It’s always a pleasure to share the success stories of friends and colleagues of So Catchy! and this time around it’s Lourdes Marín, better known as Luli, who’s about to launch her new online fashion platform. Sea&Sun, an Andaluz proposal, is ‘made in Chiclana’ with an international mindset which promises to become a reference in the field. Her site will have a personal consultant and use the latest technologies and above all, will put the clients at the center of it all, evolving according to the taste of each individual. Such a commitment to innovation in the world of fashion is sure to be a hit.
So Catchy!: Lourdes, can you tell us how Sea&Sun came about?
Sea&Sun: Well, it started from as a dream, as a love for fashion and from continually studying while also trying to juggle a parallel career. It’s been a risk to get into the online business and it marks a clear before and after in my life. I’ve looked back and evaluated everything that I’ve learned until now and although it has been difficult, it’s been passionate. In short, it comes from a project that was founded on a passion.
And suddenly a person appears who offers you an opportunity and who believes in you and that’s how you get your start. I bet on what I believe in and I work for my dreams.
SC!: What sets you apart from other online clothing platforms?
SS: I’ve spent a number of years analyzing online platforms around the world, looking for what’s missing and for the strong points of the bigger sites. So we decided to build an online space for consulting, information, news and, more than anything else, to create a place where the person on the other side of the screen is the protagonist, where we work shoulder to should with our clients. The client participates and makes the decisions and we come to them through our YouTube channel with tutorials. We listen, we listen to girls and women who, everyday, go to work early feeling beautiful and can go out for a drink with friends afterwards feeling just as special as when they left the house. This is what we are looking for, exclusivity, something different. We want to treat our ideas about fashion like art, like a way of expressing oneself. It is emotions, shapes, smells and colors. Fashion is everything around us and it’s on the street, dormant, every day.
What’s difficult was finding a line of work that covers everything that a woman could want from an online portal. We needed it to be clearly explained but also simple, so we tried to find a balance between simplicity and the range of possibilities. We have a philosophical take on life, we wish to communicate the worldly character of women in this day and age, but always with a touch of exquisite exclusivity.
SC!: How have you used new technologies and social media to advance the project?
SS: It’s essential for us to have photographic and audiovisual material to get our values as an online shop and consultancy. We also think it’s important to offer the latest as far as payment goes, and you need to turn to the latest technologies in order to ensure good contact with the team. If we didn’t, it wouldn’t make any sense; everything exists online these days and we need to as well.
SC!: How important is the Sea&Sun community for your work?
SS: The Sea & Sun community means everything to us. We build the framework and our clients will be the heart. They will take the reins of our online work. We want them to form an active part of our team and there will even be an exclusive area so they can share ideas and opinions and ask questions, critique or talk up whatever they want. Our clients will also be able to share pictures with the articles of clothing that served as inspiration to them, and as part of the consultancy, they’ll be able to choose models who share their silhouettes. We’d like all women to stand up for what makes them different and special and to be aware of how wonderful these differences are. In the end, our community is what allows us to exist and to continue working and the least we can do is listen to them.
SC!: How do you keep up on the latest trends in the world of fashion?
SS: Hours spent in front of a computer screen, trips around the world through streetstyle photos that inspire us, architecture, the colors of different cities, the way people act, styles, smells, gastronomy, art and trends. We are constantly learning and you can’t let your guard down at anytime since everything around you is information and inspiration, constantly changing.
Today we’re connected with the world and this makes anything possible.
SC!: What are you working on right now?
SS: The launch of our website, our blog, our YouTube channel and the beginning of this exciting journey. And we want to work with men and children.
I can’t say much but we have a project in our hands that mixes folkore from the land where everything is born, with those aggressive geometric lines and strokes in their clothes. That’s as much as I can say.
SC!: What should readers of So Catchy! do to find out the latest about Sea&Sun?
SS: Visit our website, www.seaandsun.es , our YouTube channel, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
Credits
Video: Alejandro Oneto Parro
Photography: Issa Leal
Styling: Luli Marín Rodriguez
Models: Marina Gallardo y Andrea Soto
Translation and Layout by Michael Padilla
