Stitching fashion and ethics: Interview with Marián Pérez (Lori Barcelona)
His designs bring together art, illustration and the world of children that he is so passionate about with an impeccable business ethic and commitment.
For Marián Pérez, the essence of Lori Barcelonaher local and sustainable fashion brand, is above all "the love for things well done and for the magic of all of us". In her designs, art, illustration and the children's universe that she is so passionate about come together with an impeccable business ethic and commitment: she always uses 100% recycled fabrics from plastic bottles and all the manufacturing and tailoring is local. Follow @loribarcelona on Instagram and find out more about his creative process and inspiration in this interview.
Tell us about yourself and your work. Where did your vocation start? Any first memories?
I am a graphic designer by profession but since I was a child I have always liked to play with sewing (I used to spend my summers cross-stitching in my mother's village and embroidering drawings on the trousers of my classmates at the Massana School). A long time later, as a mother, I found myself looking for fabrics to make a backpack for Rita, my eldest daughter, who was beginning to play with sounds and kept on repeating lori lori lori lori... hence the name of the brand Lori Barcelona.
What do you find most satisfying about your work, and is there anything you are particularly proud of?
Creative freedom and the satisfaction of doing something I really like. I put a lot of enthusiasm into everything I do, and despite all the drawbacks of being an entrepreneurial mother, the appreciation of customers is a great reward to keep me motivated. Lori is a brand that is linked to art and I really enjoy collaborating with local artists and illustrators to create and design the prints. They all have very different styles but are all about colour, which is what I love the most. But what I am really passionate about is designing personalised prints with the children's drawings, where memories and moments to give as gifts are generated that are very special.
What is your creative process like, what are your sources of inspiration, any particular music while working?
Everything inspires me, social networks, shop windows, people, colours... and I see patterns in all the drawings. I usually listen to Radio 3 if I don't need to concentrate too much, but sometimes I need to work without music because I start dancing straight away and the time goes by. I'm lucky that my neighbours across the street are musicians and sometimes they rehearse at home. Then I open the windows and enjoy listening to them.
Favourite colour, book, film and record - in that order! ;D
I love green and yellow but I came back from France this summer crazy about Klein blue.
One book I loved was Middlesexby Jeffrey Eugenides.
In terms of films, a lot: Broken Flowers by Jim Jarmush, The Lord of the Ringsby Peter Jackson, Fantastic Mr. Foxby Wes Anderson, Back toby Pedro Almodóvar, Snatch, Pigs and Diamondsby Guy Ritchie, City of Godby Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, Moon by Duncan Jones... There are so many...
I don't have a favourite album, I have favourite songs and I wouldn't know which one to choose: I listen to everything from Raphael, Manel, Marisa Monte, Arnaldo Antunes, Leonard Cohen to Andrew Bird, Faith No More, Cypress Hill, Fugazi, Rosalía, Natalia Lafourcade...
Is your home a reflection of who you are? Tell us what it smells like, your favourite corner, your favourite decorative object or piece of furniture, if you treasure a collection...
I think so! I live with my partner and my two daughters in a rented house in the centre of Barcelona, with no cars and a private terrace that is a jewel. The house is full of paintings and beautiful objects inherited and found that remind us of stories. I take advantage of the fact that my partner has an engineering degree and in the workshop they make prototypes for me to make things to measure at home, I really like to take advantage of small spaces and make them my own. I have a mini corner to work in that I love. What I like most is the big terrace we have, where we spend a lot of time. If I didn't have it, I would be going to live in the country, in a little house with a pool and a garden.
If you could buy anything right now and take it home, what would it be? Anything!
A swimming pool!
A great plan at home always includes...
Being on the terrace.
Do you have a signature dish?
I don't know how to make elaborate dishes. My mother still brings me tuppers so I don't put much effort into cooking, but the baked pasties come out very tasty 🙂
Where is your favourite place in your city and abroad?
There's a block in Barcelona's Raval neighbourhood, the one that goes from Ramelleres street to Macba and the CCCB, that I love. I happened to study near there, at the Massana School, then I worked for a while at the CCCB and later I ended up living on the same block for 10 years. There are several courtyards, old buildings that connect with each other, a beautiful passageway that leads to a school, the La Central bookshop and, for the last few years, its cafeteria, which I find a paradise. Outside I don't know, I still have so many places to go... but I always want to go back somewhere in Latin America, and although I think about going to Portugal, I usually end up going to France 😉.
Anything you want to tell us that we haven't asked you, speak now or forever hold your peace!
I would like to take this opportunity to explain that Lori Barcelona uses 100% recycled fabrics from plastic bottles and all manufacturing and tailoring is local, something I am very proud of.
