Barcelona prepares to merge high fashion with high-tech resistance at an event prioritising digital privacy. On 13 March 2026, the city’s Canòdrom innovation centre will host an anti-AI fashion runway, showcasing clothing specifically designed to confuse and block facial recognition systems.
Your browser does not support the video tag.
This event forms a central feature of the sixth annual 8M conference, a day of activities marking International Women’s Day. El Canòdrom and the technology and gender advocacy group DigitalFems organise the conference, whose theme is «Music and Technology in the Open Stands» (Música y Tecnología en las Gradas Abiertas). According to Barcelona Secreta, this initiative uses creativity as a form of self-defence against rising digital control and public surveillance.
A Creative Defence Against Digital Surveillance
The venue itself is a symbol of Barcelona’s evolution. El Canòdrom, an iconic piece of 1960s rationalist architecture in the Nou Barris district, has transformed from a historic greyhound racing track into a public hub for digital and democratic innovation. Its open terraces will serve as the backdrop for a day dedicated to challenging the unseen biases and intrusive nature of modern technology.
The anti-AI fashion show is the day’s main event, presenting a collection of garments that merge a cyberpunk aesthetic with the practical need to protect personal data. These pieces are not just conceptual; they feature patterns, materials, and shapes intended to make wearers invisible or unidentifiable to algorithms powering thousands of surveillance cameras in public spaces.
The Cyberpunk Runway
Roquetes Fashion Week, a community-based initiative in the Les Roquetes neighbourhood, developed the collection in collaboration with city-wide community workshops. This grassroots approach underscores the event’s focus on empowering citizens to reclaim their digital rights and personal image.
Acclaimed science fiction author Sandra Miralles will host the runway. Her work often explores themes of technology, control, and freedom, linking the speculative futures of sci-fi with the tangible challenges of today’s increasingly monitored society.
Beyond the Runway: Workshops and Activism
Beyond the runway, the conference features a hands-on workshop titled «Reprogramar el Canon» (Reprogramming the Canon). This session invites activists and artists to intervene in the digital archives and metadata from which artificial intelligence systems learn. The objective is to actively correct the gender, racial, and class biases often invisibly embedded in algorithms. Participants will then collaborate to create a collective fanzine, proposing new visual narratives for a more equitable digital future.
As the sun sets, the day will culminate in a performance by the HALAL collective called «Hackeando el cistema» (Hacking the Cis-tem). The piece will use music and performing arts to advocate for safe spaces for queer Arab identities, free from colonial and prejudicial perspectives. The celebration will continue with DJ sets from Zubia and Kleo La Faraona, turning the dance floor into a space for political expression.
The event highlights Barcelona’s dual role as a city that both embraces and critically examines the role of technology in urban life. While the Ajuntament de Barcelona explores tech-driven civic solutions, from anti-heatstroke bracelets for city workers to pioneering medical procedures like the implantation of the world’s smallest pacemaker, community-led initiatives like this one provide a vital counter-narrative, questioning who technology truly serves.
All activities at El Canòdrom are free to enter until the venue’s capacity is reached. This offers an open invitation for everyone to engage with one of our time’s most pressing issues: the right to privacy in the digital age.
