Born in Argentina, my teenage experience was a little out of the ordinary, as I attended an all-boys Air Force High School (not fully aware of being gay yet). This is where I was inundated with muted color palettes, perfect lines, symmetrical brutalist buildings, and utilitarian garments shaping my eye and aesthetic for detail and giving me a lifelong love of an organized and uniform environment.
I attended the University of Buenos Aires, Faculty of Architecture, Design, and Urbanism where I explored design disciplines including Fashion Design, Industrial Design, Audiovisual Design, and Architecture. This experience deconstructed my visually organized point of view and natural design rationale. It also threw me into a design abyss where I discovered contemporary marvels such as Santiago Calatrava, Giancarlo Fassina, the designer of the Tolomeo lamp, Herman Miller, Photographer Mario Testino, the underground music of Massive Attack, and the movies of Pedro Almodovar. One can only imagine how this affected this young man from Buenos Aires. I felt very out of place and had this overwhelming desire to see and know more. It was then I decided to complete my studies in Spain. I graduated with a degree in Graphic Design and Art from EINA University School of Design and Art of Barcelona.
My professional path would take me to NYC’s Fashion Week where I had the honor to work directly with up-and-coming designers such as Christian Siriano, Cristian Cota, Brian Reyes, and Joseph Altuzarra, and more established houses like Donna Karan, Halston, Victorinox, Armani, and Dsquared and then I finally landed my career at Ralph Lauren.
The last eight years at Ralph Lauren have been a dream, a true love affair – always learning, always moving forward personally and professionally. It was at RL I learned how to truly connect with people, to inspire my team and the professionals around me. I had the privilege of joining forces with Fashion Icons such as Bruce Weber, Mark Seliger, Alexi Lubomirski, Ben Weller, and Arnaldo Anaya. My career gave me the opportunity to travel through this beautiful country, meet its people, and learn about American traditions, food, and music.
As challenging as the pandemic has been, it has given me the space to stop, introspect and look at the bigger picture of my life, expanding my horizons, connecting with people in a deeper and more meaningful way, creating and nurturing new relationships, and being more aware and honest, with myself. This fuelled me to move to upstate New York, a small town with a big beating heart called Hudson, where my rescue Luna (5 years old) and I go hiking, chase deer and play in the snow during Winter and make savory open fire steaks on warm summer nights.
In the Fall of 2022, I accepted a teaching role at Parsons, The New School of Design. Being a Professor has been another gift. Teaching, comes very naturally to me, being able to facilitate the creative development of the next generation, teaching them the value of sustainability, citizenship, and the importance of living (and designing) with intention, the power of our words, and how we can make brands be more aware of their message, shaping a better future for all. Little did I know that teaching Gen Z has opened my eyes to new points of view, and ways to communicate and connect, and most of all, it has given me back my hope in humanity, this is a very special generation, their support, kindness, and empathy to one another have been very inspiring and just beautiful to watch. Leadership and mentorship have always been at the center of my life, having the opportunity to mentor and nurture my teams and my students has been the proudest achievement of my career.
More recently, I joined L’Oréal as the Senior Vice President of Global Creative for Kiehl’s, where I was entrusted with leading the brand’s creative vision across 150 markets. It was an extraordinary opportunity to reimagine a beloved heritage brand through a modern lens—bringing sustainability, storytelling, and emotional resonance into sharper focus. I oversaw a global team of creatives, developed campaigns that honored the brand’s apothecary roots while making it feel relevant for the next generation, and deepened my understanding of how to build meaningful connections between brand and audience across borders and cultures.
After two decades of shaping stories through fashion and beauty, I realized it was time to tell my own. I made the decision to leave my executive role and commit to directing full-time. I’ve since signed with Smith& Agency as a film director, where I’m beginning a new chapter—developing a documentary and working on projects that merge visual poetry with emotional truth. This next step feels less like a pivot and more like a homecoming to the purest form of storytelling: image, sound, and soul.
As I look ahead, I’m most excited about connecting and collaborating with people from all walks of life—artists, thinkers, dreamers—who believe that stories still have the power to move us, change us, and bring us closer to ourselves and one another.

Mariano Testa