The Spanish King

For the release of our Homewear collection in a classic, two-coloured leopard print, we enthusiastically couriered the garments to Señor Andrés García-Carro. Known on Instagram as The Spanish King, he began his modeling career at age 91 thanks to Celine van Heel—his granddaughter—who began documenting their life together during lockdown.

“I was very attracted to this place because of its timelessness—this beach has only a few houses built in the 50's. A cheap hostel and a beach bar—when you arrive you don't really know in which era you are.”

CELINE VAN HEEL:

I started with photography during lockdown. My grandfather and I were alone at home. He gave me his camera and I started shooting him. One day I decided to create an Instagram account for him, called “The Spanish King”. I had this idea of creating an Instagram account depicting his dolce vita, tanning all day, having fun, smoking and just vibing. I started taking pictures, videos, and followers started growing on his account. People liked the idea of an old man showing his wrinkles and being proud of his age no matter what. We started to get campaigns, editorials, videoclips, and acting in series.

(Celine again)

My grandfather got a second life full of excitement, and I got to travel with him and start a new path in my career. He always says that age is in your head, not in your appearance (easy to say that when you look like him). He was born with this amazing energy, and he loves young people, to listen to them and learn about new things. He doesn’t like to get stuck in the past, he wants to be super modern in his head and up-to-date. I call him “Abuelito Alien”, which means grandpa alien, because I don’t understand how he can be like this both physically and mentally. It’s a mystery, he comes from another planet.

“Sun, smoke, swim. Freedom to do whatever I want. That’s a joyous life.”

Photos by Celine van Heel
Video by Rodrigo Porcelli
Featuring The Spanish King

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