For me, fashion represents much more than my profession – it is my lifestyle; how I conceive the world and how I decide to live in it…

My roots are Spanish, specifically from Galicia. I currently live in the city of A Coruña, in the northwest of Spain. After 20 years living abroad, I returned 7 years ago. This city offers me tranquility and daily contact with nature.

I have been interested in fashion since I was a child. As a teenager, I travelled to many design fairs across Europe with my mother, who is an interior designer. Those experiences fired up a passion in me, and a sense of belonging – a place that spoke a language with which I identified and felt comfortable.

My work evolves daily. I always say that a collection is the evolution of the previous one. There is no drastic break between collections, but they grow with me, they accompany me in my development as a person, and that is reflected in my evolution as a designer. I do not conceive a separation between my work and my essence as a person and a woman.

The challenges of the vocation are related to the goals you set for yourself – they speak to your ambitions and level of demand. The higher the goal, the greater the challenges you may encounter, and therein lies great learning. The greatest reward is the enjoyment of creating, experimenting, and communicating.

Everything can be an inspiration – the important thing is to have an open mind and vision to be receptive to everything that we experience in our daily lives. Most of my inspiration comes from my own personal and cultural interests. However, there is another important part of the process; my subconscious, my inner personal work, and everything that arises from a more spiritual element. Then comes the perspiration, the actual work itself.

Change is constant in fashion, and even more so today, where two apparently opposite currents coexist; one is the return to a more artisan, manual, and high-quality modality of work – which preserves essential trades in this sector that were almost forgotten – and the other is the emergence of the virtual fashion model, which is conceptual and intended for the virtual world only. I believe that both could nurture each other.

Currently I am focused on the illustration of my fashion creations, where I am better able to connect with my creative essence, express myself in a more visual way, and discover a part of myself that I have not explored. Experimenting and exploring new artistic paths inspires me both personally and professionally.

www.mariabarros.com

 

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