MADRID, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- The 56th edition of the Madrid Fashion Week kicked off here on Thursday.
The six-day event will see a total of 41 of the top Spanish designers present their new collections for the spring and summer of 2013 on the catwalks in the IFEMA exhibition center in Madrid.
Meanwhile, a further 20 up-and-coming designers will also show their creations in the event.
Organizers of the 56th edition of the former Pasarela Cibeles, which is now known as the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, hope to build on the success of the 55th edition held in February.
That event saw over 50,000 visitors, including buyers, press and guests. It also attracted huge coverage in the media with over 1,400 journalists, writers and fashion bloggers following the shows.
But facing rising concerns over Spain's capability to overcome its financial difficulties on its own, it is unclear how the most famous of Spain's clothes designers will react.
Will designers such as Jesus del Pozo adapt to the atmosphere of crisis by producing toned-down and austere collections, or will they react by producing bright flamboyant clothes in an attempt to banish the economic blues?
These questions will all be answered over the coming days and the answer is most certain to be entertaining.