Alba Baptista

Interview by Justin Amorim
Photography Frederico Martins
Styling Larissa Marinho

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He is her best listener, the least judgmental, the most empathic, and the one who, in order to undermine her dramas, always keeps a joke on the tip of his tongue. Her gift is always being there for him on the right moments, she’s a crisis manager who carries a special type of light with her. They met at one of his productions, which she featured and since that day, they’ve been playing the main role in each other’s life, on each other’s careers, dreams and even in a near death experience in Paredes de Coura.

JA – We met in 2015 while filming Leviano. That was my first movie and also yours, at least our first feature-length movie. And I would like you to tell me something about it, some memory that you kept… The best memory, or the weirdest, you know, the first thing that comes to your mind once you think about Leviano.

AB – I have a lot of memories. On top of everything, Justin was the first director who believe in me enough to play a main role in a long feature film. So, besides being my best friend, I will always be grateful for that. It was such a beautiful process since we were both still at that stage where we were still discovering our professional convictions… I’m speaking for you, but I do believe Leviano was like a big step in your career, a step that you didn’t even know you were ready for yet. But you went there, with the drive you always had and still do, and so I related to that. That’s something we totally share, this almost blind ambition. That made us instantly click and connect, since day one.

But if I have to think about a strong memory from the film… I would highlight the pageant scene, because it was shot as if we were really in a true contest. I mean, the tension was there and all the girls who were picked by you looked like Misses to me. No one left character, it was a bizarre environment because it was something I wouldn’t take part in real life, but suddenly…

JA – You would never run for Miss Algarve

AB – Right! (laughs) And there I thought I was ready for a scene like that, but as soon I arrived the plateau, stepped on that stage with all the girls wearing a pink trikini, the huge camera spot eyes on me and Justin said “beautiful, you look beautiful!” with a megaphone and I was like “oh my god” … I had a panic attack, because it was so opposing to my true essence, and I clearly did not have the emotional maturity to set aside my real personality and just embody the character. It represented such growth to me, and I would even say it links almost immediately to this recent film I featured, Mrs. Harris goes to Paris, because it also stages a catwalk, while presenting the Dior’s dresses. We also shot that scene exactly as catwalks were at the time: you walk in, show the dress, come back, and you have to change and get the new make up look as fast as possible because you’re going next again, after the third girl. And I had seen myself in Leviano, but once again I found myself thinking “oh my god, I can’t do this, I don’t want to be here.” But this time, with more growth, I endured it, felt a bit of panic, but I was there.

JA – You had a panic attack that night?

AB – Yes, don’t you remember? I left the stage running and the make up artist calmed me down.

JA – I didn’t quite notice it at the time…

AB – You didn’t notice it because you had literally 30 people to be dealt with at that moment

JA – I thought: if not Alba, someone else will do it

AB – (LAUGHING)

JA – I’m joking … Whenever I watch it, it’s not usual, but just recently I rewatched it, and that scene where you have the photoshoot… I always gasp on how good you look, so delicate and beautiful. I believe it was in that moment, moreover it was at the beginning of it, like on the third day, it was right there when I fell in love with you as a friend.

AB – Wow, I didn’t know, you never told me that.

JA – Lets skip to Mrs. Harris then. You already shot it, Mrs Harris goes to Paris will screen soon, you play a Dior’s model-muse from the 50’s. Since you’re playing that part, who do you consider your major style references and, furthermore, tell me something about the garments for the movie. As you know, I love fashion…

AB - First of all, you’re my fashion icon. After you, I’ve always felt an admiration for Audrey Hepburn as I always loved her effortless style. It was never a matter of what she wore. I mean, it wasn’t her dress you’d see, but how magnificent she was wearing it, it was all about her. And her way of transmitting that was never tasteless. For me, she is the true meaning of classy. I always and always admired Audrey Hepburn. She was the opposite of the beauty standard. She was too skinny and too tall; her hips and chest were not large. The beauty standard at that time was Marilyn Monroe and Audrey changed that idea by simply being herself; For me, that is eternal inspiration.

Getting the part for Mrs. Harris was a bit like a spiritual experience because the character is inspired by Audrey Hepburn and everything the character represents, is epitomized around that idea: she is a part of the fashion world, but she doesn’t feel like she’s a part of it, she’s not at ease, although, by the eyes of everyone, she shines. She doesn’t see herself that way, she doesn’t like what she sees.

Dress H&M

Earrings and ring Be Collection Luísa Rosas

JA – She just can’t see herself as others do.

AB – Right. I think we can all relate to that, the way we see ourselves and the way others perceive us. Therefore, getting that part was a cleansing experience. I’m sorry, I got lost on the question… My style icon, no doubt, Audrey Hepburn. Likewise, the Givenchy dress made for her revolutionized the fashion industry. Filming that, we had the honor to be able to wear many of the Dior dresses that were in museums. I wore it, they even stitch and adapted them to our measures. It’s almost absurd! It was one of those rare experiences in which, once you put the dress on, you don’t even try to get into character, suddenly you look at yourself in the mirror and you don’t even recognize yourself. You only see a work of art someone designed a long time ago with so much care and you’re there, dressed in it.

You wear the dress and you’re almost offered something you didn’t even knew you had.

JA – It was completely different from the trikini I made you wear in Leviano (laughs)

AB – Absolutely!

JA – Tell me about this: where are you now?

AB – At this moment I’m in Vancouver, I’m working on a pretty cool movie. I cannot share too much, but I feel very happy.

JA – Vancouver, Canada?

AB – Yes!

JA – Ok, so on the other side of the world … I don’t know why I asked about this, you’re on some part of the world and we’re best friends.

Look, let me ask you… do you remember about that time we almost died together inside a car? And it wasn’t even related to bad driving …?

AB – It was just so irresponsible. Something I will never forget. It started with… I guess you were the one who suggested going to one of Paredes de Coura days, we love Arcade Fire so it was something as “let’s go and see this band together, it will be amazing, let’s go!” and so we got into your car, followed the map, and had an unforgettable night. This was one of the nights with Justin that really left a mark on me. Maybe we had too much alcohol on the side, but it was something that brought together our super bonded friendship. We didn’t even think about the end of the night – where are we going to sleep? I don’t know! We should have thought about it. I guess we asked a couple of people if we could maybe crash at their houses, but no one was interested in helping us.

JA – People had tents, but I guess a special camping bracelet was required and we didn’t have none.

AB – So we slept in the car, the only problem was the windows were closed. Paredes de Coura in August, at 6AM the sun is already feeling like 28 degrees and naturally, we only went to “bed” at 5/6AM… I don’t know how you could sleep because I lost all my oxygen.

JA – To me that was the scariest about it. The windows were closed, and it felt like 50 degrees inside the car, we were awake and didn’t have any water, we were completely dehydrated because we were drinking alcohol the whole night, so we woke up undeniably dry. I think I woke up because I felt I was dying; I really believe that’s why I woke up.

AB – I’m laughing but it was so scary. I can’t find the words to explain it, but it was something close to traumatizing. We were literally baking.

JA – But that brought us together because we had a near death experience.

AB – We simply woke up; we didn’t even have the strength to speak

Justin sat, I sat, and we drove. We just drove to get to the beach, destination sea, we put on our bathing suits and got inside the water, laid in the sand, and fell asleep. And I woke up sun burned! It was definitely a bizarre morning.

JA – Now, I want to ask you: in the past, Leviano included, in fact I have seen this in all of your films, you always play very young characters – because you’re young, but also naïve, almost like a Lolita. This is the type of part you have been playing. Would you like that to change?

AB – I guess no actor likes to be labelled. You can use it as your personal benefit if you prefer being inside your comfort zone, something you know you do properly so you keep doing it, but I would say most actores do not want that. And I absolutely do not wish for that. In Portugal there was a time when that happened currently, for example on television. They managed to pick my characters due to their naïve side but always mixing it up with a bit of curiosity and a need to explore the sexual conscience that comes with that ingenuous side, something that is getting old and becomes cheap and predictable. Unfortunately, when you’re starting you always see worth on the characters, you always see some potential on it, and in a way, you think you’re bringing something new… then you realize that unfortunate pattern, mostly accomplished with young actresses. It is what it is, but I realized it’s mostly written by men, directed by men, so the focus of keeping the realism fades. Maybe we’re just feeding this masculine vision that has nothing to do with reality.

It's funny because when I started working outside Portugal, I was never suggested for any role like that. Warrior Nun is not based on that sexual component, it’s not that type of series, on the contrary, it has that sci-fi/comic book feeling, so there is not much room for that. I appreciate that a lot because it permitted me to show other qualities. Warrior Nun is more naïve about life, related to emotions, experiences…

The more I work, the more I realize I want to explore new characters. I’m not saying that I never get different characters on scripts, I just crave some real potential or that it brings a message worth sharing.

JA – I’m going to write one for you, then.

AB – Go ahead.

Dress Maria Clara

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Earrings and ring Be Collection Luísa Rosas

Total look Michael Kors Collection

Earrings Be Collection Luísa Rosas

Top Bottega Veneta at Stivali

Shorts F.R.S For Restless Sleepers at Stivali

Top Bottega Veneta at Stivali

Shorts F.R.S For Restless Sleepers at Stivali

Cardigan Christian Dior

Earrings Be Collection Luísa Rosas

Necklace Tejo Azur Lisbon

Total look Michael Kors Collection

Earrings Be Collection Luísa Rosas

Dress Jacquemus at Stivali

Swimsuit Brazilian Bikini Shop

Dress H&M

Earrings and ring Be Collection Luísa Rosas

JA – I’m going to write one for you, then.

AB – Go ahead.

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Fashion

Maria Clara

Dos seus primeiros passos, um tão grande quanto a perna – mostrar que a criatividade é possível através da sustentabilidade. Aliada à identidade, à tradição, ao sonho, à formação e a uma estética que é ao mesmo tempo tão sintonizada com a atualidade que vestiu uma das estrelas mais hot do momento para a SOLO.

No ano passado, venceste o prémio ModaLisboa x Tintex do Concurso Sangue Novo. O que trouxeste à passerelle que sentes que levou a esta premiação?

Acho que um dos objetivos do Sangue Novo é incentivar-nos a criar e a apresentar algo de novo, algo nosso, com identidade e originalidade. Penso que ter arranjado uma maneira de me expressar através de uma técnica muito antiga e tradicional, mas também muito minha (uma técnica usada nos processos iniciais do Bordado Madeira, ilha onde nasci), poderá ter sido um dos fatores que contribuiu para essa premiação.

Entre muitas outras coisas, representas uma nova forma de construção e exploração das malhas. O que queres falar através das tuas coleções? Como narras a tua marca? O que te caracteriza e o que te atraiu para esta forma de expressão?

Tento sempre pôr o que sou naquilo que faço. Dou muito valor às tradições e às minhas origens e penso que há uma influência muito natural de tudo isso em mim. Valorizo muito o saber fazer, gosto de ser a minha própria artesã e muitas das minhas peças nascem de várias experiências e tentativas. Espero também conseguir demonstrar que podemos ser criativos, leais à nossa identidade, conciliando a arte e a moda com o fator importante da sustentabilidade, uma urgência no mundo atual, sem perder a nossa essência ou até mesmo encontrá-la nesta nova realidade.

Alba Batista vestiu uma peça da tua coleção “I had a flashback of something that never existed” – o cenário de um universo idílico inspirado na tua terra-natal, a Madeira. Como descreverias esse mundo?

"I had a flashback of something that never existed" foi um desejo de um mundo que não existe, sem problemas e em harmonia com a indústria da Moda. Um mundo sem toneladas de roupa despejadas diariamente em aterros; contaminação de águas, do solo e do ar; péssimas condições de trabalho, etc. Foi uma fuga a esta realidade, onde me inspirei em lendas populares e mitos da minha terra para ilustrar os estampados em anil.

Estiveste em Nápoles e Londres, a estudar. O que trazes contigo de cada um desses universos? Onde estás agora – e onde gostavas de estar no futuro?

Foram duas etapas muito importantes da minha vida, ambas influenciaram a pessoa que sou hoje. Londres, em especial, teve um papel fundamental em tudo o que faço hoje a nível criativo, foi onde comecei a trabalhar com malhas e a desenvolver o mundo têxtil nos meus projetos. Neste momento estou na Ilha da Madeira, onde desenvolvi as últimas três coleções que apresentei na ModaLisboa. Ainda tenho muita vontade de aprender e experimentar, portanto espero que no meu futuro conste uma pós-graduação ou mestrado em design têxtil direcionado à moda.

Places

Marqí

Love is a strange place and so is Marqí. That's what came out of the mouth of one of its owners the day he received the keys and looked at that 1980s mansion that lies amidst the density of Sintra (always misty, half dusty, unpredictable). Today the hotel renovated by two friends from Copenhagen has a retro cool vibe, with a majestic exterior and an interior that's all about the details, where you'll find vintage pieces brought in from abroad and other gems* rescued in a van from the north to the south of Portugal. The perfect setting for all the movies inside our heads to give way to the editorial that put a Portuguese actress feeling strangely at home.

How did you end up with this assignment and in which ways did your professions shaped the way this house was re-adapted?

I took the assignment on my-self. Full hearted, no looking back; barely to the sides. And then I convinced the others it was a good idea. Didn’t take much convincing. Luckily. It started with a vacation, then falling in love with an idea, then with falling in love with a very special house.

I used to run a small fashion brand and more significant here, work as a photographer, and Mikas, as an artist and architect, has done most of the renovation & interior work for two of our other of the partners, Simon & Simon, who build and run restaurants and clubs in Copenhagen. Those experiences have always been there in the back of the mind, shaping little details and the bigger ideas.

You describe the house as a ‘one strange hotel’ – in which ways?

It was a spontaneous thing I said to myself, looking up at the house the day I got the keys. It was just a strange and wonderful time looking up at this weird house, in the middle of a pandemic, with one bag and a surfboards and just the head full of ideas and no tangible next steps or road map of getting there, saying to myself: ‘Ok, one strange hotel coming up.' And it did, in the best of ways. Also to me, strange means something inexplicable or unfamiliar and exciting and gives me associations to Dylan & Bowie (The book ‘Strange Fascination' and the line about stopping into a strange hotel in ’Simple Twist of Fate’). To others it’ll probably mean something different. That’s kind of the point.

We heard the furniture is part of your collection and each room is carefully curated with one-of-a-kind vintage pieces – do you want to talk about one or two very special pieces?

The most special one will have to be the center couch in our lobby, which was left behind in the lower floor party area. It was from the perfect era, and as if re-created from our inspiration board. We had it re-upholstered in the green fabric. Besides we just took our time driving around in a van in lock-down Portugal buying vintage finds from mostly private sellers.

Sintra is often described with a magical atmosphere. What do you love the most about Marqí’s location? And are there any stories about the mansion that you heard about?

We love Sintra’s lush green hills and valleys and curvey roads with hidden little mansions and castles and the magic surrounding that mountain, we’re more at the foot of it, by Praia Grande, and here it reminds me of California, driving on Mulholland Drive and arriving around Malibu. And the nature is stunning here and we get to see if from most places in the hotel, overlooking the valley and ocean and the coastline stretching all the way to Ericeira. You can just sit there and stare.

Yes, we heard a few stories. Tell you in the bar.