July 17, 2020

UNIK muse : Carolina Luna

Carolina Luna is a girl after our own heart. She is intelligent, kind, community-minded, beautiful in every way and is such easy company. We could have chatted for many more hours! For this UNIK shoot we handed over the creative reign to Carolina to photograph herself at home in her favourite UNIK by us pieces and we asked her some questions so we could get to know her better, and boy are we happy we did. She is truly a beautiful inspirational person, serious girl crush material!

Tell us a bit about yourself, where you’re from, where you grew up and where you're based now?

My name is Carolina, I have a passion for human interaction and connection, whether it be through art, fashion, or simply lending a listening ear. I have a degree in Psychology which may explain this passion, but also, my love for exploring new cultures, sounds, people and places comes from being raised in 2 completely different countries and seeing this throughout my upbringing.

I was born in Chicago and raised in Mexico City. I lived most of my childhood in Mexico before moving back to Chicago at age 11 and lived there before moving to the sunny shores of Manly beach, where I've been based for the last 3 years. Both of my parents were flight attendants, therefore, travelling and seeing new places was part of my life from a very young age.

2020 has been a year like no other, how did you cope during the isolation period and what did you do during this time to keep you feeling positive?

True, 2020 has been like no other for the rest of the world, for me it's just been the cherry on top. The last 2 years have been a huge roller coaster ride for me personally. In January 2019, I survived a major truck accident and spent the year recovering from some serious physical injuries. Then 2020 a worldwide pandemic struck our planet, which meant it was time to reassess everything once again.

I was lucky to spend ISO surrounded by my awesome flatmates, we never felt lonely, if anything, it solidified our relationship as home and family members. Isolation also allowed me to get closer to my neighbours and my community, truly appreciating and feeling blessed to live in such a wonderful place. Much introspection came about during COVID, it can be tough feeling like the world is going to end and there is no hope, it truly makes you appreciate what you have and learn to be gentle with yourself and those around you. As someone who is passionate about the mind, this time allowed me to practice mindfulness and gratitude even more than before.

Connecting with our neighbours was also so lovely, before ISO, we would all run around in our busy lives, and suddenly you had to slow down and truly take in and get to know what is around you. Staying connected with family overseas was also very important, to feel grounded and connected in times of such uncertainty.

Can your share your daily self care routine that keeps you looking and feeling so good

I love the idea of looking after ourselves and each other, my flatmates and I have truly embraced self care, especially on Sundays. Even before ISO, we basked in our glow every weekend and indulged in Self-care Sundays. In fact, Sunday is my favourite day of the week for this reason, it is a day to work on your inner and outer glow. Instead of feeling sad that the weekend has come to an end, I view it as the beginning to a wonderful week. A day to look after yourself whether that is putting on a facemask and watching your favourite movie, or dancing in your living room with a nice glass of Rose, it is about making yourself the star of the show and truly giving yourself a treat for accomplishing another week but also putting in the best intentions and self for a wonderful week ahead.

Thank you for the beautiful compliment! I wish I had a daily routine! I am very much into examining myself daily and giving myself the attention I need for the day. However, a quick swim in the ocean does wonders for my physical and mental well being, if I can do that daily, I feel incredible! natural, organic cosmetics and skincare products are also non negotiable, I love reading ingredients in products and knowing exactly what I am putting on my skin. I also love a good DIY product, I do not drink coffee but I love using coffee grounds and rubbing them all over my body, it is great for circulation, exfoliation and it is nearly free! Pretty much all good things in life are free right? Lastly, I am firm believer that laughter is the best medicine, no matter who you are.

What are the three most important things in your life?

The three most important things in life are learning, self care and supporting those around me. To me learning about cultures, fashion, art, languages or even finances, anything to discover is what drives me, it may sound cliche but I believe we truly are meant to experiment, try and discover new things in life and how wonderful it is to learn something new everyday.

Self care is also truly important, I am not just talking about my skincare or physical exercise, but connecting with friends and family, taking the time to enjoy the little things in life, that is all part of self care, just looking after yourself and knowing what you need because everyone is unique, that's beautiful to me.

Lastly, being a support system to those around me and being present for my friends and family is truly important, I love listening to others and the feeling I get when people around me can feel comfortable enough to tell me anything, If I can help anyone turn a frown upside down, I am happy.

You have had the pleasure of attending many festivals, what is your favourite festival who was your favourite festival act ?

Music, art, film and culture are deeply satisfying to me. I love discovering new artists in every outlet, it is so impressive to see and hear what a talented world we live in. Very excited to see and hear all of the art that comes out of isolation time. Music in particular is such an important element in my life, I love the feeling it gives me and dancing is probably my favourite form of exercise and meditation, all in one!

I have had the pleasure to see amazing musicians play live at various festivals and venues, it is hard to say which one is my favourite as I have witnessed some amazing acts. Some of my favourite memories would have to be hearing a very special and intimate set of Nicola Cruz at Subsonic Music Festival in 2017, as well as Jayda G at the same festival the following year, the vibe, music and costumes in that room were like I've never experienced. Just before lockdown happened, I had the pleasure to dance to Osunlade's amazing music selection at Tabularasa Collective in Sydney, that was my last great dance before lockdown.

When the world opens up to us again, where would you love to travel to?

Once the world opens its borders again, I would love to take a journey around the globe! Seriously, the more the merrier haha. Particularly I'd love to explore South America. There is so much indigenous history to learn from and having been raised in Mexico and from Mexican descent, South America just feels natural to want to learn more about. I'd also love to get lost in beautiful cobblestone streets anywhere in Europe, there is just so much to see. My partner is from Denmark so it is important for me to learn about his culture and where he is from, I have also started learning Danish which means I will have to put that into practice sometime soon:) For me, Seul is killing it in street style and fashion, I'd love to see more!

We love the images you took for our UNIK at home campaign and you look amazing in them! What was the inspiration behind the shoot and did you enjoy doing it?

It was my absolute pleasure to take part of UNIK at home, I feel truly blessed to have been locked in such a wonderful place, my home is quite antique and unique, with much character and charm, which served as a perfect backdrop for the shoot. The campaign was shot in the middle of lockdown and I wanted to showcase my everyday life in isolation, how I make the best out of being with myself, enjoying my own company and looking after myself in all forms.

With this shoot, I wanted to inspire women to take this isolation time to get to know themselves better and appreciate moments with themselves. There is nothing more satisfying than appreciating the little wonders of life and to make yourself the star of your own show. Many women are working from home, and activewear or pyjamas have become the uniform of choice; however, I wanted to showcase different ways of looking and feeling beautiful without compromising comfort. UNIK does such a great job at merging these two, with such a simple but elegant and laid back approach.

I had a great deal of fun shooting this campaign, some of the photos were taken by my wonderful brother, who immediately jumped on the chance to get creative, it was very nice to connect and work on a little project together, mom would be proud ;) My beautiful flatmate, Eliza Giles, was my second photographer, she really focused on making me feel beautiful and sexy, which I felt was important to highlight as this shoot was very much inspired by women to look after themselves, and fall in love with the best version of themselves.

What are your favourite UNIK by us pieces?

So hard to say which ones are my favourites, all of the pieces are truly beautiful and work so well together. The Taylor silk blouse is absolutely gorgeous! I love the simplicity of it and how beautiful it pairs with almost anything, from silk bottoms to corduroy jumpsuits. I styled the Taylor blouse with the comfiest Jonathan pants, which goes to show, you can be comfortable and sexy at the same time. The Byron and Oscar oversized shirts have quite an understated sexy to them, they pair well with or without pants and are the coziest, softest fabrics. The Ellen jumpsuit is also one of my favourites, it is perfect for everyday, whether locked inside or doing a quick supermarket run. Also cannot forget the beautiful Victor oversized linen coat, the perfect transitional piece. Looks so good thrown over jeans and a hoodie, it instantly makes an outfit look more polished and put together.

Do you have any music tips for us we can add to our playlists while working from home?

Oh yes! For chill home vibes I recommend adding Ecuadorian artist Nicola Cruz into your playlist, his music can get a bit weird at times but for the most part, it is nice and relaxing for working from home. I've recently discovered Zurich based duo, Okvsho, their music is jazzy with a bit of bossa nova vibes, where Nicola Cruz' music leans more towards folkloric. Both artists incorporate beautiful traditional instruments into their music along with a bit of electronica'