“We have more talent than we think”: Rosa Tous and Roberto Verino advocate for Spanish fashion

As if they were two travelers coinciding on the same flight, and in adjacent seats, Rosa Tous Oriol and Roberto Verino settle into their chairs prepared to have one of those endless conversations between two possible soulmates. In this case, belonging to the universe of Spanish fashion. After a first exchange of impressions – the Galician designer is interested in the jeweler’s parents, the popular Rosa Oriol and Salvador Tous, now retired – the course of the conversation unfolds with a connection and affection that only two people with the same way of approaching their profession can share: with passion, enthusiasm, and respect for the client.

Read more The 200 euro ant: the new loot of smuggling in East Africa

We are facing two key names in the world of fashion and jewelry in our country in recent decades. On one hand, Rosa Tous Oriol (Manresa, 1966), gemologist, third generation at Tous and current corporate vice president of the century-old firm whose origin dates back to 1920 in Manresa. On the other, Manuel Roberto Mariño Fernández, better known as Roberto Verino (Verín, 1945), and founder in 1982 of the eponymous firm in which generational succession is also a fact, through his grandson Iago Jover, who joined in 2024 as director of Innovation.

The conversation between both creators, references in the democratization of designer fashion, emotional luxury, and craftsmanship, follows converging paths to the same destination. And that is none other than the absolute defense of the talent of Spanish fashion and also the importance of what they define as the theory of the 3 T’s: work, work, and work.

Furthermore, the Galician creator demands more pride from Spanish firms. “In the face of the snobbery that has always existed thinking that foreign things were better, it is time to believe in our work. We have the same or greater capacity to prove it. We are a country that has gone from being insignificant to having some of the most important companies and distribution in the world. When are we going to believe it?” he reflects. And he insists that “we have a lot of talent. But they want us more outside than inside. We need to feel more pride, and not only when we win at football, which sometimes seems like the only important thing,” he assures with some irony.

Rosa Tous agrees from an optimistic perspective. “We are at a moment where we have a lot of talent and very good training. Fashion in Spain is in crescendo with new brands, surprising projects…,” she assures, and highlights transparency as one of the current keys of the sector they share. “Opening our heart, our home, and letting others see the insides of what we do and how we do it so that others can appreciate our work. We are not aware, but people are very surprised to see those insides. Because behind every garment or jewel there are hands, a craft, talent, innovation, and a lot of work and passion,” explains the Catalan gemologist.

Verino agrees and adds another aspect: enthusiasm. He assures that nothing is achieved without focus, project, ideal, or values. “An enthusiasm that makes you overcome all adversities that we have never let stop us. Not only because of what this country has meant, where we have walked a lot. Also because we have magnificent capabilities,” he encourages.

The Galician also talks about coherence and, of course, sustainability, a concept he already introduced into the DNA of his firm more than four decades ago. “The best sustainability is to buy rationally what is of good quality and lasts over time.” Rosa, completely agreeing, explains this concept, that of sustainability, from the perspective of Tous jewelry: “They used to be only for celebrating special moments, and they still have that sentimental character. But my mother transformed jewelry into a mode of self-expression so that they could be worn from day to night. In accessories that last over time, accompany, and help the wearer feel good.”

“For us,” continues Rosa Tous referring to her sisters Alba, Laura, and Marta, “the best is always yet to come. My parents have been very demanding all their lives. Even today, my father still says ‘girls, you have to improve’,” she assures with laughter. “Well, for a father, his children will always be kids,” the Galician creator also jokes. And he resumes the conversation with a wish: “Let’s continue in that search for excellence.” And satisfaction?

Read more The prestigious Catalan luthier who saw his career threatened by a rare disease

Does it exist in a world as demanding as fashion? “I am horrified when they ask me if I am satisfied,” assures the creator. “Never! That word does not exist in my dictionary. I will be happy, but never satisfied. The day you say you are satisfied, what do you have left to do?” “I also believe in ambition, a word sometimes misunderstood, but that is very good, it helps to pursue your dreams,” comments Tous. “Exactly,” agrees Verino. “It is that ambition that tries to make others happy and make the world better.”

Within the global vocation, in the personal and professional field of our characters, there is a very special scenario: Aena airports (and many others around the world). Places that have become almost a second home at times, and that for Roberto Verino are magical. “And a clear reflection of the prevailing modernity and globality,” adds Rosa Tous.

For the Galician creator, the waiting times between trips have their advantages. “Many different people pass by, it serves me to get inspired. In a short time, you can see many cultures, many ways of understanding life and, above all, many ways of dressing.” Rosa Tous believes these scenarios have also transformed “into small very pleasant spaces, where you feel good. They have also become places of distraction, with all the services offered, such as shops, restaurants… They are perfect spaces. I buy a lot at airports,” admits the gemologist.

“I also love shopping! And visiting the shops, in the end, is also a form of work,” agrees the creator. Both firms, Tous and Roberto Verino, also have airport stores. Locations that enjoy a very special type of clientele that the Catalan gemologist differentiates into two clear typologies. On one hand, there is “those who take advantage of that time to enter and discover new things, observe and buy something if it catches their attention. It has an emotional character, living the experience.” And there is also a client “more executive, who enters out of necessity, because they have to bring a gift or buy something for the destination of their trip.”

The veteran creator adds new reflections about the fact that so many different people coincide in such a specific place. “I find it very charming what it can mean for so many people to become, at a very specific moment, unexpected travel companions.” And Rosa Tous, for whom spending hours at airports also consists of “moments of reflection and observation,” recognizes another way to entertain herself: “I pay a lot of attention to the jewelry people wear,” she assures. “And I to how they dress!” laughs the Galician designer.

Tous also confesses that she loves “to look at people and think that each one has their life, what they are going to do, where they are going.” Verino, in another sign that they are the perfect travel companions, supports this idea of fantasizing about so many other lives in transit. And he concludes: “You almost become a screenwriter.”

Read more Was the grandfather a Nazi?