INTERVIEW Interview Omibia The raindrops shiver down the window pane. The train carriage is empty. We cross the imposing forests south of London under a grey sky, enveloped by a cloud of silence, until arriving at Forest Row, a town known for its organic farms and home to Omibia’s headquarters. Mercedes Bermudez, the brand’s founder, greets us with a delicious meal she has taken great care to make. We talk about her career, about how Omibia was born and about her day-to-day work on the project. Mercedes is part of the talented generation of Stella McCartney, John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and Sybilla, all of whom graduated from the prestigious Central Saint Martins in London. Having accumulated a wealth of experience at the highest echelons of fashion design and lived for 3 years in New York, Mercedes discovered the importance of following the natural course of things in all areas of life. It was at that moment that she decided to launch her own children’s fashion brand, Omibia, with one clear mission: to create excellent-quality pieces from 100% natural fabrics, prioritising the people, places and natural methods involved in the process HOW DID OMIBIA COME TO LIFE? building my own baby and children’s clothing company. I became determined to create my own brand with Ever since I can remember, I dreamt of having my own the highest ethical, organic and sustainable standards, brand, thinking of what I would call it, and imagining thewhile ensuring an enduring and distinctive style. Omibia different clothes I could create. was born. I inherited my grandmother’s sewing machine when I was just a teenager and began making all my own HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE NAME AND WHAT clothes. I grasped the opportunity, developed the skillsIS THE IDEA BEHIND IT? and discovered my passion for making clothes. After completing a degree in Fashion Design at London’sThe ‘Om’ in Omibia is the sacred sound in the Hindu Central Saint Martins, I learnt the ropes of the fashionand other ancient religions. As a mantra it has deep industry while working for various prestigious fashion spiritual and high creative power. The ‘bia’ derives from companies around the world. bios, Greek for life. Omibia, ‘purest in life’, just felt right. I took time out, with my husband, to raise our baby son Miró, in an idyllic house, at the top of a magnificent HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR BRAND ? mountain, overlooking a luminous lake north of Madrid, Spain. Spending precious time and having such space Omibia is a luxury baby and children’s clothing company to experience our baby growing and becoming a boy, whose mission is to make clothes that fit well, are of the was the gift that enabled me to develop the path to highest quality, have a distinctive style, but also pay 123