They say you have to travel the world to know the way home. Maria Chernajovsky He seems to have made that internal and external journey more than once: from London, where he studied fashion at Central Saint Martins, to New York, where his brand landed with its own stores; from the bustle of the catwalks where their collections are shown, in a country that gives no respite, to the silences of reflection when life shows that it is not always a straight line. But there are no lights that dazzle more than that lighthouse that refers to the origins. At 51 years old, after a difficult year of personal losses and searches, the creator of Maria Cher —one of the most influential labels in Argentine design, with more than two decades of history—begins a new adventure in the world of communication, through Agensthe creative powerhouse born within the Newsan family group to communicate its own and external brands. A way to get excited again in a return to your most intimate roots. “It gave me back the enthusiasm of starting something from scratch, but with the maturity of experience,” he says with luminous calm. Agens takes up the disruptive spirit of the agency founded by Siam Di Tella in the 60s, but with the contemporary perspective of someone who understands that, in “liquid times”, only what is genuine connects. “It’s not just about advertising, but about approaching people from emotion,” says María, who today combines the vertigo of creativity with a new serenity: that of someone who learned that emotions and ideas can coexist in the same equation, betting on the same principle that has always guided her: connecting with real emotions.
News: How was Agens born and what led you to embark on this new project?
Maria Cher: Agens emerges as a creative commitment within the Newsan group, with the idea of promoting businesses with ideas. It is not just an advertising agency, but a creative powerhouse with a broader reach. It was born from the desire to communicate in another way, to connect from a more emotional place. We look for ideas that transcend, that become conversation.
News: Why did you decide to rescue the historical name of the Siam Di Tella agency?
Cher: Because it had a very strong symbolic value. The old Agens was a pioneer in her time: she mixed art, design and communication with a different look. We return to that legacy to put creativity at the center again as an engine of transformation. Agens’ story is part of Newsan’s DNA, and I found it inspiring to redefine it at this moment.
News: Why did you decide to get personally involved in advertising after so many years in fashion?
Cher: Because communication is my natural language. I was always interested in the way brands express themselves, how they generate conversation. In fashion it also communicates, only with another code. Agens allows me to expand that universe and pour my experience in brand development into a broader field.
News: This revival returned you to that world of advertising with which you knew how to flirt far away and long ago, what do you feel?
Cher: Which now has another meaning, that of the path taken. At 51 years old, in addition to that personal sense that has to do with finding yourself in the middle of your life, I hope it is half!, this also comes after having had many personal crises and difficult moments in my personal and family history. I had a very big crisis last year and the year before, and somehow this made me feel excited, it gave me a much more important meaning than all the businesses or projects I could do, and that has to do with legacy.
News: You were always independent in your businesses, how do you feel now having to report to the family in some way?
Cher: I’ve only been involved in this family business since March, and it wasn’t something strategic, but rather something personal. It was a response to a request from my younger brother, who sought to get me out of that “mode” I was in last year and obviously because my dad had always wanted me to work with him.
News: She grew up in a business family, but always defined herself as an artist. How do these worlds coexist?
Cher: Naturally. I am the daughter of a businessman and a social worker; I grew up between the creative and the pragmatic. I learned that you can do business with sensitivity and art with structure. Agens is, in some way, that synthesis.
News: What does advertising mean today in a world dominated by AI and excess stimuli?
Cher: Advertising is more alive than ever, but it faces enormous challenges. In a hyperconnected but emotionally disconnected world, authenticity is what counts. Communication must have soul, and that can only be achieved with ideas that strike a real chord. Today only brands that speak directly and know how to excite are gaining ground.
News: What place does artificial intelligence occupy in this new scenario?
Cher: AI is here to stay and is going to change the industry, but creativity is the only thing that cannot be copied. That is our differential. It is the rarest value and, at the same time, the most powerful. Technology can facilitate processes, but it does not replace the human gaze. That is why creativity is today the last truly free territory.
News: Are you going to leave fashion?
Cher: No, not at all. Twice a week I put myself at the helm of María Cher. María Cher continues to grow, with a new proposal where the aspirational aspect of the collection will continue to be, and will give rise to Cher, which will propose more democratic and accessible collections, without ever losing the DNA of its original brand. But also, there will be growth in cosmetics and perfumes, with new lines such as Cher Beauty and Casa Cher Dieciocho, where we unite perfumes, makeup, art and sensory experiences. Fashion was and remains my first language, but now I am enjoying expanding it to other disciplines.
News: What did you learn from your journey in fashion that you apply to this new field today?
Cher: Lot. Fashion taught me to tell stories, to create visual and emotional universes. I always understood fashion as a form of communication. Now I simply expanded the field.
News: Any failure that you would not repeat?
Cher: Thousands! People think that you never have them, but you do, and many of them. Editor (a decor, apparel and beauty space with curated brands) was a flop. It occurred at a very difficult time in the country. I would have done it differently at another time. The first mistake I made with my brand was when I opened my first small, hidden store in Palermo, when Palermo was not what it is today. No one came in.
News: And its success?
Cher: Work as a team, surround myself with people who I like to share. I can’t think alone
News: And how do you balance professional life with family life?
Cher: With effort and with love. With Gabriel we are partners and a couple; That has its challenges, but also an enormous strength. We divided roles, we supported each other and we learned to take care of personal spaces. Our children, Fausto and Alma, are beginning to get involved with ideas, especially in digital communication, but, although they are not yet so involved, I would love to because they have the capacity and they like everything that has to do with fashion and communication. They love this that I’m living with my family. I am grateful to be able to share times and looks
News: Your best virtue?
Cher: I am a person connected to the other. Despite having a difficult life, I am not superficial, I go to the bone. And luckily I feel loved. I have many friends and I get along well with my family, my husband, my children, and that has to do with a living job. Another virtue is my strength, which makes me resilient.
News: What motivates you after more than twenty years of work?
Cher: The enthusiasm of creating. Every time I start something new I feel that adrenaline of starting over. I like to have projects that inspire me, that force me to learn and that connect me with passionate people.
News: Is she one of those who doesn’t get upset in storms?
Cher: I’m always disheveled! (laughs) Because I’m not very neat when it comes to feeling. Everything is shown to me. I am an emotional person, not contained.
News: That lack that has to improve…
Cher: Sometimes I have shitty ways: I get my mom’s tana, passionate, for good and bad. Later I regret it, but less than before, because now I have more control. But I’m still one of those who prefer to blush and always put things on the table, rather than hide them under the tablecloth.
News: What makes you stay in Argentina?
Cher: The affections, the links. Life is about that. If you have the minimum to live on, the rest is unnecessary. I am a fervent fan of Argentina: I love Buenos Aires. It’s hard for me to travel, I do it for work. I enjoy coming back. I like to walk through places that have my history. That is why I continue to choose this country, with all its difficulties and also with its enormous potential.
News: What does this new beginning generate for you?
Cher: Enthusiasm. After a difficult year, Agens gave me back my focus, energy and joy. It does me good to create again, to do things that surprise, that generate beauty, that communicate with meaning. Luxury, today, is being able to do what you are passionate about.
