I have known Lorena Durán for many years and she is one of the people I most enjoy working with and meeting. Beyond her professionalism and being a profile that has become a reference for many women, her warmth and her perpetual smile make her someone you want to talk to more and more. Moreover, she has a powerful discourse that advocates for a more diverse and inclusive fashion industry, since from her beginnings she has broken some of the cannons traditionally associated with the runway.
If we talk about her professional career, the one born in Los Palacios y Villafranca is a regular at Madrid Fashion Week, the 080 runway, or Gran Canaria Moda Cálida. In addition, she is the face of El Corte Inglés Woman and has participated in campaigns for brands such as Victoria’s Secret, L’Oréal Paris or Jean Paul Gaultier. In short, one of the most recognized and beloved profiles in the fashion sector, who has a long career ahead of her.
Beauty does not mean fitting into a mold
The fashion industry is closely tied to image, and that is something Lorena Durán has experienced firsthand. If we discuss the evolution of the Sevillian’s relationship with beauty, in her early days “I had a vision of beauty much more linked to fulfilling certain canons. Over the years I have learned that beauty does not have to mean fitting into a mold, but feeling comfortable being yourself.” It is something that experience brings, and the model states that “you can work in a highly image-driven industry and, at the same time, defend your own identity.” A defense that Durán has been making since the beginning and that has led to today, when she feels “much more secure in who I am and what I want to convey, even though I always had it clear.”
And beyond the clothes, beauty also plays an important role in this world, and Lorena Durán has had the opportunity to learn about it from the hands of the greatest experts. If we ask about one of her main learnings, it is that “the skin reflects a lot of what we are inside.” The model prioritizes self-care and states: “curvy girls take care of themselves like anyone else,” adding that one of the main prejudices that exist is that “there are many people who think that, because of that, we no longer go to the gym or take care of ourselves, but believe me, we take even better care of ourselves.” A lesson she draws from her years in the industry is that “well-being is not only a skincare routine: sleeping, resting, eating well, moving, and knowing when to stop are also part of feeling good and looking good.”
A model’s social networks
Social networks have also evolved since Lorena began her professional career. Regarding them, she notes that “before there was a clearer separation between your professional life and your personal life; now everything is much more exposed and it seems you always have to be present.” The Sevillian has learned “to set limits and, above all, to remember that what we see on social media is only a part of reality.” Therefore, her use of social networks is limited to “sharing my work, my projects and also moments that represent me, but without feeling that I have to constantly prove anything.”
If there is a negative aspect to the use of networks, it is the easy access for communities to comment on profiles. The model wants to remind that “one does not comment on another person’s body. You don’t know what that person is going through at that moment.” But beyond that, there are other positive factors as Durán considers that it can “help many people feel better about themselves.” And yes, the Sevillian has become a reference for current and future generations of women, “a responsibility that I value greatly.” Regarding this responsibility, she highlights that “if someone sees me as a reference, the most beautiful thing I can convey to them is that they do not have to change who they are to find their place.” Reflecting on the new generations, she says: “I would like the new generations to grow up understanding that beauty can have many forms and that confidence, personality, and authenticity are also part of it.”
Taking care of yourself also means stopping
For someone whose work largely relies on physical appearance, looking after yourself is an essential pillar of her day. If we talk about tips she has stopped following, Lorena Durán highlights that she has stopped “believing in the idea that to look good you have to be always perfect. There are days when your skin looks worse, you’re tired or you simply don’t feel like getting ready and nothing happens.” However, there are other tips she has incorporated over the years and one is “meditating and taking a moment each day to appreciate what I have.”
The model, who travels a lot for work, does not alter her routine. “When I travel I always bring everything I use at home, which is why I always pay for excess baggage.” Durán sums up her routine as “a good cleansing gel, moisturizer, eye contour, and sunscreen, which for me is essential. After that I adapt the rest according to how my skin looks.” The modeling work has a very demanding aspect linked to “airplanes, climate changes, makeup and many hours of work,” so, for the Sevillian, the most important thing is “to maintain a daily and consistent routine.” What does she do when she is not working? “I try to give my skin some rest and a little facial treatment.”
Changes in the industry and aesthetic medicine
After years of a professional career as a reference and breaking barriers, what would she like to change in fashion and beauty? Lorena Durán advocates for diversity and wants us to continue advancing “toward an industry where there is more space for more realities and more types of beauty.” She believes progress has been made, but there is still a path to travel because “it is important that diversity is not just a trend, but something natural and permanent.” The model concludes that it is important “that a woman does not have to justify why she occupies a space in a campaign, a runway, or a cover.”
The model Lorena Durán.
In the industry, aesthetic medicine has also come into play; what is her stance on it? Lorena Durán considers that “it is a very personal decision” and every woman “has to feel free to do what she believes makes her feel better. Personally, I think that aesthetic medicine should be approached with naturalness and balance, not from the need to pursue an impossible perfection.” She is not against “treatments, but I do believe it is essential to do it with discernment, with good professionals and without losing sight of who you are.”
The Lorena of the past and the Lorena of the future
With a career like hers, in which there is still much to show, I ask Durán about any memory from her beginnings and the star moment of her trajectory. About her beginnings she recalls “the nerves of the first castings and that feeling of entering a room and thinking: will I be enough?”. Regarding this she has learned that “a casting does not define your value or your career.” She also recalls her first jobs, campaigns and covers: “they are moments I will never forget and that today I remember as if it were yesterday with a smile from ear to ear.” But if there is a moment she believes defined her career because “I was breaking a barrier that for a long time I thought I could not break,” that was “working with Victoria’s Secret.” Lorena Durán believes it was “a confirmation that there was space for different models and that I could also be part of that industry.” That said, the Sevillian continues to view her projects with “that initial sense of excitement.”
Looking to the past, and I want to know what Lorena would say to her 10-year-old self. “I would tell her to breathe and to trust herself much more. That she shouldn’t want to go so fast, that she doesn’t have to constantly prove that she deserves to be where she is, and that the ‘no’s do not mean you aren’t enough,” she says. The Sevillian adds that it is also important to “enjoy the journey more, because many times we are so focused on getting to the next place that we don’t realize all we’ve already achieved.” We say goodbye with a look toward the future and Lorena Durán’s upcoming projects. She is in “a stage where I’m eager to continue growing and taking on new challenges. I’m working on new projects within fashion, beauty and content creation, and I’d also like to explore new facets that I haven’t shown that much until now.” She doesn’t want to reveal too many details, noting that “things are coming that fill me with a lot of excitement. Right now I’m more focused than ever on choosing projects that make sense to me and to the woman I am today.” And I can only say to this, keep shining, Lorena.
