English Version | Silver screens

Steffy Argelich's career in the fashion world began at a very young age, after she was discovered at an audition for Mango. Her first job already foreshadowed a successful career, as she was chosen to walk in Louis Vuitton's 2015 Cruise Collection, a particularly important show for being the first with Nicolas Ghesquière at the helm. That same year, she was photographed by Steven Meisel for Italian Vogue and, as she tells us, that's when her career really took off. But Steffy Argelich's life doesn't just revolve around fashion: she has immersed herself in her passion for cinema and recently made her first film, Vera.

Have you always wanted to be involved in the art world? Yes, I always dreamed big and I always wanted to make movies and be involved in business. As Warhol said, "business is the purest form of art."

You transitioned from the world of fashion to film. What inspired you to follow this path? It happened when I met my dear husband Grear Patterson, who was editing his first film Giants Being Lonely, and that inspired me so much, I thought he was brave and amazing. He helped me a lot with Vera, producing the movie and making it happen.

How did your experience as a model influence your approach to directing? It gave me a unique perspective seeing things and places most people never see. It instilled an underlying importance of aesthetics. Substance being the essential element but to bring the viewer into the world and story with a frame draws you in.

What have you learned from the fashion industry that now helps you thrive as a director? Everything I learned in life led me to where I am now. I am very grateful for all the experiences I have had working in fashion. I have traveled the world since I was very young, meeting amazing creative people. That surely influenced the way I like to make movies.

You were with Parfois in Madrid to celebrate fashion and cinema. Can you tell us more about this event? Parfois contacted me because they wanted to do a talk about Fashion and cinema. I thought it was a great idea, and I was interviewed by Cayetana Guillen-Cuervo, the first woman to be the president of the Academia de las Artes Escénicas de Espanha . I was very honored.

Can you tell us about some of your plans for the future? I've created a video on demand platform, Ventana Cinema [...]. The film Vera is available on the platform and we are also curating a library of more than 250 films with renowned actors and directors, which we will launch in January 2024. I'm also editing a documentary that Abel Ferrara and I made together and I'm also preparing to shoot my second film, Caballo, [...] I can't wait to share more about it!

*Originally translated from the Arts Issue, published November 2023. Full credits and stories in the print issue.