I was born in Barcelona twenty-four years ago and have been living in London for four. I need to be constantly creating and finding new ways of expressing myself. This year, I’ve started playing around with fabrics and ultimately designing a small collection for my new brand, Clan. Fashion photography is still my main practice but I want to find a balance between that and designing, as for me they go hand in hand.   

Mariona and I have known each other for a long time now. In the past year, we’ve worked together on a few creative projects that proved us we make a good team. Funnily enough, my mum was the one that initially had the idea of printing my images on fabric. I started playing around with them and I knew there was something there I wanted to explore further.
Mariona, who had gained some knowledge on pattern-making and sewing by that time, helped me to materialise those first ideas. With probably more excitement than fear, and having always been surrounded by fashion, it felt like a natural step to take. I’ve always wanted to design my own clothes, as sometimes I wanted something very specific that I couldn’t find anywhere. And I’m taking this opportunity to do so.

My mother’s family has worked in the elastic textile industry for three generations; it all started thanks to my great-grandmother, who used to work in a small weaving factory back in the ‘40s. She then met my great-grandfather and together decided to start running a small factory in their house. My grandfather took the lead when they passed away and established the first factory in Spain.
On the other hand, my grandmother (from my father’s side) made her way into fashion by creating her own swimwear brand. She has always been a big inspiration to me in many ways and I’ve been lucky enough to see her designing since I was a kid. So I guess all this familiar baggage has finally emerged in me! On a more sentimental note, I know my grandfather would have loved his grandchildren to follow in his steps. So for me, starting this brand is a way of keeping the tradition alive and honouring his legacy.

Portraiture has been part of my personal work for a long time now. I find there’s something mysterious and evoking in faces, so it made sense to incorporate them in the first collection. At one point, I started paying more attention to specific features from people’s faces and this exploration translated into my portraits. This way, the prints of the garments become an extension of that investigation on the human face, creating an interesting effect when placed in the body.

It is a brand for women, designed by women questioning the industry’s male-dominated perception on fashion and femininity. We value ease and aesthetics a lot and we want to find a meeting point between these two. All the fabrics we use are stretch fabrics that were first used in swimwear and women’s underwear, helping to enhance the figure of the woman.

Clan, among other definitions, is defined as a group of people of common descent. We wanted the brand to evoke this idea, and it also sounded powerful to us. There are many sides to a woman and we want to explore that. Clan is designed for a woman who is bold, carefree and, lastly, confident in her own body.

Shouldn’t it be a priority for all brands? We simply think new generations have this responsibility and should be aware of the dramatic impact of fashion production nowadays. We are currently producing our first capsule collection, which is all handmade and is being produced by a friend of ours, Vera, who is a seamstress.

The models in the campaign are women that inspired us and somehow embody Clan’s values in multiple ways. Of course, showing diversity is something important for us. It has been naturally incorporated in the first campaign and it is our aim to keep it like that and explore it further.

We are working step by step at the moment and enjoying the process of starting a brand. We see Clan developing and designing new collections. We are currently building up a team with energetic and creative people to work with.