Graceful: Absolute Freedom and Boundless Heart
“Fashion is storytelling. Storytelling through textiles. And that’s what art is. It’s heart. And what’s so beautiful about art is the power it has to connect. To connect people all over the world. It doesn’t recognize borders.”
Updated 12:50 am EDT, April 16, 2025
Published 10:03 am EDT, April 15, 2025
Photo Credits
DESIGN, STYLING & CREATIVE DIRECTION: MARTA GRANADOS
Photography: JUAN BORGOGNONI
model: ana maría
modeling agency: TREND MODEL MANAGEMENT
hair & make-up artist: MERITXELL POULAIN
light design: MARKO BARRIER
MOVEMENT DIRECTION ASSISTant: LAURA ANDREU
location: STERLAB STUDIO
Energy cannot be created or destroyed. It only transforms from one form to another, from one body to the next. This is a notion that science has been able to confirm, but that artists have known since the dawn of time. Any and every artist will tell you how they have felt their energy move from inspired soul, through gifted fingers, into a body of art. They have experienced firsthand how a part of them lives on in what they create.
In the quiet of her studio, Marta transforms energy into thread. Into shape. Into poetry. Her hands move with memory, with meaning. What she creates is more than clothing, it is vibration made visible. A slow transformation of soul into form. In her universe, freedom is stitched by hand, connection breaks all boundaries, and the heart has no limits.
I am ready to start my interview with Marta Granados, the soul, brains and talent behind Maison Gracen, a slow fashion brand that honors craftmanship and sustainability through their hand-woven crochet garments. I have always loved the art of crochet, this ancient woven technique that, like music, carries memory in its rhythm.
An interview with Marta Granados, the force behind Maison Gracen. Interview by Mena Lombard.
Crochet is a craft that has always struck me as extremely musical; there is this tempo between the needle and the fingers that takes place during creation. When I watch someone crocheting, I can almost hear the music being born and transformed into a timeless masterpiece. When thinking about the musicality of the art of crocheting and Marta’s personal journey among opera stages and recital halls, it makes perfect sense that she decided to pursue a new stage of storytelling using threads as her voice.
Let’s go to the beginning. Let’s talk about how your story with fashion began.
I think it’s something you’re born with… even when life takes you in another direction. That’s what happened to me. I started out in education. I studied music, piano and classical singing. I sang opera, gave recitals, I traveled, I lived in Germany for many years… But fashion was always there, in the background. That interest was always there.
When I came back to Madrid in 2019, I said, ‘I’m going to change direction,’ so I started studying Styling and Fashion Communication at Istituto Europeo di Design (IED Madrid). That’s when I started this project. I began to express everything I’d been carrying inside. At first, I began with crochet, but only accessories. I began with hats and small items. Then I expanded to other pieces. It’s all been a very organic process.
Nothing was premeditated, everything came from the heart. I’m a very passionate person — very impulsive, very reflective. I knew this made me happy, and I’ve been persistent. I don’t give up easily.
An interview with Marta Granados, the force behind Maison Gracen. Interview by Mena Lombard.
Your work is not only beautiful, but also objectively interesting. Personally, I believe that what fashion designers do is what makes life and the world interesting.
I completely agree. Fashion is storytelling. Storytelling through textiles. And that’s what art is, storytelling through different mediums: poetry, cinema, painting, voice… it’s all the same thing. It’s heart. And what’s so beautiful about art is the power it has to connect. To connect people all over the world. It doesn’t recognize borders.
We fell in love with Marta’s work during Madrid Fashion Week, not only for the quality of each piece but also for the incredible emotional narrative that is woven in every garment. The delicacy and sophistication of her creations was overwhelmingly real, and it particularly struck me how, without even thinking, my hand went straight to touch the garments, as if it knew there was something that needed to be felt.
Beyond the craftmanship and artistry, both clearly present, an additional element was there: purpose. Each piece seemed to know why it was there and my hand was meeting them like they were introducing themselves to me, inviting me into their universe of crocheted stories. As an editor, you know that when that happens, you have to write about it.
An interview with Marta Granados, the force behind Maison Gracen. Interview by Mena Lombard.
The craftmanship is striking.
Thank you so much. I love going out myself to look for materials. Whenever possible, I like to go, to touch the yarn, to feel the textures, to see the colors. I pay a lot of attention to quality because, in the end, that’s what gives the garment its final finish.
I can see that your connection with fashion begins at the fiber.
Yes, in every sense. The sensitive fiber, the human fiber, the fiber of the textile…
An interview with Marta Granados, the force behind Maison Gracen. Interview by Mena Lombard.
I love that. You go all the way to the fiber. Why crochet? Tell me about that.
I started crocheting simply because I loved it. I can’t put it any other way. It was passion. It’s the art of pulling a thread — literally. You pull and pull, and it keeps growing. It’s incredibly satisfying. Crochet has a poetic quality, you’re creating and shaping form as you go. It inspires me a lot not only how you create it but also how organic it is. It takes a lot of patience, hope, perseverance, and consistency to reach the final product. All these values that in the end bear fruit when the final piece is finished. It’s truly beautiful.
How did you learn it?
I trained myself and kept learning as I went. I think curiosity is so important. I’m someone who, if I don’t know how to do something, I learn. That’s what helps you grow. Otherwise, you stay stuck. You decide if you want to move forward, stay where you are, or even go backward. Whatever you do, you must trust the process. Trust your work. Trust in consistency. For me, it’s not about speed, it’s about consistency. I’m someone who’s very patient. I like being patient. I think it’s a very valuable trait in life. Because patience is connected to trust.
When our meeting takes place, an entire ocean and a 6-hour time difference separates us, but as I am sure you already know, connection has nothing to do with minutes or miles, and everything to do with energy. My interview with Marta exemplified this notion. Because connected energy doesn’t ask for permission. It leaps across time zones, stretches across silence, and finds its way to the soul on the other side. A conversation with Marta is all about that: connected energy.
An interview with Marta Granados, the force behind Maison Gracen. Interview by Mena Lombard.
Is there something specific you want to communicate through your creations?
For me, the message is emotional. When I create, I think more about connecting, about moving people. And about giving crochet the value it deserves. I love the idea of giving importance to small things. Taking something basic, something that might seem simple but inside it holds all kinds of beauty. Because it contains patience, generosity, dedication… those are the values I want to share. That’s what I want to communicate.
An interview with Marta Granados, the force behind Maison Gracen. Interview by Mena Lombard.
Is there something you’d especially like people to know about your work or your creative philosophy?
I’d like to be known as a creative soul, someone very transparent, very authentic, who doesn’t seek anything more than doing what she loves, which, in this case, is creating with thread. I want people to know me as someone who wants to reach hearts through creation — in this case, through fashion and crochet — elevating crochet as an art form, because it’s something ancestral. I want to bring handmade fabric to the runway and elevate it into major creations. It’s absolute freedom… Creation is absolute freedom and boundless heart.
Lumiere, her new collection, stood quietly in her booth at Madrid Fashion Week. A capsule collection of contrasts: black and white, simplicity and intricacy, restraint and exuberance. I kept returning to it, as if drawn by something more than fabric. I could clearly see that in each thread, there was a knowing. I could feel that it spoke about a world where softness had weight, and silence had shape.
I would like to talk about Lumiere. What is the story behind it?
Lumiere is a group of pieces that are, at first glance, very simple. And that’s exactly what I wanted to communicate, my own philosophy: that from small things, great things can be made. All the imagery, all the references I’ve collected throughout my life, suddenly made sense with the birth of Lumiere.
This collection is a tribute to the beginnings of cinema, but not in a literal way. It’s a reflection on it, on the ideas of duality and contrasts. Because we all walk that line between light and shadow, life and death. The name is a dedication to the Lumière brothers. Not so much to them as individuals, but more to what they created. The idea of coming out of the darkness.
In Lumiere all your passions and interests came together…
Absolutely. Every time I create, I start by looking inward. Before looking for outside references, I start from within. Because the closest, most accessible source is yourself, and that never fails you. For me, my number one source of inspiration is reflection. That’s fundamental. Lumiere is a personal debut, the leap from just accessories to full outfits. But done in a way that reflects my own personal world.
Fashion collections are about looks of garments that tell a story and communicate a message. In our industry, the concept of a fashion collection includes everything around and beyond the garments. It includes the materials, the manufacturing, the narrative, the editorial images… A fashion collection, at the end of the day, is the result of all the elements and all the people coming together.
Do you have any secrets on how to make it all work?
It’s really all completely intuitive. These days, it’s a mix of everything I’ve learned along the way. It’s about creating and believing in your own intuition. It is also about doing. I hate standing still. I think the worst thing in life is staying still. I’d rather do something and get it wrong than not do anything at all. Because even when things don’t go well, you’ve done something.
And that adds something to your life. Even mistakes add something. But standing still — no. I have also learned to say no when I had to. The moment you learn to say no, the moment you become aware of that and start doing what makes you happy, what fills you, that’s when beautiful things start to happen. And finally, having the right team around you is essential. They’re your support system. They’re the ones who hold you and lift you up during the process.
An interview with Marta Granados, the force behind Maison Gracen. Interview by Mena Lombard.
If someone had to describe your brand in one sentence, what would you like them to say?
It’s important to me that there’s always a sense of connection. I want to be known as a fashion brand dedicated to artisanal work, that creates products full of soul and heart, made in a way that’s deeply conscious. That matters a lot to me.
I like placing importance on the small grains of sand that small brands like mine can contribute to. To show that little by little, we can help people consume in a more conscious way. To help people say, ‘I have fewer things, but of better quality, I have less, but behind this garment there’s a heart’. That, to me, is essential. So, I’d say: quality handmade garments created consciously with tons of heart.
Before closing our conversation, I asked Marta something I always ask, because I believe success means something different to everyone, even more so when you are a soul who dares to create.
An interview with Marta Granados, the force behind Maison Gracen. Interview by Mena Lombard.
What is your definition of success?
I don’t even have to think about it. For me, success is being happy, that’s true success. Being able to go to bed every day and sleep well. Being a good person, above all, doing good. I believe that success isn’t getting applause from others but the certainty that I’m on the right path. Feeling fulfilled and happy. Being able to be at peace with myself. That’s my idea of success. For me, success isn’t tied to what’s outside — it lives in what’s within.
Beyond the quality and the exquisiteness, when you look at Maison Gracen’s garments, you appreciate the dedication, but most of all, the intention behind them. Marta creates from a place of truth, and truth requires vulnerability. To put your essence into your work, to stand behind it with no filter and no safety net, is an act of complete trust.
It takes a lot of strength to lay your soul bare to the world. It takes boundless courage to be vulnerable. And Marta combines her soft demeanor with immense strength. Because she knows the reward at the end of the vulnerability line. She knows that in vulnerability, there is connection. And for Marta, connection is everything.
Her garments hold not just patience and craftsmanship, but soul. To wear one of Marta’s pieces is to carry a story. To hold a frequency. To feel a heart that never held back. And if you listen closely with your hands, with your skin, with your spirit, it will whisper back to you.
Vibration made visible.
Connection in its purest form.
Art in absolute freedom and overflowing, boundless heart.
Fashion Designer and Professor, Mena believes that fashion completely transcends the surface and the most important is how one feels rather than anything else. Fashion is really about how empowered one becomes by it. She channels vibrant flares of vintage fashion and dreams of contemporary twists, inspired by her own life and travels.
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