Regina Polanco

90% of Mauritania, the African country where Regina Polanco (Vienna, 1991), spent most of her adolescence, is in the Sahara Desert. In that area, where the melhfa—a garment designed to protect against the sun and sandstorms—is a wardrobe staple, young Regina understood that clothing needs to be in conversation with the environment. After a nomadic life—she is a daughter of diplomats—, she settled in Madrid to study Law but soon set her sights on the textile industry and detected an opportunity in the lack of natural fibres. In the second most polluting industry in the world, dominated by synthetic materials, she made a bet on natural fibres which coalesced into PYRATEX. Her fabrics, created using flowers, seaweed, plants, fruit peels and organic waste, not only combine quality and durability, but also protect the skin and take care of the environment. Regina explains that this goes beyond sustainability: “We hardly ever use the word sustainable, we talk more about responsible materials. Our starting point is replacing synthetic fibres with alternatives of natural origin, either recycled or regenerative, minimising the impact on water and energy consumption and emissions, and working with traceable and certified local supply chains.” Her efforts were rewarded at the 12^th edition of the Premios Mujeres a Seguir (MAS)—sponsored by Iberia—in the Entrepreneurship category. PYRATEX’s work has a lot to do with perseverance and commitment, virtues that Regina associates with talent: “Today talent is understanding the impact of what we do, taking responsible decisions and being willing to work on what is invisible, on what takes time. That is the type of talent that will transform the industry: not the loudest, but rather the most consistent.”

You are the daughter of diplomats and spent part of your adolescence in Africa, specifically Mauritania. Do you believe those roots have influenced your outlook on fashion?
Mauritania is one of the hottest countries in the world, and yes, that had a big impact on my view of fashion. That is where I understood that clothing needs to be in conversation with the environment: we invented it to protect ourselves. Living in a place where nature and its effects are felt so directly made me understand that fashion cannot be superficial. For me, clothing is, above all, a tool to take care of the body and, at the same time, respect the planet.

How did a Law student end up creating sustainable fabrics? What inspired you and how did you notice this opportunity?
Even though I didn’t end up working in Law, it gave me a great foundation: it is everywhere and is a powerful tool to understand how a business works and how industries are regulated. It also allowed me to analyse the textile industry from the outside, through an objective lens, and see that it wasn’t progressing at the same rate as other sectors such as the food or cosmetics industries. I started looking for functional fabrics, the ones we use every day, made with natural instead of synthetic fibres. When I discovered they didn’t exist, I understood that there was a real opportunity for change. That need inspired me to create PYRATEX.

“For me, clothing is, above all, a tool to take care of the body and, at the same time, respect the planet”

You have developed fabrics out of Kapok flowers, seaweed from the North Atlantic Ocean, plants like bamboo or nettles, agricultural waste, banana fibres or fruit peels. How do such bold ideas come to you?
We only work with raw materials that can be scaled up and become the clothing of the future. We listen to nature, science and brands, but always ask ourselves: can this be produced at a large scale and improve what already exists? That is how the fabric made with orange peel we developed with LOEWE came about, for example: using an abundant byproduct and turning it into a fibre that can be integrated into the industry. The same with our latest project in the Red Sea, where we transform a local problem, the excess of a type of seaweed—Sargassum—, into an opportunity. For us, inspiration comes when we find a natural resource or waste material with the potential to turn into a raw material for the clothing of tomorrow. That is our starting point.

PYRATEX citrea 1, a fabric made from recycled orange peel during 2025. © Pyratex

Advancement through nature inspires work at PYRATEX. © Pyratex

Previous Next

Your fabrics are not only better for the planet, but also for the body. What type of benefits are we talking about?
We design fabrics that preserve the natural properties of the fibres so that, as well as reducing their environmental impact, they add real functionality to the garment. Many of them can help take care of your skin, regulate your temperature or protect against UV rays… I’m still surprised there’s no real culture of fabric when we wear clothes against our skin all day.

“Talent isn’t something that suddenly appears, it is cultivated. I see it more in people who work hard and persevere than those who shine bright for a single day”

The jump from the lab to the shops is not easy, since around 70% of the experiments you begin get lost along the way. Has knowing how to manage frustration given you strength?
In the world of textile innovation, the fact that 70% of experiments don’t work out is part of the process. What’s important is to turn each failure into a measurable lesson. As a team, it has forced us to be flexible and resilient, to celebrate both the wins and the fails and to design processes that allow us to fail quickly and improve even faster. That is where our brand culture resides, which transcends the product and emerges in each gesture, collaboration and conversation.

Fashion is the second most polluting industry in the world. Are garments made with sustainable fabrics required to reduce that impact?
If fashion wants to reduce its impact it cannot limit itself to changing aesthetics, it needs to transform the materials used to produce most garments. Fabrics that are easier to trace and have a smaller impact are no longer just nice to have, they are a pressing need but also a huge opportunity to stand out by adding value with products that are better designed and made, as well as more long-lasting, inspiring the consumer to purchase quality.

Regina Polanco, winner of the Premio MAS Emprendimiento, poses alongside Monserrat Vicente (left) and María Lizárraga (right). © Courtesy of MAS

During your speech at the MAS awards ceremony, you declared that “it is very hard to change things in the fashion industry.” When you say this, are you thinking of the companies or the consumers?
Changing an industry that has been using synthetics for decades is not easy because it means overhauling entire business models. Businesses have the responsibility to offer better alternatives that are simple for the consumer, providing clear information. Today, there is a gap between actions and what is communicated. We work hard to share those efforts, but we also need people to demand more transparency and quality, because that pressure accelerates transformation.

How do you imagine the future of fashion, and which is the biggest challenge the industry is facing? Do you have a dream you would like to see come true?
I imagine a future where textiles help you to live better and for longer. Where each person, whatever their skin type or place of residence, uses fabrics that adapt to their reality. I visualise fashion where the fact that a garment is made with environmentally friendly materials is no longer news, that it is the rule and not the exception. That is where the real challenge lies: transforming the foundations of the system, from materials to production, to the volumes and the way we measure the success of a collection. My dream is that, in a few years, most garments incorporate natural, recycled or regenerative fibres, and for PYRATEX to continue being one of those silent driving forces that makes that possible through fabric. I also hope for greater collaboration between science, industry and regulation, so that innovating in this direction is not a heroic act, but simply the logical path for any brand.

As a young woman leading a textile innovation business, what is your vision of talent?
Talent isn’t something that suddenly appears, it is cultivated. I see it more in people who work hard and persevere than those who shine bright for a single day. In this fast-paced world where we easily get bored, true talent lies in those who progress step by step, with patience and discipline. At my company, I particularly value people who don’t give up when faced with difficulty, who persevere, improve, listen, learn… The ability to commit to a goal and sustain it over time is important.