We first met Harley in Goa when FARA was just starting up and we fell in love with the artistic vision with which she shares and celebrates daily life. We see and deeply appreciate how Harley uses her platform and work as a model to support small brands, like FARA, bringing to life one of our core values, women empowering women.
Harley, thank you for being in conversation with us. You have been inspiring FARA since we first met, which was 8 years ago now, and we are excited to share more about what moves and inspires you in your journey with our community!
I remember the exact moment When I identified myself with FARA. I was 17 years old on my first ever travel in India. I was wandering the market when I encountered these gentle, soft, silky flowy dresses. They pretty much described me. I remember purchasing my first piece from sweet Rachel. I lived in that dress those months, it was my favorite piece in my very light Little suitcase.
Now 8 years later I still identify myself with FARA and I feel like I’ve watched FARA grow as I grow too.
You embody, for us at FARA, an authentic freedom and celebration of the Feminine which we witness through your free-spirited lifestyle and self-expression. Have you always felt free to express yourself authentically?
As a child born and raised in ibiza & having very open-minded parents I have always been fortunate enough to be “allowed” to express myself freely. This is something I wish for every women on this planet.
Is there a particular women who is a muse for you or has supported you in this journey, either as inspiration or personally?
My mother has been one huge role model, a woman who decided get out of her comfort zone & travel, to break through the “system” & leave the place where she was born as she knew there was so much more out there for her. Oh and she was definitely right about that. I definitely get that from her, what they call free spirited.
Most of my inspiration comes directly from nature & all the women that surround me.
I always feel very fulfilled when I create with these two strong pillars in my life.
You are currently living between Ibiza and Tulum in Mexico. Tell us a little about what brought you to these places?
Mexico is a very special land to me ANDI’ve been coming yearly for the last 7 years. It’s culture & nature, along with Ibiza. Ibiza is stunning & the community is very strong, however sometimes it can be too small. That’s why the bridge between them both is perfect for now.
Two years ago I met Matias, my incredible partner who is a musician & singer. We met on a deserted beach & from that moment we have been inseparable. We are actually a “quarantine” couple. We met 2/3 weeks before the pandemic, leaving us no other choice but to live together in the jungle for several months.
Now we have land & are planning at the end of this year to build sustainably, a house & a project. It’s one of our shared dreams, to create a place where we can host people & hopefully inspire them to live differently. More freely, more openly.
We are inspired by your celebration of and relationship with nature and you refer to having ‘green mind’. Can you share more about this?
Living a more conscious life, close to nature is very important to me. It’s what I refer to as being green minded, consuming less and having as little impact on the planet as possible. As they say… there is no planet B.
I believe that by looking after ourselves from within we also look after the planet & vice versa. I feel that each of us can discover how to do this by deepening within ourselves, rooting ourselves down, understanding that we are not separated from the planet or universe, that we all interlinked and my inhale is someone else’s exhale.
I could name all the challenges in the world yet when I strip them down, layer by layer, I realize that it all comes down to letting go of the ‘I’ and ‘me’. That’s the biggest challenge we face, to remember that we are all part of One.
We resonate deeply with your reflection of dance as ‘the language of the soul’. How do you both explore and / or experience this yourself?
When I was a child I was so shy. I loved to observe & be in the background, my mum would always laugh at me, she noticed how my big eyes wouldn’t miss a thing. I would pick up on everything happening in the room, I really wasn’t interested in the “typical” kids games.
However the one thing that would always get me up and away from hiding behind my mum’s legs was dancing. If there was good music I would be the only kid in the middle of the adults on the dance floor. I would forget everything in that moment, time and space would be irrelevant.
I remember Tuesdays & Thursdays were my favourite weekdays as I had dance class.
That space, that trance is where I would get to know myself. It’s where I could express using no words.
Entering my teenage years, I remember noticing some of my dance mates were not really interested, most of them were sent there by their parents so that they would do some kind of physical activity. The level was low & I ended up dropping out. As my hormones started kicking in and social media was booming I became self conscious and left dance aside.
It’s only in the last 3 years where I have let go and tapped back into that space that I enjoyed so much when I was a child. It’s one of my therapies, there is no way that dancing will not make me feel better.
The type of dance I most resonate with is hip dancing. There is something so sensual & releasing by moving that area. For many it can be a taboo, yet many of the most powerful & incredible things in life are considered “taboo”. I find it quite fun breaking through those layers.
Do you have a ritual or practice that you would like to share with our readers to inspire them in discovering their unique dance?
I enjoy sharing this practice, hip dancing, with my girlfriends. I’ve had some amazing experiences with women moving so much energy they didn’t even know they had.
We should all shake & dance a little more!
