Fine art artist and fashion photographer
I am a fine art artist and fashion photographer. Also, I have been a fashion consultant for over 10 years, developing brand identity strategies in relation to image and production. I have also photographed campaigns for several national and international fashion brands. In recent months, I have focused on my career as an artist, without neglecting fashion campaigns for brands such as KIN Cosmetics. Currently, many projects have become a reality: MACSON or Vallue Retail UK among many others. Where would I like to be today? I never dream of being in a physical place, but rather of being one step ahead, both personally and professionally. I like the feeling I get when I work to climb that step because only by dreaming and working do I manage to turn that dream into reality. Making others dream makes me feel like I am growing professionally and personally. I firmly believe in the human capacity to grow in many aspects of life. And in hard work to achieve this personal improvement.
In 2000, I moved to Milan for family reasons. And it was there that, by chance, I came across a job offer and started working as a photography assistant for Luca Ugolini, a renowned product photographer. My father is a photographer and my mother had a lighting business. From a very young age, I learned at home about these two complementary worlds. Photography is nothing more than light. 90% of Luca's clients were lighting brands: Klewe, Prisma, Artemide, Flos. So, without specifically looking for it, I found myself working in the universe I had grown up in. After two years, I started my freelance career as a fashion photographer working for agencies such as Why Not, Beatrice Models, Fashion Management or Riccardo Gay until today.
I have always loved water. I have always felt free in the water, weightless and with authentic inner peace. Despite the fact that when I was very young, when I was 5 or 6 years old, I fell into a pool without knowing how to swim and a cousin had to rescue me. I remember the feeling of floating face down, seeing the bodies of the other swimmers in the water and being at peace observing every detail. Then I remember lying in the infirmary and vomiting the water I had swallowed. That did not create any phobia, on the contrary, I felt much more attracted to that sensation and to that moment when you listen to yourself breathing and your heart beating.
I will recommend three places, not just one. The first, Río Tinto, in the province of Huelva (Spain). A magical place due to the color of its waters and the riverbed. I have visited it several times for work reasons: fashion campaigns and editorials. A place that seems ideal to me for a Mïau campaign and to feel like you are on Mars. In fact, the European space race that seeks to find other forms of life arose due to finding high concentrations of sulfides and sulfates in Río Tinto. A fact that demonstrates the existence of life even in oxygen-deprived environments.
The second place I recommend to enjoy like little children is the Dead Sea, in Israel. It is an incredible experience. Not only because of the buoyancy of the body but also because of the spectacular landscape that the salt forms on the shores, authentic natural sculptures that leave you speechless. And the third and most magical place for me, the Red Sea, in Dahab. The Gulf of Aqaba, in the Egyptian part, is spectacular. It is the third largest coral reef in the world by extension, but the first in terms of its diversity of flora and fauna. In addition, the barrier in this area is right next to the shore. You can simply snorkel and see all kinds of marine flora and fauna, right next to the shore. It's like being in the movie Finding Nemo. And the moment you take your head out of the water and look at the surface, you find the hills of Sinai, with that reddish color that gives the sea its name. Peace, nature and the feeling of being a small piece of this wonderful planet.
Both in the Río Tinto and in the Red Sea, I recommend Mïau swimsuits, of course: Briefs or Shorts. For the Dead Sea, it is better to use an old swimsuit that you don't care much about. Or rinse very well with fresh water after getting out of the water.
Regarding rivers properly speaking, I recommend the aforementioned Río Tinto, the Bobbio (Trebbia, Italy) or a river near Lugano (Switzerland), whose name I prefer not to reveal. A magical place where a canyon eroded in the rock has formed after centuries and centuries of the river's course. To play sports, I definitely go back to the Aragonese region: the descent of the Vero River, in the Sierra de Guara. For these mountain rivers, I would wear shorts instead of briefs.
I'm not much of a beach person in the sense that I don't like sunbathing. My mother always tells me that since I was a baby I run away from the sun like vampires. So for me the beach is snorkeling. For swimming I prefer the pool. I couldn't forget the diving goggles.
Since I knew the entire collection and had the opportunity to photograph it, I fell in love with it. I think it is a collection that covers some aesthetic needs that did not exist until now in the market. It brings together in its pieces, both shorts and briefs, everything I like. Sportiness, Class, Elegance, Sobriety, Fashion, Novelty. All this without falling into the stridency of "gay" brands or the classic clichés of "Fashion". No matter what body figure you have, they always adapt to the shape of the body. Many times, fashion brands make swimwear that is not comfortable or their patterns do not adapt to all bodies and sizes. Meow fulfills all this.
It's not that it inspires me, it's that it makes what a brand inspires a reality. I don't know if I can explain myself. The fact that they are made with Italian fabrics and in Europe makes me see that the idea of "Me in Europe" is possible.
As I said before, from my professional and personal experience in photographing different bodies and on my own, I believe that Mïau has thought of all types of men when designing and marking patterns, whether in shorts or briefs. And from the point of view of the prints, I believe that from a mature man to a younger boy, from someone more classic or someone more fashionable, they can wear them comfortably.
Depending on who I have to give it to. I would choose one or the other. But of course it is the perfect gift for summer or for someone who wants to enjoy "water in winter."
My favorite designers? You! Regarding architects, Joaquín Torres and Rafael Llamazares from A-Zero architects. Not only for the architectural sculpture they make and the importance they give to textures and materials, but also because in addition to architects, they are great painters, sculptors and artists in general. As for music, the first name that comes to my mind is David Bowie. The blue and pastel pink tones and the fabric weaves used by his main designers.
I don't like to identify with few things and at the same time everything influences me. I believe that artists are very influential in everything around us. Figures like Picasso, Dalí, classics like El Greco, Rubens, icons like Mc Queen, Kris Vanhasse... but also anonymous artists (I hope for a short time) like Antonio Reche, Viktor & Illya, painters and musicians that can be seen in the streets of any city, children playing in a small town in Siem Reap in Cambodia and dressed in fabrics that at first screech. Music and artists like David Bowie, The Cure, Alan Walker, Woodkid, Antony and the Johnsons. Music that can be heard today in any club in Birmingham or Manchester, for example. Architects like Mies Van Der Rohe, Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, Gehry, Renzo Piano or Foster. Passing through studios like Estudio Mecanoo... With literature, it happens a bit to me. I am capable of reading historical, more commercial or classic novels. You are going to laugh but I read the 'Complete Works' of Santa Teresa de Jesús. And now I am with texts that deal with psychology and psychiatry. I am in a period of my life in which I need to understand myself and understand the human being. If there is something to understand.
Cinema, I am hooked by the talent of Antonia San Juan as a writer and director, added to her acting style. I am fascinated by short films like "La China" or "A las once". I am also captivated by Eduardo Casanova's YouTube channel. How can I not remember the scene from La Dolce Vita and the dip in the Trevi Fountain? Although I loved 'Le Grand Bleu' directed by Luc Besson.
I prefer to escape to an unknown city because that way, I can discover that it is "my favorite." All continents attract me. Diverse cities like Tromso (Norway) to enjoy the Northern Lights or Tokyo to get lost among skyscrapers and seas of people. The world is very big and it is a pity not to have enough time to get to know it. A city that I loved and that I wouldn't mind returning to is Kep, in Cambodia.
Mïau is a brand that I recommend to everyone. Both to friends and to people in the fashion world. Its design, quality and price make it a perfect recommendation.
Meows of gratitude, Marcos.
Welcome to the distinguished Mïau world.