Vicente Ganesha: Mister Ibiza

L’OFFICIEL IBIZA: Where are you from originally and how did your journey in Ibiza evolve?

VICENTE GANESHA: I’m from Guardamar, a village in Alicante. I came to Ibiza in 1971. I first opened a shop on a different site to this one, in 1976. I had many different fashion labels there – big brands like Valentino – and then some years later I lost everything. I took with me just my Filofax and contacts and in 1991 I started my current shop, which sells second- hand pieces and designs that I make in India. I went to India for the first time in 1982. I felt like I had been lost and India opened my mind to help me understand myself more. After that I began coming and going between India and Ibiza. I started making my own clothing designs in 1991, in Jaipur, Rajasthan, where they work with traditional block prints. Before that I’d never made fashion designs myself. But because I’d worked with second-hand clothing, I knew quickly what people liked.

LOI: Tell us about some of the highlights of the shop over the years.

VG: There have been so many special moments. For me a special moment is when people have a good feeling about the shop, and they enjoy coming here. I don’t attract regular tourists. My shop is different. The people who come here are looking for something unique and they have a taste for
different sensations. They believe in what I do. So many people have copied me, but I don’t mind. This way, I know I have the truth with me. My shop is also in a place where lots of streets cross, so many things happen here and sometimes people just pass by and discover it. I’m very lucky to be able to live and work here.

LOI: You’ve worked in the fashion industry for many years. What changes have you seen in that time, and how do you view Ibiza style?

VG: I think you either have style or you don’t – you’re born with it. Before, more than it is now, style in Ibiza was about a philosophy and it was more free. For me, the Ibiza look now is similar to what you see in Cancún, Mexico. After the 1980s, for a long time there was nothing new in fashion, just revivals. But this year the big labels like Chanel and Saint Laurent are starting to do something different. I feel more of a sense of aesthetic in what they’re creating. I think something has changed since the pandemic. Creation is necessary for people. We need to believe in something. Because history and politics don’t tell the truth, so the only thing we can believe in is the feeling of art and music – and love, of course. I’m 75 years old, but I’ll never be old in theway I see life because I believe in love and I believe in art. To find these things, you need to go your own way. Don’t follow the rules. Make your own rules.

LOI: What is the enduring allure of Ibiza?

VG: People find a lot of inspiration in Ibiza. I don’t know if it’s the climate, or the light, or the circumstances here that make it possible to believe in something creative. Being in Ibiza makes you feel like you’re in love, even if you don’t have a lover. It’s fantastic, this kind of attitude in life. To see the infinite. To take your time to do things and enjoy them. Now Ibiza is changing, just like every part of the world, because of money and globalisation. Of course, everything changes, nothing is static. But if you wake up at 7am and go to a quiet place on the island where nobody else goes, you can still find that Ibiza.

LOI: Which people and places on the island are special for you?

VG: I have very good friends here. Many of them have become my friends from coming to the shop. We have something in common, perhaps a love of art or music or talking about emotions. In terms of places, it’s not only one place – I like every part of Ibiza. For me the island is the best out of season, during the winter. I like to go to Cala Pluma by bicycle. It’s around 12km there and back, but it’s worth it to be able to swim with nobody else there, only fish. It’s an inspiration for me, to be alone with nature. This island is my love. Many people arrive here and then they go. But I never left. I wasn’t born here, but if God helps me, I’m going to stay and to die here. I feel at home in Ibiza – more than at home. I don’t think there could be anything better than living here.

LOI: What would you have done if you hadn’t created the shop?

VG: I never had the feeling to do something else. My shop is one of my pleasures. In my first shop it was completely different. There it was about money, the neurosis of trying to get somewhere, do something. When I started this shop, the feeling was just to enjoy it. And then everything came very easily and very quickly, because the less you hope, the more you have. This part of my life and my current shop is much better than the earlier part. But that other part also made me what I am. I love what I do. One of the big reasons for living is to work and make profit doing something you like. If it’s creative, all the better. And if you work for yourself, better still. So there are many reasons for me to be pleased. I think if I were to be born again, I would do the same.