Marcelo Burlón (46) is, above all, a successful person. Later, some will debate whether he is more of a DJ than a fashion designer, a cold businessman or a limitless creative, if he is eccentric or irreverent, if his fortune was a fluke or he amassed it by changing the paradigm of the fashion industry.
What is out of the question is another fact: this Argentinian born in El Bolsón became the ideal host for his famous compatriots in Europe with private parties at his mansion in Ibizawhere there is no shortage of international figures, good music, a collection of Argentine wine lists, authentic Italian pizza and a large 360 stage, where, for example, last weekend they played no less than Fito Páez and Nathy Pelusowhile in a state of relaxation, to one side, they enjoyed the evening Lali Esposito, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Bizarrap, Nicolás Furtado, the Spanish Rossy de Palmathe Italian singer Achille Lauro and the host’s husband, Bratislav Tasic, among others.
The place chosen for this VIP celebration was his house in Ibiza, which a few years ago became an Argentine headquarters on the Iberian island. Designed by the architect Jordi Carreño, this small mansion full of luxury and comfort has a huge living room with a panoramic view, built on glass, wood and cement.
Like all creative Mocking is a lover of works of art and has in his possession an unpublished sequence of paintings by Keith Haring and its most precious jewel: a piece by Andy Warhol himself. In his garden there is also a sculpture of more than 1,300 kilos of pure Carrara marble by the plastic artist Fabio Viale, which he sees from his bedroom. The rest of his labyrinthine home is decorated with ponchos from northern Argentina and a hundred vinyl records ranging from the Rolling Stones to Lucio Battisti.
His proudest annex is his large garage with two collectible gems, a 1965 Mustang and an electric 1974 Mehari.. This property is part of his “love triangle”, as he himself certified in a documentary for MTV Italy, along with his mansions in Milan and Patagonia.
Success
For years, Burlón has moved between two worlds. One, the cold one, the one with the numbers and the contracts that yield figures that explain that their unisex brand “County of Milan” bills more than 50 million dollars per year, with more than 400 points of sale around the world, among which are its exclusive stores in Hong Kong, Milan, Paris and Miami. And the other, the social, the warm, which has it as an Argentine flag and reference for music and fashion for export. One feeds the other, as can be seen on his colorful Instagram account where more than 580,000 people witness his bon vivant life every day.
Consulted by NEWS, the fashion journalist Lorena Pérez explains his phenomenon: “Marcelo Burlón was one of those who motivated a paradigmatic change in the concept of fashion, which is to see it with more creative eyes than design. More than knowing how to make garments, he coordinates teams and thinks of shapes. And that broke many structures in the biggest houses like Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Armani, because based on his experience they restructured all his internal departments. Burlón built his empire by understanding the consumption habit ”.
His story shows that, in the ’90s, his parents closed the business premises they had in El Bolsón and went to live in Porto Potenza Picena, a town in central Italy, where first he developed as a DJ, then public relations for firms such as Chanel, Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana, photographer and finally fashion designer, with his first collection inspired by the symbology of the Tehuelches and the entire aura of the Argentine South. But, far from imitating his colleagues, Burlón started his brand through social networks and without a fixed point of sale.
The year 2012 for Burlón was hinge. His collection of printed t-shirts with tigers, snakes and wings In the first instance, it sold more than 10,000 units, reaching no less than figures like Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James and Lewis Hamilton. In continuation he founded his textile company New Guards Groups, with which he began to distribute high-quality garments to other brands, while promoting his career as a DJ, uniting -in different tracks around the world- art, music, fashion and red carpet.
Currently, where he performs, whether in a booth “playing” vinyl or on a catwalk, his environment is nourished by figures such as world champions Ángel Di María, Leonardo Paredes, Lisandro Martínez and the consecrated Giovanni Lo Celso or Marco Verratti , among important European and Eastern businessmen, influencers and other stars of the medium.
Fashion
“Another of Burlón’s keys was working in the luxury segment, offering garments for daily use but under standards of the highest quality,” continues Pérez, who analyzed his meteoric career for various media outlets in the United States. “He has a highly developed aesthetic sense and knows how to create desirable and salable products at the same time. But he has secrets that make him different. This year, for example, I was in Milan and I wanted to go see their collection of glasses and they gave me an appointment in three months, because it is personalized and they would attend me based on my tastes and preferences. This is not done by any global brand in the world.”
Rocco Montagnoli Bruzzone (22), an Argentine creative who works in his own design agency in Paris, adds: “Marcelo demonstrated that fashion is the union of aesthetics with inventiveness. He changed the way of understanding the business and also broke the glass roof that existed over the Latin American creative industry. That in Paris, the epicenter of fashion, they respect an Argentine for his creativity, is not a minor achievement ”.
Also known as “The Count of Milan”, Marcelo Burlón achieved what everyone wants: to combine work and fun, and became a magnet for Argentines visiting Europe. While it is quoted as the “ideal friend”, those who attend its evenings assure to live unforgettable nights of full Argentineanity.
