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To celebrate Dickies SS25 campaign, starring and captured by Raisa Abal, we sit down with the multidisciplinary artist.

Raisa Abal appears on-screen, in a dimly lit hotel room, wearing a baggy skate t-shirt. It’s 9pm in Bulgaria, yet the founder of Dolores Magazine has quickly found time to sneak in a call within her busy travel schedule. A lot has been happening for the photographer: newly announced as the face of a global Dickies SS25 campaign, the skateboarder has used her platform to champion a couple of her key beliefs: community and timeless style. 

 

Much like Dickies‘ new campaign, Raisa draws inspiration from her environment, whether that be scouring for the right subject to photograph or the precise moment to share opportunities with her fellow creatives. Her ambition is simple – to keep moving and to be as authentic as possible. Dickies new durable line of clothes are exactly the same. The iconic American workwear brand blends sleek style and silhouettes to suit the needs of dynamic modern professionals, no matter the time of year.

Raisa Abal’s career as a multi-hyphenate talent has spanned everything from sports, to culture, to design, she tells us: “I’m from the north of Spain but I moved to Barcelona 10 years ago. I always took pictures of my friends at the skate parks and doing street missions that involved skateboarding and then after moving from my university studies, I started skateboarding as well, because nobody could judge me at that moment.” As she found solace in skate culture and photography, Raisa travelled and continued to take photos of the things around her. “When I moved to Barcelona, I used to take a few pictures of the girls. When I used to live in France, I took pictures of the girls skating at the park and the guys but when I moved to Barcelona, I started to take pictures every day of the girls in the streets, skate bars, and everywhere.”

 

By 2019, Raisa Abal had created Dolores magazine, a thriving skate magazine centred on women and gender minorities in skateboarding. “I studied a four-year degree in audio-visual communication and then I did a post-degree that was digital photography and digital design applied to textile design for six months,” she explains. “I did my master’s in advertising art direction and my final project was a magazine.” With over 50,000 followers online, Dolores newly turned six years old, living true to its slogan: “always on a mission”.

 

Looking back on her career, Abal is proud to be part of a campaign rooted in relatability and forward-thinking style. We caught up with the creative to hear more about her involvement in Dickies SS25 collection, what she’s learned from the skate scene and more.

How did you get involved with Dickies and their new SS25 campaign? 

Steffi [Dickies’ Brand Marketing Intern] hit me up, it was all authentic. Normally people hit me up for Dolores magazine, with the magazine being an edgy thing. I asked Katia [Dickies’ Digital Marketing Manager] and Steffi like five times why do you want to talk about me! I do things always so automatically that I don’t understand why people are interested in them. I like what I do and I just do it, because I like it and I want to do it, but you want to hear about this? 

What does it feel it to be recognised as a summer icon by a brand so beloved by skaters?

The Dickies campaign is a full-circle moment. There were no Dickies at all in the deep of my hometown in Galicia, the north of Spain. So when I moved to Barcelona, we used to have this thrift shop, Flamingo, next to MACBA where you could buy Dickies and the price depending on the weight. We had the number of the girl working there so every time some new stuff came, she would call us and we’d go straight there. When Steffi reached out about the campaign it was really nice because I don’t think there are a lot of women in the industry involved in a core brand like Dickies. It’s all felt organic. Everybody involved in the campaign wears Dickies, we didn’t have to fake it.

What are the key things you’ve learned from your time as a creative? 

There are days that I get so frustrated and sometimes I really feel that I don’t have patience. But, actually, I think I’m filled with patience. I don’t know how to explain it. I don’t feel that I learned a lot of things but you learn a bit every day. After four years, you learn something… It’s a long journey and everybody has different visions. Sometimes you try to do your best for everybody, but they don’t feel the same. So when Steffi hit me up for the campaign, I could have done the work all by myself, but I’d rather spend the whole budget and involve 13 people to work like my friends and give them opportunities because if it’s just me doing the stuff alone, it doesn’t make any sense

How did this campaign challenge you and help you grow?

Sometimes, it’s feels like imposter syndrome. Sometimes it’s like ‘do I deserve this?’ Because, for the outside world, it’s never enough. So with Dickies, when Katia and Steffi proposed it, it felt natural and really organic. I could involve whoever I wanted. I didn’t have to act. It was like: let’s go escape, let’s film and let’s take pictures.

What’s your favourite Dickies style?

We did the SS25 shoot with a white t-shirt, khaki pants or the black boxy shirt with beige pants that are really, really easy. Easy to wear, easy to trust, and reliable. 

What advice do you have the future creatives who struggle to see change in the creative industry? 

​​Even if sometimes it can get a bit frustrating, you always can turn it around and make it better. Even if it’s not tomorrow, after some time, it will always work out, but you have to never stop. The price is that you can never stop. I don’t know how you guys got to your work and your roles in the whole industry, but sometimes it’s crazy where life takes you. It does suddenly happen: now my face is on the Dickies website!

Shop the new SS25 collection online here.