In Talk with Mauricio Kirschner: The 'Experience Designer' of the World's Elite

Mauricio, congratulations on being our very first L’Officiel Austria Hommes digital cover star. You are a man of many talents and are widely known for the out-of-this world event and wedding installations realized by your company, House of Kirschner. Tell us about your beginnings, how did your career journey begin and where do you draw your inspiration from?

Mauricio Kirschner: "I think I always had it in my blood. Since I was a child what I played the most was to design spaces by drawing them in my notebooks. And always where I lived, when I went for a walk on the street, I would go into the buildings to see the spaces and see how they were generated including the processes. It was always that connection with architecture and design. I think that my greatest inspiration is humanity itself. Seeing the work done of the creative directors, the love stories, the illusions that people have when they want to build their house or when they want to design a space. We believe that we are the tool of all these people to culminate the most important moments of their lives, how to build a house, develop a building or make the interior design of a space where they are going to live or create the most majestic and enigmatic weekend of their lives. At the end of the day, I think my inspiration is life itself."

You are also an architect and renowned for your ephemeral structures, meaning that your company builds the physical installations that house your events from scratch. What has been your largest project to date and why?

Mauricio Kirschner: "My career began as an architect and after that, some very good friends who were my clients asked me to accompany them to an appointment with someone who was doing an event for them and they asked me to do their event. I think it was like an accident, but more than an accident, it was destiny. I had to dedicate myself to this not only to get to know and reach the greatest horizons I could have ever imagined, but also to decant my soul. Decant my spirit and have those processes of growth but from the inside out through creating magic for others and learning from my teachers who in the end are my clients.

Mauricio Kirschner: "To date, all the events we do are of immeasurable scale, and really have a lot of construction from scratch. We've done events that flood entire golf courses. A weekend is made up of about 8 to 16 experiences that happen around these days. And all the elements of each of these have many pieces, designed and customized for each client, so the scales are very complex and the places where these experiences are going to be executed are usually natural places that have a beauty of a natural impact, which is the beauty of the divine and we mimic those spaces. All the construction of the venue is also done, so usually the events have a lot of work behind the scenes and it's like building a city for an experience, which is completely fascinating and mind-blowing."

You are a fashion lover and a regular guest at many fashion weeks. Who is currently your favourite designer and why?

Mauricio Kirschner: "For me fashion, and just now that I was at fashion week in Paris, I was walking on the streets and I saw a Valentino poster that had like a lot of people of all different ethnicities in the world. There were Africans, Asians, Latinos, Europeans and I was thinking how in the end this industry that many people see as superficial and as something that only goes to the subject of clothing or accessories; it really is an industry that has opened awareness and tolerance to humanity. Now we are seeing how Louis Vuitton has evolved and that they are going to bring in a new designer and how they bring this interracial culture, they are generating a lot of tolerance and acceptance. And in the runways, you see all the people from all over the world and I think that in the fashion world nothing is wrong, everything is accepted. In the end it is a world that generates a lot of awareness; it has a side that many people may see as dark, but I think it also has a side of a lot of light, creativity and art. Now that there are so many collaborations with designers, artists, architects, it is endless creativity, that's what drives me crazy about the Fashion Shows. There are so many creative directors, the best musicians, the best DJ's, singers, etc. People who design the spaces in the most divine way in the world; orchestrating at the same time, working and generating this magic that what it does is to elevate humanity and that moment to the highest that can exist, that is also my passion. The reason why I attend these fashion weeks, is to go to the shows and really take all this cultural richness and be able to capture all this creativity that in the end is pure inspiration."

What is the most coveted peace in your closet?

Mauricio Kirschner: "The most coveted pieces I have are related to runways. And I have said that this is the piece I want, or sometimes there are pieces that are designed and everyone brings that look. What I like is that they are made to order pieces. You order them and you are one of the only ones or one of the few that have them. You have that treasure of a runway piece that was made to order and that maybe there are only 3 or 4 and I love it! You can buy it and have the privilege of wearing it."

Team Credits

COVER STAR: Mauricio Kirschner (@mauriciokirschner)
PHOTOGRAPHY: Courtesy of House of Kirschner (@houseofkirschner)
STYLING: Max Katt (@maxkatt)
MAKE-UP: Alan Leal (@alanleal.mua)
LOCATION: HOTEL COSTES Paris