Federico Antelo Granero is a visual artist, textile designer and educator

What happens if the creative process becomes the central point of design training? Federico Antelo Granero, visual artist, textile designer and current director of the fashion school at the Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) in Madrid, answers this question from his own practice. Trained in visual arts and with professional experience in the fashion industry, Antelo combines artistic practice with pedagogy that emphasizes reflection, personal exploration and student autonomy.

This interview is part of the “Teaching” series published by Fashionunited, in which we speak to fashion experts who, in addition to their career in the industry, also teach at renowned design universities. In this conversation, Antelo Granero reflects on the challenges of teaching without specifications, the role of artificial intelligence, the myths that remain in the fashion course, and the need to expand the professional horizon beyond traditional ways.

What is the biggest challenge in teaching and simultaneous work as an active specialist?

Undoubtedly to ensure that my aesthetics, my personal taste and my interests do not affect my lessons. Students often say to me: “You have to love the work of this person because she resembles you.” In general, this is not the case. I am more interested in things that have little to do with what I like or normally do, and I try to prevent my personal taste from influencing my evaluation or dealing with your work.

Do you think the fashion studies in your opinion prepares for success or only for survival?

Maybe that has to do with how we work here, but I would say neither of both. At least at the IED we help the students to realize their projects and interests. We have very different profiles. Some students want to work for a large fast-fashion brand or an international luxury label, others are more interested in projects that go towards art or individual pieces. Some focus on sustainability or on the preservation of traditional techniques and crafts – something that is particularly relevant here in Spain, where there is a rich cultural heritage in this area.

For us, success means bringing a project to life – not economical or commercial success.

What should the fashion students learn?

I think you should unlearn the idea that there is only one way – for example for brands or found your own label, which usually requires massive investments. We have to learn that there are many other possible models. Above all, we have to leave the idea that fashion is bound to ever faster cycles and disposable products.

This idea is associated with faster, cheap fashion. If we change this way of thinking, we can combine fashion with various consumption methods that match new project types. That is why I prefer to speak of ‘clothing’ or ‘clothing design’ because the word ‘fashion’ naturally implies transience, while ‘clothing’ is not tied to a time.

How do you help students find their own voice in such a saturated market?

In the course I teach, we do an exercise for hybridization, in which we combine fashion or clothing design with a different discipline, for example architecture, product design or furniture design. I ask you to think about a piece of clothing that arises from the fusion of these two worlds. We do not talk about typologies, because working beyond clothing opens up new ways and unexpected things.

We also do color exercises and look for unexpected combinations. This starts developing your own language.

Do you think that artificial intelligence could ever completely replace human participation in fashion studies?

No, luckily not. I remember the first time when I saw AI-generated pictures-whether fashion-drawn or not-they were impressive and exciting because they felt completely new. But then you come to a point where it becomes overwhelming and less interesting. I think AI will end up being exactly what it is: another tool to support the design. I don’t think she will replace the training – not at all.

Are there any myths from the fashion world that they try to refute in their courses?

I would say everyone. I think every ‘truth’ should be questioned, and I tell my students – at least as long as they are in a training environment. This is the moment to question absolutely everything.

For example: for summer you should wear certain colors and others for winter. I think that’s nonsense. Nevertheless, the industry adheres to these ‘truths’. Sure, there are logical reasons that are related to materials, but things like volume for a certain body type or certain colors for a certain season – these are myths that are worth being refuted.

If your studies could only remember one sentence or moment from your lessons in ten years, which one would that be?

I think it would be the word ‘process’. I always say: the process is important, not the result. For example, in the course that I teach – the creative process applied to collection design -, normally, to explain how we will work and to explain the structure in detail so that we can deviate later.

Often, after the very beginning, some students come to me with a smile and say that they already know what they want to do. I tell you: “We won’t do that.” My reason is: We will start lessons in September, and if you already know what you will hand in at the end of January, why should you go through October, November, December? I want you to know nothing until the moment you need to know. So it is also a matter of dealing with the fear of ignorance until the work develops itself.

And that is a process for me. Even if the result is bad – because the materials have failed or the structure did not work – it doesn’t matter. We always document the process, and that is what is most important in this subject.