"There is nothing more important than being yourself, not losing your personality, and fleeing from the fashion victim phenomenon. That’s how a person is most attractive."

Adapted from the digital newspaper “Alba digital”
09/10/2009

María León is a young woman who lives in Madrid and works as the communications director for the Spanish haute couture label Pedro del Hierro and as the image consultant for “Las Rozas Village.” At one time, she was also a runway model for Vittorio & Luccino. Her work places her squarely in the heart of Madrid’s lively fashion world, where artistry and creativity are put at the service of an ever-changing image.

Although she lives in a highly image-conscious world, María León has remained rooted in Catholic and family values that serve as a compass for her life. She is also a supporter and sponsor of the Pure Fashion program, which teaches girls to express their own dignity through the way they dress, becoming protagonists of a modesty revolution based on the values of interior beauty.

In the following interview, she

	María León at a Pure Fashion promotional event in Madrid.

shares her perspective on the challenge of combining fashion and values in today’s world.

Q: Why do you participate in Pure Fashion?
I love being able to relate two worlds: that of fashion and that of values.

Q: How do you keep from getting caught up in frivolity in a world so focused on image? 
The most important is to feel supported by one’s family. My family plays the most important role in my life. And although you find worthwhile people all over and I’ve made friends in this world, they are not like lifelong friends.

Q: Isn’t the family “out of fashion” today? 
It’s a shame, because it seems that people don’t appreciate family unity. But then you realize what emptiness is there without it. 

Q:  Would you like to start a family?
It’s what I would most like in the world.  But many people these days start building their house from the roof down: with children. I think the first thing is to get to know the person well, have a dating relationship and engagement the right way, and then when you have clear that this is the right person, get married.

Q: What do you think of the abortion reform that is going on in Spain?
I do not agree with it. I am always pro-life.

Q: What attracted an Environmental Studies major to fashion? 
It’s a world that has a lot of culture and history behind it. It’s very creative, and I’m a bit artistic.

Q: How do you see today’s fashion?
As I often say in my blog, which is also found in the digital magazine of fashion and culture, Asmoda, in which I speak about fashion and values, trends come and go, but there is nothing more important than being yourself, not losing your personality, and fleeing from the fashion victim phenomenon. That’s how a person is most attractive. 

Q: Who is behind those trends? 
The celebrities have a great influence because people imitate them. That’s why it is so important to adapt fashion to yourself, especially the youth, and

	"Although I work in the fashion world, which from the outside appears a bit glamorous, I had a traditional and very Catholic education, and I have my beliefs very much present during my day."

to let your parents give you advice, because they are the ones who really want the best for their daughters.

Q: What’s being worn this fall and winter?
The color pink, high boots, leather jackets. The ideal complement would be scarves in an animal print. 

Q: Do you shop at Zara?
I shop at Pedro del Hierro, of course. I always have something of theirs in my closet. But yes, I wear very accessible clothing. The secret is to mix it up. Sometimes it seems like I’m wearing something very expensive, and I actually bought it in the cheapest shop.

Q: Aren’t we becoming ever more consumeristic with this fashion that is so attractive and so cheap?
Yes, I’m afraid so. That’s why I recycle a lot. I give what I don’t wear to those who need it most. And above all, if I have some brown boots from three seasons ago and they still look good on me, why do I want others?  It’s not necessary to buy the latest fashions from every season.

Q: With so much care and attention to the body, could we be forgetting to cultivate beauty in our souls?
Yes. Part of my work involves having an image and not going out looking like a mess. But although I work in the fashion world, which from the outside appears a bit glamorous, I had a traditional and very Catholic education, and I have my beliefs very much present during my day. 

Q: How do you live that faith, and what does it give you?
Every morning, I offer my work to God during 15 minutes of meditation. That’s how I have the strength to face the day. I also go to Mass whenever I can, in addition to every Sunday, above all to give thanks. And there is a little book I’m crazy about, that I carry everywhere with me in my purse. It’s called “La quiniela de tu vida” (The Lottery of Your Life”) by the Capuchin Ángel de Novelé. What gives you strength and energy is the faith