He designs for the strong, contemporary woman and his passion lies in exploring new ways to put clothes together. Style.com Arabia caught up with designer Emilio de la Morena at his Paris showroom to talk about his Summer 2013 collection, his career, and his styling tips.
You are quite famous in the Middle East, but for the people who don’t know you, we should introduce the fact that you are from Spain.
Yes, I have lived in London for twenty years, but I am originally Spanish and proud of it.
Studying your designs, one notices that there are always details that reflect your Spanish heritage. Arab and Spanish cultures can be quite similar, especially in the Southern Andalucia region. What element of your origins influence your designs?
I never conscientiously imprint my Spanish heritage on my designs; it comes naturally. For example, this season, I took pleated skirts, I cut them small, and thought, oh, I like that, oh, that looks Spanish.
Let’s talk about the shoes, which are for lack of a better word, amazing this season.
They are basically two shoes in one; it goes with the collection. You have the classic salon shoe—from the front they are cute but then turn them around and they have a big heel.
This season, you implement geometrics and leather.
We call it the carré. It is very geometric this season. One of the things I did with this collection was stick to my roots, and not necessarily my Spanish roots, but rather what I have done as a designer. For example, I think I used this print for Fall 2010, and I wanted to do it again, but in color. The collection is modern, but with an ethnic flair.
I always design clothes that are sexy but sophisticated. That is my signature and now I will allow myself to focus on other details.
Have you reached the stage where you can reflect on your career?
I am always reinventing myself. This keeps me going. Otherwise, work becomes stale and boring.
Do you think that we should always break our outfits? Arabs sometimes don’t know where to stop. We just keep adding on. More is more. Can you give us some styling advice?
Wear something that is a bit ugly. It makes the outfit interesting. Perfection is really boring. An Emilio de la Morena customer is adventurous and takes risks.
www.emiliodelamorena.com
