It was launched a few weeks ago with the intention of celebrating democratic values ​​and, especially, bringing them closer to new generations. But as it has gained notoriety and traction, Dmocracia, the capsule collection created by España en Libertad – the platform with which the Government is commemorating five decades of democracy in our country – has generated a deep debate in the business ecosystem.

The garments, as noted at the time, were presented under the concept “When you dress, you position yourself” with the intention of encouraging people to feel democratic values ​​as their own, claim them and defend them. The action, in which we worked together with the creative director and Madrid artist Bnomio, was inspired by the values ​​and emotional attributes associated with fashion to launch the institutional message and by the idea of ​​clothing as a symbol of expression and identity.

“The clothes you choose every morning in your closet also speak about who you are, what you think and what you defend.“, they explained from Spain in Libertad when presenting the collection. “In the face of stereotypes about ‘young people’, Dmocracy, is an invitation for no one to decide for you.”.

It communicated with an audiovisual piece filmed in the Congress of Deputies, as well as through collaborations with content portals, such as Code New; and influencers and content creators popular among the target audience, such as Sara Fructuoso or Marina Rivers.

This is a limited edition that España en Libertad has offered through a raffle between June 22 and 29. To win the clothes, those interested had to follow the Instagram profile, like the contest post and share the publication in their stories. 20 complete Dmocracy kits were raffled off.

The action has been part of a broader strategy that, among other things, includes the “Democracy is your power” campaign, designed by the agency Contrapunto BBDO and launched last November; or the creation of the song “You are a Democrat and you don’t know it,” created by Trafalgar 13 Music Studio and composer Toni M. Mir. In addition, España en Libertad has also had a program of cultural activities, conferences, exhibitions, workshops and informative initiatives.

Criticism of democracy

But to the extent that Dmocracia has its own identity and personality attributes, it has been understood by many as a brand in itself and, in this regard, it has raised criticism from businessmen and entrepreneurs, who have questioned the use of public money for the positioning and promotion of a specific brand.

Juan Fernández-Estrada, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Blue Banana, has been one of them. In public comments through networks he has shared his entrepreneurship experience, pointing out that for years he has worked to build the company, paying taxes, reinvesting and generating jobs; and has questioned the Government’s initiative.

“Like ours, there are hundreds of brands in Spain that fight every day to get ahead in such a complex and competitive sector. And anyone who has started a business knows how difficult it is to access financing, obtain aid or survive the fiscal and administrative burden.“; he has expressed. “That is why it seems so unfair to me that everyone’s public money is used to position a brand in a market in which there are already hundreds of private companies trying to gain a foothold.”.

And he adds: “Because it is one thing to set up a clothing brand with your money and the goal of connecting with new generations, as a few of us have achieved thanks to our effort and talent. And it is quite another to use a fashion brand to, with public money, convey a message with a political intention to young people.”.
He has also highlighted his desire for the funds to be used to support the self-employed, SMEs and entrepreneurs. “that, with so many difficulties, we fight every day to move our projects forward“.

Fernández-Estrada’s position has been supported by dozens of businessmen, the vast majority from the textile and fashion industries, in responses to his publication. “It is difficult for me to understand that a Government decides to compete with the citizens themselves who support that sector with their work and their taxes. The role of institutions should not be to create brands, but to create the conditions so that brands can be born, grow and compete on equal opportunities.”; commented, for example, Virginia Sánchez Rucabado, Founder of Misia, a creative studio specialized in fashion for employees.

The Government’s response

Others, however, consider that Dmocracia is not a brand and have pointed out the ambiguity of the headlines in some media outlets. In light of the debate generated, from España en Libertad they have issued a statement in which they assure that Dmocracy is “a communication campaign under the language of fashion”.

“Dmocracia is not a new clothing brand, as has been said in some media, but rather a communication campaign that has had a wide echo on social networks.“, they explain. “Although it uses the same language as a clothing brand, it is not. The garments are not for sale: a limited number of units have been produced that will be used throughout the year in the events and events of the España en Libertad program.”.

They also share that in three weeks it has reached more than 4.2 million views on social networks of ’50 in freedom’; and has reached more than 600,000 people, more than 75% of them under 35 years of age. All of this, they say, without advertising payment to the Meta or TikTok platforms and with a cost that, according to what they indicate, is well below 50% of the average for institutional campaigns in recent years.
They also point out that the photo session for the launch of the collection, held in the Congress of Deputies, was approved by the Congress Board.

“Fashion, like music, video games, series or movies, is one of the languages ​​that young citizens understand most directly.“, they have commented from the platform. “And fashion is also undoubtedly another element of political communication and values ​​today. In Dmocracy the medium is the message, uniting background and surface: everything we wear communicates a certain way of placing ourselves before the world”.

The budget of the initiative has been another point of friction. According to the EFE agency, the Secretary of State for Democratic Memory has shared that the maximum budget for the “Dmocracy” communication campaign is 386,000 euros. Specifically, the dissemination on social networks would have had a budget of 193,900 euros; while the production costs would have been 185,215 euros. The latter would have been distributed between 112,783 euros for the production of these garments; 59,680 euros for photo sessions; 10,000 euros for design and advice; and 2,752 euros for warehouse, shipping and cards.
The total budget for the complete ‘Spain in Freedom’ project amounts to 14.6 million euros.