Pullmantur Cruises has awarded Natalia Pestaña, a young designer from Madrid, to design new uniforms for the crew.

Pestaña was selected among 12 designers who participated in a competition organized by the cruise line, Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) in Madrid and Ad Talent, a platform dedicated to discovering, supporting and promoting new creative talent.

The designers presented proposals for uniforms for buffet, bar and restaurant waiters, cabin stewards as well as excursions, photography and animation staff.

The winner was announced at an event held at IED in Madrid.

President and CEO of Pullmantur, Richard J. Vogel, explained: “Collaborating with talented young designers has been a privilege and a very enriching experience, and one which is not yet over. The next step is to work hand-in-hand with Natalia Pestaña to bring her proposal to life and get her designs on board”.

Pestaña commented that winning the award was “a huge leap to introduce me to the world of design, opening doors not only in the field of fashion but also in occupational design.”

The winning design was chosen by a 13-member jury led by the Spanish designer Juanjo Oliva. They took into account three main criteria: how well the proposal reflected the identity of the brand, functionality and the wearability.

Pestaña received a three-month scholarship at Juanjo Oliva’s couture workshop and a “Dubai and Legends of Arabia” cruise for two people.

Also at this event, Gastrolab – Pullmantur’s gastronomic platform, headed up by the three Michelin starred chef Jordi Cruz, presented a new gala evening menu.

Cruz, together with Kristoffer Baek-Soerensen, head of the company’s food & beverage operations, and another of Gastrolab’s chefs, Adrià Viladomat, also hosted a cooking demonstration.

They prepared two of the dishes that will be part of the new gala menu, and which attendees were able to enjoy: sun-dried tomato tartar, frothy honey, basil oil, pickling salt, and ajoblanco of pistachios, grapes, croutons and rocket.