Belén Vidal
About four years ago, my sister introduced me to the music of Guitarricadelafuente. He’s a young musician from Benicàssim, a place she knows very well on the Spanish coast. I’ve been devouring his music ever since. It was around that time that Belén Vidal, professional bass player, fashion designer and painter, was asked to join the band. I quickly got intrigued by the band’s fashionable bass player, who turned out to be a close friend of my dear colleague and photographer, Ianthé Meylemans. Belén received our Serum as a gift and fell in love with it. Eager to bring our Muse series back to life, Ianthé traveled back to her home away from home, Barcelona, to shoot Belén in her natural habitat and I interviewed her about her life as an artist. Sit back, play BABIECA! and enjoy our talk.
Hi Belén! I know you’re a woman of many talents. You play music, design fashion, draw, and paint. Would you define your identity in a particular way?
Honestly, I struggle a lot with this question, and I’ve been giving this so much thought already throughout my life. I’ve been practicing and studying music since the age of 5 years old. Later, when I was 18, I went to fashion academy. And in my free time I have always been painting and drawing by myself. Now, it’s the first time in my life where I’m trying to combine music, fashion and painting.
"I’m driven by the urge to materialize a certain idea. If Maiwe would be a song, how would it sound? If Maiwe would be a piece of clothing, how would it be? This part drives me, and the shape it takes is different each time."
How would you say your creative process takes shape? What language or emotion fits a musical translation, or what brings you to painting and designing? Tell me more about how you communicate with the world.
You know, I envy people who have only one passion! I try to divide my attention between these different fields, they all speak to me. It was a total coincidence when I received the opportunity to play with Guitarricadelafuente, four years ago. Music became a much bigger part of my life because of it. Before this, I was fully dedicated to fashion. I was running my own brand, and it was consuming all of my time. The art direction, the product development, the photos, the online shop, all of it. I built my brand from scratch and worked on it for 11 years non-stop. Two years ago I decided to close the company and give space to other opportunities. Now I’m combining playing live shows as a bass player and designing for a spanish brand called We Are Not Friends, besides this, I enjoy painting as my grounding practice, free of pressure.
I’m driven by the urge to materialize a certain idea. If Maiwe would be a song, how would it sound? If Maiwe would be a piece of clothing, how would it be? This part drives me, and the shape it takes is different each time.
"Coincidence, opportunities and hard work have brought to me where I am today, so I’m open and curious about what the future has to bring."
How do see your future? What dreams do you have?
For a long time, my dream was to truly establish my own fashion brand. Now, after over a decade, I’ve accepted that this didn’t happen for me. I’ve decided to open up to other possibilities, things I never saw coming or thought about before such as playing and touring with Guitarricadelafuente. Now, I’m 37 years old and I’ve closed one of my major life projects. I’m allowing myself to take the time to be open to new things, and explore the things I never had space for. It’s not clear to me yet if painting will bring me somewhere professionally, but I am sure It is something important for me to do.
Coincidence, opportunities and hard work have brought to me where I am today, so I’m open and curious about what the future has to bring. I’ve skipped my dependence on calendars and concrete goals, which is hard for me, given societal expectations around my age and the way I’ve lived before this stage, but I’m really trying to flow in life for now.
"I feel very privileged to be able to make a living from the things I love doing. Maybe one day I will lose that privilege, but for now, I will keep working hard to be able to continue."
Ianthé told me your partner is also a professional musician and you’re looking to create a shared studio and home together. How is that going?
Yes, he’s a music artist and producer and he has a band called Maestro Espada with this brother. Our current apartment is too small for his music, my paintings and fabrics. So we’re looking for a space that could function as a studio and a home, allowing us to continue developing our own work. I feel very privileged to be able to make a living from the things I love doing. Maybe one day I will lose that privilege, but for now, I will keep working hard to be able to continue.
How is your relationship to your skin?
I’ve always taken good care of my skin. From a young age, I’ve been using creams and trying out products. My skin used to be quite oily, but now I have some very dry patches as well. I need to hydrate a lot. And I protect very well from the sun, otherwise I get stains quickly. Luckily, I’ve never had any skin issues and taking care of my skin has been more about enjoying myself.
"What I love is that you can feel how much thought and purpose goes into every product, and each one has a true reason to exist. I love that, so thank you so much, my skin has never looked better (laughs)."
What’s your experience with Maiwe?
My first experience with Maiwe was thanks to Ianthé, she passed me a sample of this orange oil, the Rosehip Oil Serum, and I completely fell in love with it. I wasn’t used to face oils, and this one is so nutritious and rich, I loved applying it at night and performing a lymphatic massage with it. Now, I’ve discovered Double Cleansing and I’m surprised by the effect it has on my skin. Using the Oil Cleanser leaves my skin so soft and never ever dry. Now that I’m using the whole routine at night, I have to admit that my skin looks absolutely incredible the day after.
Do you have a favourite product?
I would go for the Rosehip Oil Serum and the Prebiotic Toning Essence. Especially the Rosehip Oil Serum is truly amazing. It’s so nutritious, perfect to do my face massage with, but it never leaves my skin looking or feeling oily. Honestly, I can’t choose. Double Cleansing has really surprised me. Usually toners are too aggressive for my skin. The Prebiotic Toning Essence doesn’t irritate my skin for a bit. It’s such a good product. What I love is that you can feel how much thought and purpose goes into every product, and each one has a true reason to exist. I love that, so thank you so much, my skin has never
looked better (laughs).
