Adlib Fashion

The history of Adlib Fashion is linked to traditional Ibizan clothing. Thus, the straw hats, the esparto grass slippers and the women's shawls, present in the clothing of the islands are part of its inspiration.

The 1st Ibiza Fashion Week was born in 1971 with the arrival of the hippie movement to the Pitiusas, whose native style made newcomers fall in love with it, who wanted to highlight the delicacy of these naturally coarse and handcrafted materials. The multiculturalism of the island, full of artists and visitors from all corners of the world, merged with the local fashion and with the traditional Ibizan costumes that became lighter, adapting to these new trends to give rise to the Adlib Fashion. Its name was coined by one of its creators, José Colomar, who was the vice-president of the Promotion of Tourism in Ibiza at the time, an entity that, together with the Chamber of Commerce, supported and consolidated a brand that was born under the Latin expression "ad libitum", which means "freedom".

The Yugoslavian "princess" Smilja Mihailovitch played a fundamental role as an ambassador of this new style throughout the world. Smilja found in Ibiza a free woman of natural beauty, fresh and authentic, who inspired natural designers from Ibiza and other corners of Europe to create lightweight, pure white pieces, hand-embroidered and with enough movement to highlight the woman's body.

Ibizan fashion positioned itself, almost without knowing it, as an alternative to the imposed style and tyranny of the garments that flooded the industry of the time. A spirit that made thousands of young people fall in love with it, who fought with new, fresh and personal airs against the traditional and sober designers that they considered. Its arrival also meant the creation of many jobs among women on the islands who saw in that birth an industrial explosion that allowed them for the first time to become economically independent and have their own economic resources.

The freshness and originality of these garments maintain this line intact today, although they are renewed every year by the designers who bring this catwalk to life. After more than 45 years, every summer the Adlib Catwalk returns to dazzle Ibizans, tourists and foreigners for its fusion with the hippie style, for its respect for the natural forms of the body, for its comfort, the basis of its essence, and for having achieved, with much effort, a timeless fashion style based on the same philosophy: "dress as you like but with style".

More info at Descubre Ibiza