Its motto says it clearly: “Carry your blessed bag with pride. It's not perfect, but it's unique like you." The essential bag that cannot be missing in the wardrobe is supportive, exclusive and made in Spain. Made in the heart of Madrid in the APRAMP Textile Training workshop, it is part of a comprehensive recovery project for women and girls who are survivors of white slavery. The same workshop where the designer Ulises Mérida has made the Libre de él collection, presented at the latest edition of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Madrid, in which 12 women from this reintegration program participated. Clothes that Queen Letizia has recently worn with pride, showing her support for this group.
Fashion used as a social issue to raise awareness, as Yolanda Aguilar from APRAMP explains, and the soul of this project: "We have women in very extreme situations that we need to empower them and they in turn are trained and see that there are lots of jobs that they are valued and that they can produce it. And so, in turn, we help each other.”
A social project with a positive impact on the fashion world as it brings together the work of artisans, artists and suppliers to provide work for survivors of sexual exploitation: “What is offered here is a future, an option for hope. Because here the ultimate goal is that they have work and that they can get ahead. They are working in the workshop and the designers are aware of it”.
Bendito Casteller is the latest launch of this solidarity project, it is a capsule collection of shoes and bags that bets on original creations that do not go unnoticed. The artisan knowledge of Ginés Bernal, the contagious enthusiasm of Yolanda Aguilar and the original prints of La Tapicera, with signature fabrics that are printed on organic cotton, result in these unique bags and sandals with original designs, with a charitable purpose. All made by these women rescued from sexual exploitation networks and their sale helps build a decent future. At the same time, it is a clear commitment to sustainability thanks to the materials they use.
Here the women learn every day to value their work and effort, their opportunities and, of course, to transform fabrics into clothes and mend rags to turn them into the future.
Numerous popular faces such as Toni Acosta, Carmen Chaparro, Nuria Roca or Mabel Lozano have already joined this cause. Elsa Pataky did not hesitate to undress for a good cause to raise awareness about caring for the environment, she has not hesitated to give her support to these women. A very important gesture for them, who through fashion find the path to their freedom and dignity, and where they sew their new life with each stitch.
