Interview by Jennifer Irizarry @jennyfriend
I make no secret of my love for The Animals Observatory so it was pretty dreamy interviewing Creative Director Laia Aguilar for Junior Style London. Enjoy the fangurling, er, interview:
JI: I loved your interview on Pirouette—I can spot a fellow introvert a mile away. Given that your home is your sanctuary, do you enjoy travel? Can you share a favourite destination you’ve enjoyed with your family?
LA: Thank you very much. My home is my sanctuary. I have had to travel too much for work, though, recently, so have decided to rein it in a bit this year. In terms of a favourite destination for a family trip that would definitely be our paradise island, MENORCA.
JI: Many artists live in a state of creative clutter while others cite the need for a clean slate in order to create. Where do you fall on this spectrum?
LA: I am chaotic and scatter-brained as a creative person but I work very hard so I get a lot done in numerous different areas, be it designing next season’s collection, in relation to the brand’s artistic direction or the photographs for a campaign or the business side of things. The secret is to have a good team around you and put the hours in.
JI: Let’s talk about social media. Specifically, the ‘gram. Love it, hate it, or both? Explain. What are your favourite three accounts of the moment?
LA: I like Instagram and Pinterest. Those are the only ones I use and I use them with very specific, work-related parameters. The role of social media is complex, with aspects that are both good and bad, but it is interesting if you are able to assign it a specific role; setting limits and clear criteria. Otherwise it seriously infringes on your life in terms of both time and privacy.
My three favourite Instagram accounts are: @depassement, @mcastainge and @matteaperrota.
JI: What are your favourite cultural magazines/publications? How about podcasts? What is currently on repeat in your home tv/film/music wise?
LA: My current favourite magazines are The Gentlewoman and Holiday magazine. The HBO intro can also frequently be heard in my house, lol. Netflix too. My husband and I watch an episode of some series or other every night: at the moment it’s The Good Wife.
JI: I have wanted to ask this for a long time: how did you come up with the name Bomar, the dog? I love that print, and so does my daughter. We made up a little story about him based on my grandmother’s dog Bayonne (: We were excited to see him turn up in two collections and hope he comes back again in the future!
LA: Thank you! What a great question! Bomar was the name of a cargo ship we saw one summer in the port of Mahon, in Menorca. We were eating at a restaurant in the harbour and we saw it set sail. Its full name was Bomar Pluto. Isn’t that great? It was beautiful; setting off loaded with hundreds and hundreds of coloured containers and with such a wonderful name… And yes, Bomar will be back for future collections. He’s our TAO mascot!!!
JI: What motivates/inspires you most?
LA: I’m inspired by beauty. Beauty can be found anywhere and when you least expect it. Yesterday, I bought a book I’d never heard of before, by Maurice Sendak, and I fell in love. In the evening I showed it to my family, we went through it page by page.
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Image of Laia courtesy of Laia Aguilar.
