Spanish designer Antonio Miró dies at the age of 74

The Catalan couturier, designer and businessman Antonio Miró, a leader in the Spanish fashion industry, died this Thursday at the age of 74, as informed to Efe by sources close to the family.

According to these sources, Miró suffered a heart attack six days ago and since then was hospitalized in an induced coma from which he was not able to recover.

Born in Sabadell (Barcelona) in 1947 and the son of a tailor, Antonio Miró opened his first store in Barcelona's Rambla Catalunya, Groc, when he was only twenty years old. As a result of its success, he then went on to launch his own brand in 1979, with which he came to present his collections on many international catwalks, including Paris, Milan and New York.

One of the most important moments of his career came in 1992, when he was appointed the role of official designer of all the outfits for the ceremonies of the Barcelona Olympic Games. During the 1990s, a key decade in the expansion and consolidation of his creative projects, Antonio Miró joined forces with Ermenegildo Zegna, responsible for distributing the brand’s products.

After some time, the company proposed a franchise system, through which Cortefiel became the owner of the Antonio Miró Studio license. In 2007, the brand owned by the Tendam group tried to take over the Catalan firm, which finally sold 70% of its capital to the company Nuevos Valores Textiles, owned by the Catalan families Arquero and Nassia.

The versatile designer also made costume collections for theater, film and television, such as for "Carta al padre", by José Luis Gómez (Madrid 1984), "La muerte del escorpión" (1974) and "Ultimas tardes con Teresa" (1984), both by filmmaker Gonzalo Herralde; "Tatuaje" (1977), by Bigas Luna; and "El largo invierno" (1991), by Jaime Camino.

In addition to designing clothes, his brand diversified its product offerings to also include jewelry, accessories, perfumes, and furniture.

A career filled with awards

In 1988 he was awarded the Cristóbal Balenciaga prize for "best Spanish designer" and in 2000 he received the FAD medal for his professional career, awarded by the Industrial Design Association of the Promotion of Decorative Arts. He also received the "Antoni Gaudí, Moda Barcelona" Medal from the Gaudí Fashion Show in 2003.

Despite having been linked to the Gaudí Show in Barcelona for years, he was invited in 2009 to the then "Pasarela Cibeles de Madrid" (now MBFW Madrid) by its director, Cuca Solana.

Even after having disengaged from the fashion industry for years to instead focused on interior design, Antonio Miró still kept his firm active under the creative direction of Albert Villagrasa, who regularly presents his collections as part of the 080 Barcelona Fashion event.

Triana Alonso with EFE

Spanish designer Antonio Miró dies at the age of 74

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