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Unisa x Mercedes Bellido: Mediterranean Essence

When it comes to one of the top leading illustrators for fashion brands in Spain, @mercedesbellido is well-worth a mention.


The light, the vegetation and the seabed
are the inspiration of the illustrator from Zaragoza to create a print that smells of the sea and the beach, which will whisk you away to the most authentic Mediterranean together with UNISA.

Oleanders dancing with sea horses, sea snails surrounded by Neptune grass, a colourful and cheerful print that becomes a limited edition of espadrilles, tote bags and bucket hats in 100% cotton canvas. A capsule collection of exclusive products so that you always have the Mediterranean with you.


We spoke to her and this is what she said…

1. What do Mercedes Bellido and Unisa have in common?
I think it is the dedication and the devotion that we put into the things that we do. The work done by hand needs a special type of love for the trade, which is evident in the end result, whether it is painting or making footwear.

2. What do you want out of your leading brands?
For me it is essential that the brand looks after and pampers its customers, it must have details that differentiate it from other brands, which bring the customers closer to the concept and the philosophy of the brand itself, just like this capsule collection, for example.

3. What inspired the choice of the drawings and colours of the print?
I wanted it to make a clear reference to the Mediterranean and the colours had to be cool and summery but without falling into clichés, obviously there had to be references to the sea and I also wanted to invoke the land.

4. What was the creative process like to develop the illustration?
In general my process always starts with a few preliminary sketches where I determine the items that are going to make up the print, then I paint them in colour and after that through Photoshop I create the possible prints with the illustrations drawn by hand.

5. Is there any special detail in the print?
The Unisa logo is subtly incorporated into the background of the print.

6. What message/feeling would you like to convey with this print?
As my work always focuses on nature, I suppose a nice message would be that we should look after the sea and nature a little bit more every day.

7. What is the Mediterranean for you?
For me the Mediterranean, are my summers in Alicante. Ever since I was small I have spent my summers there, part of my family is from Alicante and I have a strong connection to this area, the gastronomy, the scenery, the smell of the salt and the sea.

8. Favourite place to take a break:
My favourite place to take a break from everything is my home. I am very home-loving.

9. Favourite plan in the summer:
I like the beach and the mountains so any plan is good for me.

10. Favourite ice cream flavour:
Mmmm that’s difficult…
When I was studying in Cuenca there was an ice cream parlour that had an ice cream called “crema Remo”, which was cream caramel and candied walnuts or something like that, I loved that ice cream. In fact I like ALL ice creams a lot.

11. A smell for you that describes the summer:
Personally seeing as I have spent my summers beside the sea… the smell of the sea combined with the smell of coconut suntan lotion reminds me a lot of the summer and at midday the smell of ñora red peppers in the rice and grilled fish.

12. You only have 5 minutes to pack your suitcase and go on holiday, what would you pack?
Well, that depends on the destination but if it is a beach spot, a bikini, sun protection, an Agatha Christie book, a camera, the mobile phone and the headphones to listen to music.

13. Favourite artist or illustrator who inspires you or who has inspired you:
Definitely Giorgio De Chirico and Henri Rousseau, even though they aren’t as prominent in my work anymore they will always be my favourites.

14. What music group will you be listening to constantly these holidays?
Well I don’t know yet because a lot of albums still have to be released before the summer but I am really into Japanese City Pop from the 80´s that has real 80s summer vibes.

15. Favourite colour:
Actually I don’t have a favourite colour, but I do find the intermediate shades between one colour and another the most interesting… a bluish grey, a greenish blue, a orangey yellow, a coral.. etc.


#unisaxmercedesbellido