Children of the Revolution
They’re the long-haired rebel youth, offspring of Ibiza’s fabled creative community of artists, musicians, hippies and rock stars and they’re as inspirational as they are international. L’OFFICIEL IBIZA and the Fendi maison meet the new generation of cool kids calling the shots on the island.
Laura Castro
29, Chilean/Dutch, fashion design
‘My father came here in the 1970s because he was escaping from the Pinochet regime. He made it to Madrid and there he heard about this mythical hippie island off the coast of Spain. My mother was a blonde hippie babe from Holland – she appeared in the original Paula’s Ibiza book – and I was raised very wild and barefoot in the campo surrounding my dad’s restaurant. My girlfriends and I were always climbing lemon trees and riding bareback on our ponies, and it’s this kind of youthful, dress-up energy that runs through our whole collection at De La Vali. We are literally retelling the bohemian stories of our childhood.’
Jana Sascha Haveman
30, Dutch/German, fashion design
‘My father was a young hippie in Amsterdam and then he moved to Cadaqués, a tiny, whitewashed village on the Costa Brava made famous by Salvador Dalí. He met my mother there and they moved to Ibiza to raise me because Cadaqués really felt like the end of the world back then. My parents were very into fashion and style – my dad’s a real rock’n’roller – and they used to throw wild parties that I’d always try to get involved in. In the daytimes we’d race to Formentera on my father’s boat. We were always on the move. Growing up in Ibiza made me very adventurous and free-spirited. There’s not a lot that I’m afraid of and that confidence and power is a defining element of De La Vali.’
Max Kindersley
25, British, photography
‘My mother is a homeopath and my parents founded Neal’s Yard Remedies. They’ve always been deeply connected to nature. We live in an ancient finca in the Morna Valley – it was the original home of the Blakstad family. Growing up here gave me a very profound understanding of light and shadow and tone, which definitely steered me into photography. Even when I’m shooting in a studio setting for a client like Linda Farrow, I’m always trying to recreate that Mediterranean warmth. There are certain places in Ibiza that have never changed since my childhood: the beach at Aguas Blancas, where I used to hang out with Jade Jagger and her gang; Camí de Balàfia, still my favourite restaurant; and Vista Alegre in San Juan – I feel like I spent my life going for breakfast there!’
Tom Peppé
30, British/French/Polish, music and property
‘Growing up here was great because we were all so different, which was what united us. Everyone’s parents were kind of misfits and in Ibiza they could all just be wild together. Certainly, the exposure to electronic music here as a child far outweighed anything I’d have had in the UK. I started DJing as a kid. I was the youngest person ever to play the main room at Pacha at one point, although I think that has changed now. I was 16 and had to leave early to study for my GCSEs. We were all going to clubs at 14, 15. There’s a great photo of me and a friend raving to Carl Cox in the Discoteca at Space. We had school the next day!’
Dara Dorsman
30, Dutch, photography
‘I found a darkroom at 15 and fell instantly love with photography. I now live half in London, half in Ibiza. The contrast works for me because I love the discipline of London and the wildness of Ibiza. I tend to do my editorial shoots here in Ibiza and teach yoga when I’m back in the UK. I was a real tomboy as a child – we rode our bikes to school and did a lot of horse riding and kayaking. It’s the way I want to raise my own children. Even though the island has changed a lot, there is something truly magical about our gang. We have all stayed together and we’re very social and very adaptable. We’re Ibiza kids – you can put us anywhere and we’ll make it work!’
Emile Durrer-Gasse
26, French/English/Swiss, music and photography
‘We ran wild as children, out in the forest, climbing cliffs, discovering caves. My parents travelled a lot and are great collectors and I grew up in a quite extraordinary ancient finca surrounded by artefacts from all over the globe. It wasn’t until I left for the UK that I realised quite how much I had taken it for granted. I’ve been taking photographs since I was a child. My father collected old film cameras and I’ve always been drawn to the aesthetic of film, because it’s serendipitous and you can’t predict the result, which makes a beautiful image more special. Music is my true passion though. I perform as part of a duo and our sound is quite mellow, with Brazilian, folk, tropical and ’70s influences. We both sing and play guitar. We grow up curious and creative in Ibiza. Being exposed to so many interesting people instilled a real sense that I can be whoever I want to be.’
Indiana Petrucci
31, Argentinian/English, photography
‘My father escaped the military junta in Argentina with his two best friends. A total stranger gave them the cash for the plane tickets and probably saved their lives. In Ibiza my father ran the beach beds at Es Cavallet and I was raised in the salt village at Las Salinas. It’s a very rarefied environment and an extremely tight-knit community in Salinas that I feel very connected to. Growing up in Ibiza has given us all a very interesting understanding of backgrounds and of age. I was never aware of friends having more or less than me and there was no financial anxiety – rich and poor, old and young, local and foreign, we all just lived in our own way.’
William Robinson
29, German/Japanese/Australian, music and events
‘I never loved school and I started as an apprentice at [production house] The Shop when I was around 15. I fell in love with production and straight away I did my own party, with a stage and I bought a little sound system. I learned on the job. I ended up as production manager at International Music Summit and then left to join Pacha, where I'm now head of production. It’s mind-blowing to see what goes on behind the scenes day after day. I’m an electronic music freak and to see a huge event in action that you’ve created from scratch is unreal. I also own a new company that creates bespoke sound solutions for private homes. Growing up in Ibiza definitely made me a music addict.’
Jack Anderson
31, Irish/English, events and marketing
‘I moved to Ibiza when I was 18 to live with my dad. He had an organic farm here and very quickly I began to develop the farm shop. From there I moved to Babylon Beach, and I stayed there for 10 years. Running a beach bar is intense: you can plan as much as you want, but there will be massive curveballs thrown at you all day long. I work more as a brand ambassador these days – I’m working with San Miguel this summer as the host of their pop-up and it’s a really creative space with great people. After I lost my parents, my island friends became my family. They’re what keeps me in Ibiza.’
Alessandra Grisoni
29, Swiss/English, yachting
‘We’re very lucky with our business because for six months of the year we’re surrounded by people from all over the world who’ve flown here to have the best time. Everybody wants to be on our little rock and they bring this extraordinary energy with them, so the vibe stays super high! And we spend time with so many exceptional people, who under any other circumstances we would be unlikely to meet – it’s very normal here that you can be sitting at a lunch table talking openly with a global CEO or a movie actor or a musician. I think in London you’d find those circles are far more closed. We love seeing how our island gang has grown and evolved. Everyone has gone off and found their purpose and when we all get back together the relationship stays the same. Ibiza is home and it always will be.’
Charlie Veale
30, British, yachting
‘I was born in Ibiza and the sea is in my blood. I started out teaching sailing and windsurfing on Salinas. When Alessandra and I started Smart Charter we were very young. We set up the website as a sort of experiment. We didn’t even have any of our own boats. We were actually travelling in Thailand when suddenly we started getting a ton of enquiries. I said to Alessandra, “We’d better get back to Ibiza and get some boats!” From then I was skippering every day and Alessandra was running the business. We now have offices in Ibiza, Mallorca and Marbella and chartering is around half the business. The rest is yacht sales. We feel incredibly lucky to be able to do this every day, but growing up here made us think we could do anything. That’s the magic of Ibiza.’
Elisabeth Conradi
30, German, animal non-profit
‘I was raised between Ibiza and Germany. Even when I was tiny, if I found a creature in the street, I had to save it. Three years ago, I founded the animal rescue and rehabilitation centre Animales del Alma to resocialise, retrain and rehome animals who’ve been traumatised or abused. It’s sad because people see this beautiful party island, but actually there is a lot of animal abuse and pets who are abandoned after the owner leaves the island. Some of my rescue missions are quite dangerous. I’ve had rocks thrown at me. Now I have around 50 dogs at the centre. They’re like my children. It’s emotionally exhausting but I’m grateful to be able to make a difference.
Sem van Gennip
28, Dutch, construction
‘We work mainly on renovations of old houses and it’s always exciting when we or a client find an old forgotten building and we begin to see how it can be revived. The vernacular architecture of Ibiza – the thick white finca walls and curved silhouettes – is beautiful to recreate through modern construction. We try to build in a way that is timeless and won’t need remodelling in 10 years. Simplicity and natural materials are key to that – we use a lot of wood and mineral paints and solar power is very important. My career allows me to be on the island all year round and I feel very grateful for that.’
Scarlett Day
29, British, jewellery design
‘I owe everything to growing up in Ibiza. I started working for Jade Jagger when I was 18. I was close friends with her daughter here on the island and Jade offered me a job, running her guesthouse and shop in India. I would spend my winters there and my summers here in Ibiza. Jade is an incredible jeweller and she taught me so much. My own work is very influenced by Ibiza, especially in terms of the colours of stones and crystals that I use, but I also draw from other spheres like ancient talismanic jewellery, for example. Everything I create is handmade from recycled gold. I spent many years working with Victoria Durrer-Gasse at La Galeria Elefante and she has been a very powerful inspiration for me. She’s heavily involved in sustainability and has an incredible eye for one-off pieces. I very rarely make two of the same thing, as I prefer my jewellery to be unique to the wearer. I produce most of it here in Ibiza and it feels very natural to be on my creative path here on the island where all my wild childhood memories were made.’
Giacomo Gex
31, English/French, film direction and acting
‘I grew up in Egypt, then moved to Ibiza as a child. At 13 I was gifted a small handycam by my godfather and I just couldn’t put it down. Since then, I became obsessed with cinema, in particular filmmaking and acting. In Ibiza I went to school with Italian, German, French, Spanish, Catalan and Portuguese kids and we all developed an instinct that everyone is the same, wherever you are from or whoever you are; there’s no better or worse or right or wrong. As an actor, that’s allowed me to embody different characters. I’ve just starred as the lead in my first feature film, Universe 25, written and directed by Richard Melkonian. I’m also currently finishing my own feature documentary, The Treasure Hunter, which I’ve been working on for the last five years. It’s about a friend of mine – also from Ibiza – who has spent the last 10 years searching for Japanese buried treasure in the Philippines. On this island, everyone has a story.’
Asia Adua
26, Italian/English, interior architecture
‘We lived in Egypt when I was tiny, but my mother wanted to leave, so she packed me and my brother Giacomo into a car with all our things and drove us to Ibiza. Like little nomads. It was quite strange moving from the desert to the campo. When we arrived, I refused to wear shoes for a long time because I loved the feel of the grass on my feet. I grew up in a Santa Gertrudis bubble: Bar Ulivans, Bar Costa, walking to school. Ibiza is a party island, but I got that out of my system very young. There was never anything to rebel against. I might go to DC-10 now for the occasional boogie, but my life here is incredibly chilled. I think that’s why it’s important to leave Ibiza too, to establish yourself in the wider world. The island is incredible, but it’s not really like real life!’
Location: The Farm Ibiza
Hair: Riccardo Boscolo
Makeup: Corina Smith
Production: George Scarbrough Penn at 365 Productions
Styling Assistant: Clementine Fleming
Photography Assistant: Adam Ings
