good words and memories of that period. I am very fond of both my teachers and my friends from the “CUBO”.

AR: How would you describe your identity as a designer today, after completing your degree?

MAL: That’s such a difficult question! But if I had to define it, I’d say my identity as a designer is a mix of conceptual thinking, a certain classical sensibility, and a touch of absurdity. I’m interested in building ideas that have depth, but I also enjoy playing with irony, contradiction, or unexpected details. I don’t take myself “too seriously”, even when I take the work seriously, and I think that balance defines me right now.

AR: Can you give me a brief introduction to the collections that preceded «Lost in tradition, found in Galicia» at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp?

MAL: In my second year in Antwerp, my collection was called (“Trompe l’oeil”: Between Time, Space and Memory). It began with a series of 1960s photo collages, playing with shape, color, and composition. I explored color-blocked garments held in balance by structures, where distortion became a central element, a way of questioning perception and proportion.

And my third-year collection, which was also my Bachelor’s graduation project, started from a very personal obsession: the inherited objects from a great-aunt, my grandmother’s sister. All kinds of things that have slowly become part of a growing collection stored in the corner of the storage room at my family home. She herself recently became part of that memory archive, which gave the collection an even deeper emotional layer.

AR: You describe your graduation collection as «opening the doors of your home.» What emotions and personal memories are embedded in these garments?

MAL: My entire final master collection “/Lost in tradition, found in Galicia/” revolves around the region of Spain where I come from, where I grew up. Galicia. My town is a place that fills me with inspiration, so I wanted to honour my land and thank it for everything it has given me. Galicia is an area with a lot of history and in my house Galician traditions and culture have always been very present. Both crafts and fishing are two great pillars that define my personal and family history.

AR: What does it mean to you to pay tribute to Galician women as a cultural and economic pillar?

MAL: Galician woman was recognized as the fundamental pillar of the region, both in her role in economic sustenance and in the preservation and transmission of culture and traditions. It represents the symbolic matriarchy of Galicia, a social structure that, although not literal or political, had its greatest boom in the 20th century, driven by male emigration that left women at the head of the household.

AR: In your previous collection, you referenced your grandmother. Was there any female figure in your life who directly inspired this collection?

MAL: In my previous collection I made reference to my grandmother’s sister, but not to her per se, but to the objects that my family inherited from her, the whole imaginary of objects that pass from generation to generation and that arrive to a complete house and that all the life and luxury that these ‘things’ have been ends up being left aside. 

The truth is that I have not referenced it very clearly at any time but in reality the story of the matriarch, of the fishing elements and some other references in this collection is by and for my maternal grandmother, my grandmother Rosa. This is her story.

AR: For the World Costumes exercise, you recreated the traditional Galician costume. What did you discover while researching it that you didn’t know before and that deeply surprised you?

MAL: The historical costume exercise was, for me, a real pleasure. It allowed me to fully immerse myself in a universe that, although it has been close to me since childhood, since I have used these garments for dancing and singing since I was a child, I had never had the opportunity to approach from a technical and creative perspective. I rediscovered details that had previously gone unnoticed, I investigated materials, shapes and structures with a different perspective, and I felt that for the first time I could interpret, and not just wear, this textile legacy. It was a way of connecting past and present through practice, with great respect.

AR: How did you manage to reinterpret the classic without losing respect for its historical roots?

MAL: I think that when you work with such historical references you have to be very respectful of what you do, but also lose your fear of it. Respect doesn’t mean rigidity; it means understanding in depth the context and the symbolic charge that this aesthetic, this object or this visual language has. Reinterpreting the classic is not copying it or freezing it, but understanding it, even questioning it, and allowing it to speak in the present from your personal sensibility. In my case, I try to make that reinterpretation honest, not just aesthetic, but also emotional, connected to my history and to what I want to communicate now. I think that’s where something new emerges without betraying what came before.

AR: Which elements of the traditional costume did you decide to maintain, and which ones did you want to break or transform?

MAL: Rather than reproducing the traditional costume literally, I was interested in rescuing certain details that for me have a very symbolic and emotional charge. I was particularly interested in certain volumes in the skirts and dresses – that powerful way in which the body is wrapped and presented, and the way in which the women sheltered themselves in those large scarves, almost as if they were constructing an intimate space. I was also inspired by certain prints, colours or textures that refer directly to that heritage. But at the same time I wanted to break with the rigidity of the folkloric and transform it into something more personal, contemporary. It’s not just a question of referring to the past, but of reinterpreting it from the present, from my own point of view and my own questions.

AR: The collection explores volume, movement, and direction. How do these formal aspects interact with the emotional and cultural message of the proposal?

MAL: It’s a bit like what I mentioned before. Volume, movement and direction are not just aesthetic tools, they are carriers of emotion: the volumes I chose are inspired by traditional silhouettes. The movement, on the other hand, suggests how the garments react to the body, how they move and respond to space. In the end, all these formal elements are deeply linked to cultural roots, but they have also been reimagined as a balance between heritage and identity.

AR: What artisanal techniques were used in the process, and how did you combine them with more contemporary or innovative approaches? What role do detail and craftsmanship play in this collection? Is there a particular garment that represents it?

MAL: This year, I was fortunate to receive the support of the Fundación de Artesanía de Galicia, which sponsored me and gave me the opportunity to collaborate directly with some of their artisans. It truly was a dream for me; since I was little, my parents instilled in me the value of craftsmanship and respect for manual work—something that has always been a part of my identity and that I can now reflect in this project. I am deeply grateful for their trust in my project.

On one hand, I worked with Julia de la Cal, with whom I developed three basketry pieces. One of them is a top that reinterprets the concept of the basket as a garment, integrating craftsmanship into a modern silhouette. The other two are headpieces inspired by the baskets that women used to carry in the past. The intention was always to elevate these traditional elements, linked to folklore and functionality, bringing them into a realm more connected to fashion. 

Regarding the bags, Ezequiel Franchi helped me bring some handmade pieces to life and crafted them from deadstock leather.

AR: The Galician matriarchy is more of a symbolic structure than a political one. How did you work with this concept from a visual and material perspective?

MAL: I was interested in the silent strength of Galician women, which does not come through traditional power, but through presence, care and resistance. I translated it into volumes that protect, layers that speak of accumulated memory, and fabrics that refer to the home, but with weight and structure. I did not seek to represent matriarchy literally, but to convey its emotional texture, its contained dignity.

AR: What do you hope someone who sees—or wears—these pieces for the first time will feel?

MAL: I hope that those who wear these pieces feel comfortable, confident and, above all, powerful in their own skin. That the garments accompany the body naturally, without imposing themselves, highlighting their individuality from pleasure, not from the demand. I am interested in a beauty that is born from the balance between strength and softness, between feeling protected and free at the same time.

AR: Do you feel this project connected you in a new way with your own identity?

MAL: It was a way to look back and understand where I came from, but also to affirm who I am now. By working with personal, family and cultural references, I ended up connecting with parts of me that perhaps I had more in the background. It was almost like translating emotions into shapes, fabrics and gestures. I think that process helped me feel more grounded and, at the same time, more creatively free.

AR: What place would you like this collection to occupy in the dialogue between fashion, history, and territory?

MAL: I’d like this collection to serve as a bridge, a space where tradition and contemporary identity can meet and speak to each other. It’s not about replicating the past, but playing with it: taking the symbols, textures, and stories of a specific place and giving them new meaning through fashion. Ideally, it opens up a conversation about how clothing can carry memory, reflect belonging, and question fixed narratives.

AR: If this collection could speak, what would it say to the Galicia that saw you grow up?

MAL: I don’t know about the collection, but what I am sure of is that more than one person, including teachers and colleagues who have accompanied me over the years in Antwerp, has taken away a very good image of Galicia. I know first-hand that, sooner or later, they will end up visiting me there.

AR: Finally, how do you imagine your path in the fashion world in the coming years?

MAL: My next destination remains to be seen. What would I like? Well, right now I would like to be able to rest for a few weeks in Boiro, in my house and of course, not to miss the summer festivals…

But well, apart from this, what I would like to do in the near future would be to be able to access some big companies of high fashion or luxury that I already had the luck to be in contact with.