Interview with Irati García - Zorra Mimosa
Irati García. Vitoria-Gasteiz, Alava. (1989)
Multidisciplinary designer born in the Basque Country and settled in Barcelona. Specialized in editorial projects and art direction.
With a degree in Fine Arts from the UCM and with a master's degree in Graphic Design and editorial projects at Elisava behind her, Irati designs to provide solutions, visual identity, evolve, change and question the pre-established, always paying attention to details.
Irati García is Cuddly Fox
We don't really know how we end up in Zorra Mimosa.
We remember it as a natural flow. What we do know is that its essence impacted us without leaving us indifferent. In the microsecond we wanted to closely follow his work (and also who was hiding behind him).
Several accounts of friends echoed some t-shirts whose message was “Mimosa Bitch.”
A very careful typography and a direct message that did not understand gender, made this basic garment something representative.
The photography and art direction used to show this product is something unique.
Photo of Zorra Mimosa
The colors, that analog photo, the sensitivity when selecting the elements and the models, make the work of Irati, the creator, essential to know.
We are especially excited to start the #BryanARTS movement with her. (Click here to learn more about the project).
And we have had the pleasure of approaching her.
P. Zorra Mimosa, two very powerful words, with a different message if studied separately but, together, they provide diverse connotations that come together very well.
If we search in the RAE for both words we find (among other meanings):
fox, rra
- m. and f. colloq. Very devious , cunning and sneaky person .
- m. and f. colloq. Person who affects simplicity and dullness, especially for not working, and does things slowly and tiresomely.
- F. contempt malson. prostitute.
cuddly, sa
- adj. Fastidious, very fond of caresses, gifted.
- F. Genus of exotic plants, of the Mimosaceae family, which includes many species, some of them notable for the contraction movements that their leaves experience when touched or shaken.
What does “Zorra Mimosa” mean to you as a concept?
How/why did it come about?
I was trying out a serif font and I wrote cuddly so-and-so and then cuddly bitch and saved it.
T-shirt designed by Zorra Mimosa
Q. The meaning number 7 of the word “zorro, rra” may give us a clue as to why your t-shirts have been considered by various media ( Vogue , WAG1MAG , fashionunited ) as an article with a feminist characteristic.
Did it arise with this purpose?
A. It did not arise for any purpose, the purpose of being freely conscious.
Q. Did you expect the great reception your t-shirts had? How has it impacted your work?
A. Not at all, I only expect satisfaction from a jar of spicy banderillas. I'm always saying things and I was lucky enough to realize that this one deserved to be repeated. It is a euphonious contradiction that works in various ways. I like the two words that make up. Whenever I say it, people are surprised and have some kind of reaction and that is a good starting point.
He is provocative and shy like I am. But above all it has been a pretext, a beginning on which to start working. An identity is a workshop, a space in which to create. I'm glad I'm a Cuddly Fox
Q. Your photography is quite identifying, it is part of Zorra Mimosa's DNA and that brand image that you are building.
Where does the predilection for photography and the analog world come from?
A. I think by looking and touching. I have always looked for solutions in the matter, from learning to count chickpeas, to creating spaces to photograph.
A friend suggested that I buy an analog camera, I bought my first compact camera and some first film. Then I tried other reels and other cameras, it's naivety and acidity.
Photographs taken from Zorra Mimosa's Instagram
Q. Apart from your own artistic projects, there are also several brands that trust your work.
What do you base on when creating an imaginary that adapts to each assignment or project?
R. We always have thorns stuck in our hearts... which brand/artist would you like to work with?
There are few beautiful things, you don't have to be original, just surround yourself with elements and look at them. I gather elements, build a space and move around it.
I love Jacquemus, Jack Davison, Jacobs+Talbourdet-Napoleone, Nacho Alegre, Veronica Ditting, Laila Gohar... .
Q. What can never be missing from your creative process?
A. I am slow, I work by experimenting, picking up things, looking for them, placing them and removing them. You need light, shapes, counter-shapes, textures, volumes and colors.
Photography, Art Direction and Graphic Design are the pillars of your work.
In many cases all three shape the final result of your work.
Q. Do you have in mind generating new products/projects to continue giving free rein to all of them?
A. I always have things in my head but I mess with them many times until I like them. I've been wanting to do something small editorial for a long time.
Q. We have had the opportunity to count on you so that, from your perspective, you can portray part of our new collection.
What inspires you about our new collection? (Concepts, feelings, places...)
A. I am inspired by the gesture of the artisan, the work, the symbiosis between humans and tools. The matter that walks. An architectural space in a natural environment. Listen to your own instincts.
Q. What did you base your artistic direction and photography on?
A. When I drew in college I always liked the delicacy and perfection of Frank Lloyd's drawings. I have been inspired by his drawings, by the tones of his illustrations, by his subtlety. Observing the shoe, the sinuosity of duplicity, its heights, the balance of its shapes and its materials.
For the images I have created compositions with common utilitarian materials. They are poetic pranks, equally relevant and irrelevant, purely aesthetic.
The waterfall house by architect Frank Lloyd Wright
Q. Anything you want to highlight about the creative process of this action? How has it been?
A. I have used different materials: from blocks, marble, fabrics, clays, construction elements... The horizontal and vertical relationships create alternating levels (which sometimes suggest a cantilever effect), as well as the contrast of rigid and flexible materials that create new compositions.
Through these associations of materials and structures, each piece, each shoe, is referenced. It has been a process of experimentation.
Q. At The Living City we talk about the importance of exploring, discovering and enjoying the city (both everyday life and unknown places).
Make some spaces our own because of the memories we hold of each of them.
We would like you to tell us which three favorite corners/spaces/places (in any city) are special to you and why (if it is confessable!)
A. I like to sit in the kitchen, on the floor next to the terrace, when the sun shines, like cats. Anywhere where there are strong shadows. I once slept in a maharaja's room that had stairs to climb to the bed and some stained glass windows of peacocks, with the morning light the room was flooded with colors.
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Finally, the essential questions:
A woman who inspires you? I love Maruja Torres
Your guilty pleasure? I'm a hoarder, I like to touch and look at things.
Potato omelette: WITH or WITHOUT onion? Omelet with onion and above all slug.
If you had to listen to one album for the rest of your life, which one would you choose? I would stick with a radio. When I need to be happy, Juan Luis Guerra listened.
