We spotted Inés from a distance in the late night crowds wandering Barcelona's Raval district. She had very distinct styling, but before we could approach her, she had disappeared into the masses...
Street Style
Inés Navarro
We spotted Inés from a distance in the late night crowds wandering Barcelona's Raval district. She had very distinct styling, but before we could approach her, she had disappeared into the masses. The next day, by a stroke of luck, we saw her again and started chatting.
Tell us a little about yourself:
I'm Inés Navarro, I study communications and cultural industries here in Barcelona. On the side I practice contemporary dance and do a little DJing with my friends. I have a big interest in culture, fashion and art.
Oh... I am starting a band with two friends of mine. I guess we are trying to be a psychedelic rock band, but we are not sure at the moment – we're just playing around.
Inés picked Port Forum, in the northeast of Barcelona, as one of her favourite spots in the Catalan city, so we met up again there. The area is now predominantly recreational, but used to be an industrial zone so contains vast, desolate areas of pavement and open space. Now it contains obstacle courses, skateboarding tracks, an outdoor amphitheatre, as well as Barcelona's largest solar panel. During the summer, Port Forum serves as a popular festival venue where thousands of people come to celebrate Barcelona's lively music and art scene.
What does music and sound mean to you - especially as a dancer?
It's very important to me. I listen to all kinds of music all day. I can’t do anything without listening to music – for me it's like an infinite trip that takes you up and down. I escape to new and different worlds through music.
When I was younger I did ballet and that was, of course, to a different kind of music than I listen to today. But it taught me to appreciate musical diversity.
When it comes to fashion and style - where do you look? What inspires you?
I look to the streets to see what's happening and try to pick up some styles, always in combination with a 90s style, which I am very fond of at the moment. For more personal inspiration, I look to Sita Abellán, who starred in Rihanna's “Bitch Better Have My Money”. She has amazing style and a personality I can relate to. I follow her on Instagram, which in general gives me great inspiration for style and fashion – that is perhaps my single biggest source.
What are you top 3 favourite places in Barcelona?
El Poblenou, which is an old industrial area with loads of warehouses now inhabited by artists, creative spaces and young up-and-coming people. There's always something going on there.
Razzmatazz, is my favourite club. It's huge and has many different dance floors for different music styles – and they have a rooftop terrace as well. Also, tourists don't go there a lot, which is great during Barcelona's heavy tourist season.
El Raval, is the artist quarter of Barcelona, and where you find a lot of the cool skaters hanging out in the night. It is comparable to Shoreditch in London. You should definitely go there and you can’t miss it if you walk around Barcelona. It's a cool area.
You're wearing a mix of classic fashion with a coat, earrings and 90s sportswear with white Buffalo’s from the early 2000s – it's a potpourri of 50 years of fashion – tell us what's going on?
I have become more strict in my styling the last couple of years, giving more thought about combinations, opposed to just wearing whatever I had in the closet.
I try to combine the streetwear with the more classy touch today. Comfort is more important for me today.
What do you think about the style in Barcelona in general: you seem quite brave in comparison to the average Barcelonian.
Barcelona is quite conservative and does not have the same developed sense of fashion as you find in Madrid or London. It's quite unique to find people who share my vision of fashion, music and style, so I guess that’s a thing me and my closest friends have in common.
You don’t find that many brave people around here. For them it’s better to stick to norms and mainstream. They don’t like the attention.
Why do you think Barcelona is so conservative with fashion when the city seems so progressive with visual arts, music and sound culture?
I really don’t know. People just don’t dress fashionably during the day. If you really want to see fashionable people in Barcelona you need to go out to the nightclubs, but even then people usually seem a little posh and overdressed.
Two weeks ago a TV programme followed me and my friends going out because we used to be dressed-up club kids with painted faces and flat form shoes, and so were out of the ordinary. But they were terribly disappointed that we didn’t do it anymore – now we feel a little silly dressing up like that. They made the programme anyway, though.
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| WORDS & PHOTOS: MIKKEL INUMINEQ & MARIE BRANDT |
Inés
Born Barcelona
Current City Barcelona
Occupation Student / DJ