Coco Capitán
Tomorrow is now yesterday
Writing messages like Tomorrow is now yesterday or Common sense is not so common in stylish lettering on Gucci garments opened the doors of the great fashion and design houses to María de las Mercedes Capitán (Seville, 1992), known as Coco Capitán. After travelling around half the world, she now lives in Mallorca, where she finds the inspiration she needs in the local crafts and nature.
text César Mateu Moyà
photography Coco Capitán
“Ever since I was six or seven years old I liked to shut myself in my room to write and draw”, says Coco Capitán, the creator and photographer who has made a name for herself with her images and unmistakeable wordplays. “I would invent alternative realities and escape from my everyday life. I used to look for pictures in magazines and old books, and fill up notebook after notebook with collages. Now I know that I was writing to communicate with myself, to find out more precisely what I felt and what I thought. Although I never realised I would make my pastime my profession”.
Coco has always known that she wanted to travel around the world. “When I finished school, I moved to London. I lived in Cádiz, and although I love the south, I wanted to see what was going on outside my small town, meet different people and open myself up to a palette of new opportunities”, she affirms.
Before going to England she had never considered the possibility of being a fashion photographer, or working with big-brand designers. “I liked photography and the fine arts, but I thought a career in the artistic world was a dream that was very hard to achieve, because to make a living from your art you need many years of experience in order to gain some respect.
When she arrived in London, Coco knew that she wanted to go to university. “So I looked for a job where I could earn money straight away and pay my way through college. Since I had always liked photography, I started working as a fashion photographer. I know that it takes some people a long time to become a fashion photographer, but for me it was something quite casual. One of those accidents of life that happen but which you don’t really know how to explain”.
Within a short space of time she started to get opportunities to work with brands like Miu Miu, Paco Rabanne or Mulberry. Although the project that shot her to fame was writing messages on several different garments for Gucci.
There is a story behind her special calligraphy. “I write like I did when I was little. I’m dyslexic and my lower-case letters are nearly impossible to read. I decided to write in upper-case letters so that other people could understand me. I have always written that way”.
For Coco, creativity comes “when you manage to [...]
--------
Read this article in full in IN PALMA 70. And if you like, subscribe to IN PALMA for 1 year and get the next 4 issues of the magazine delivered to your home.
