Spotlight is a regular series where we feature a prominent person in the style scene.
One of our favorite Shanghai designers, Celia Bernardo, aka Celia B, has a penchant for quirky patterns, wacky prints and bold bursts of colors that draw inspiration from the tribal textiles of places like Indonesia, India, Morocco and Latin America. Now splitting her time between Chiang Mai and Shanghai, we caught up with the Celia B founder about style, Thailand and her thoughts on China's fashion scene.
What's your background?
My original background is actually in advertising and PR. I studied both in Madrid before dropping everything to focus on fashion. I spent 10 years working with brands like Zara and Pepe Jeans, until I founded Celia B in Shanghai in 2012.
Your aesthetic in three words.
Colorful, eclectic and happy.
How do you think China has influenced your style?
Against all odds, I think China lets you be completely free in terms of style. Fashion is a relatively new concept here, so there aren’t as many restraints to wear whatever you like as you have in the West. The scene here is very experimental, which has really allowed me to be myself. There are no rules to follow.
You recently moved to Chiang Mai and now shuffle between here and there. How is that affecting you as a designer?
Chiang Mai is a constant source of inspiration. It’s full of colors, crafts, art and design. It’s the perfect place to live as an artist. Shanghai, on the other hand, is a metropolis with an amazing energy and pulse, it’s a place to show off, to network, do business. I love that I can experience both, and the balance that both places bring to my project.
What's style for you?
Personality. Style is a very individual thing, something you have to nourish through your own experiences. You aren’t born with it; you build it.
China fashion scene. Thoughts?
Super interesting. I couldn’t be happier to be here and to be part of it. It's going to be a few years before we'll be able to say what’s going to grow and stay and what's going to simply fade – the potential is huge now – but the sheer possibilities you have here make it all the more exciting.
The lookbook for your autumn/winter collection is stunning. Could you tell us a bit about that?
I did it in collaboration with YYO Foundation, which helps and fosters new talent in China. They created the whole concept and I did the styling and put the clothes together. It’s a piece of art.
The one thing you couldn't live without is…
My freedom. I started Celia B to be completely free to manage my time, make the clothes I like and travel wherever I want. It’s a project that lets me do that, and I love it.
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