Aurelia x j _u_n_kjournal
1) Where does the name Aurelia come from?
The name comes from our beloved great-grandmother Aurelia Parrondo from Asturias, Spain. She was a creative, dedicated, intelligent and advanced woman for her time. We wanted the brand to carry and transmit her eternal unique essence.
2) Walk us through the journey of creating Aurelia. Its roots, its story...
It began when Andrea worked for an artistic program at Casa Luis Barragán. She was greatly inspired by the architect’s aesthetic, monastic lifestyle and passion for horses. She met Daniel, the woodworking specialist who restores the furniture in Barragán’s home and began to design a box-like bag with the intention to be minimal, unique and atemporal. As soon as we deciphered the most ergonomic size for the bag we asked Daniel to make a couple more for all of us to wear.
During this production process, we thought of integrating a strap which later evolved into multiple straps, handmade by our beloved artisans specialized in Charrería. We started to wear the bags, people were curious and soon after we were invited to be a part of a curated show for the Hammer Museum store, it was then when we decided to start a brand and instantly agreed to name it Aurelia.
3) De La Torre Suárez sisters :) please tell us about yourselves and how you operate together. What is it like to have a family-run business?
We all studied design in New York, different majors, but we always wanted to create something together. The three of us live apart, Andrea in Mexico City, Paula in Los Angeles and Magdalena in Madrid, this is our baby and keeps us even more connected. We each have our responsibilities within the business and this helps respect boundaries within us. Of course there have been situations where it’s been hard to coincide on things but the distance and being an odd-number works in our favor most of the time.
4) Where does Aurelia find its inspiration?
We find inspiration in our daily lives, in our tri-cultural identity, friends, art, music, architecture, films, books and above all women.
5) For all our readers who are unfamiliar with the Mexican term Charrería, how and why does it play a role in your brand?
Charrería is the art of Mexican horsemanship. It is a skillful Mexican sport with strict rules and lots of competitions, similar to rodeo in the USA. It is very popular in Jalisco where we are from and it is also where most of the specialized artisans of Charro clothing and accessories live and work.
It is a sophisticated and traditional craft from Mexico that embodies beauty and power in every ensemble, detail, ornament, color and weave. The elegant artisanal elements are worn by men, and women who also ride known as escaramuzas as well as horses. It plays a big role in our brand not only because it is in our roots but because of the art in the garments and accessories behind this national sport.
We became enamored by the refined patterns, materials, textures, colors, applications, the peculiar functionalities, the feminine touch interwoven through it all and wanted to apply them to our designs.
6) I challenge each sister to choose their favorite Aurelia bag combo(wood box and strap you like best).
7) BREAKING NEWS! (___________) was spotted wearing an Aurelia bag. Who would each sister wish could fill in the blank?
Andrea: Charlotte Gainsbourg
Malena: Dev Hynes
Paula: Greta Gerwig
8) If you could add another item to the Aurelia collection, what would it be?
A new bag.
9) What has been Aurelia’s most exciting moment throughout the release of your products?
That’s hard, we’ve had many exciting moments…one of them was definitely when Leandra Medine wore her Aurelia and published it saying it was her favorite accessory for the summer. Another great moment was when our aunt Sandra mentioned that this project has unconsciously healed and united the lineage of women in our family transgenerationally.
10) Where can we find/buy Aurelia?
Initially we sold them at the Hammer Museum store in Los Angeles as part of a curated show Shit We Like by Lisa and Louis Eisner. You can now purchase through our Instagram @aurelia.mexico or our website aureliamexico.com. We also sell at our Mexico City and Madrid showrooms, Opening Ceremony (New York & Los Angeles), This is Tribute (Washington), The Wardrobe Workshop (London), The Feathered (México City), Lago (Mexico City) and Pez (Madrid).
11) Links to web store/social media.
During these bizarre times we are using our website as a creative community space. We want to create a virtual space where anyone can choose to escape and travel through magnificent films, music and art.
This is the beginning of an artistic community archive with the intention to inspire each other. As you may know, our showrooms are currently closed but we are selling our handmade, one of a kind products through our Instagram, please stay tuned.
Thank you for shopping local and supporting our dear artisans. #stayhome #staysafe #aureliaencasa