BUDGET high-street fashion in Spain is a work of art – modern art, on display in a top London museum.
Thanks to the nation's largest clothing empire, Inditex, if you can't get to the UK capital to see some of the most colourful masterpieces of the last century or so, you can wear them instead.
Pull&Bear, the cut-price streetwear label by the multi-faceted textile corporation whose owner, Amancio Ortega, tops Spain's rich list every year, has launched a new collection bearing prints by artists such international renown as Kandinsky and Turner.
A deal with the London Tate Modern has enabled Pull&Bear's design team to create T-shirts, quilted jackets and hooded sweatshirts, among other useful winter casuals, in the patterns dreamt up by a long list of love-them-or-hate-them painters, including giving a nod to some of the more underrated movements such as the abstract works of Kazimir Malévich and Piet Mondrian.
William Waterhouse, Wassily Kandinsky and J.M.W. Turner also figure in Pull&Bear's 'Tate Art' range, which comes under the slogan of 'Because Art is for Everyone', in English.
Women's and men's ranges in the style more recently dubbed 'athleisure', along with accessories – such as the Mondrian tote bag you can buy to match the hoodie in the same design – are now on sale in the brand's ubiquitous branches.
Like most of Inditex's labels, Pull&Bear stores can be found in almost every major shopping centre, and on streets in the main retail precincts of large towns.
Along with 'rock-chick' line Stradivarius and young adult and teen brand Bershka, Pull&Bear's prices are typically very low, as their target audience is adolescents saving up their pocket money or students with Saturday jobs – meaning they are even cheaper than Inditex's star store Zara, aimed at those seeking a younger version of classic pieces, chic wardrobe staples and workwear at very affordable prices.
Typically more demure and focusing on classics and smart casuals, Massimo Dutti is more towards the mid-range and focused on the over-30s and over-40s, and Uterqüe, with mid-upper high-street prices, suits customers willing to spend more than the typical Zara shopper and looking for chic, tailored-looking, quality workwear and eveningwear, but who still want to retain a young-adult look.
Inditex is one of many clothing manufacturers seeking to 'mould' its pieces to the new demands for planet-friendly fashion, and Pull&Bear – including the 'Tate Art' collection – bears the 'Join Life' kitemark, showing they are made using sustainable methods and materials.
