In The Spotlight: Maite Sebastiá

In The Spotlight: Maite Sebastiá

Tell us a bit about yourself. How did you find your way to Condé Nast?

I started as an intern at Vogue Spain in 2004, writing about fashion. For years, I freelanced for Vogue while working on other editorial and cultural projects, until I became Deputy Editor of Vogue Spain in 2015. Vogue has always felt like family to me, it taught me to see the world through its most inspiring pages and shaped who I am today. After studying art curation in London, I was able to focus on my true passion, design and architecture. At AD, I feel completely at home. I'm in love with the brand and its incredible global community, which continues to grow.

How do you describe your job to friends and family?

I'm fortunate that most of my friends and family share my enthusiasm for design and my work, so they understand and are involved in it too (though some still think we mostly party with celebrities). I always explain that we seek out the best homes in the world and highlight how great design and well-crafted interiors can make our lives easier and happier.

This October, AD Spain celebrates its 200th issue, which also coincides with the special Best of Spain edition. Can you tell us about the significance of this issue, its importance to the AD Spain community, and the magazine's influence over the years?

It's an exciting moment for AD Spain! Our Best of Spain issue is the most important of the year because we celebrate the talents within our community of designers, architects, and decorators, who share their best projects with us. AD Spain has been like a big family for 18 years, and it continues to grow with younger creatives bringing fresh, innovative ideas.

To mark the milestone of our 200th issue, we released a video series featuring talents like interior designer Isabel López-Quesada and model Eugenia Silva, who has appeared on the cover three times. Spain is a hub of creativity and passion, and it's inspiring to see different generations coexist so naturally in our content.

For the first time in AD Spain's history, we featured an interior designer on the cover, 30-year-old New Yorker Marta de la Rica, in her new 8-floor home in Madrid. This became the third best-performing cover in AD Spain's history. Veteran designer Javier Mariscal also created a playful logo for us, paying tribute to both past and present generations of talent.

AD will also be hosting the AD 2024 Awards next month, now recognized as Spain's most prestigious design, interior design, and architecture awards. How is the editorial team preparing for the event?

This November, we'll celebrate the 18th edition of the AD Spain Awards, a major event for both the AD community and the design world in Spain. For 18 years, AD Spain has played an influential role in the art world, which is why our awards honor excellence in Architecture, Design, Interior Design, and Arts. In the past three years, we've also added the "Disclosure" category to highlight the work of outstanding content creators in these fields. This award helps us connect with a younger, growing audience within our community.

On a more personal note, what are some of your hobbies or guilty pleasures? Any recommendations for a series, book, or film?

I love traveling to discover good design and exhibitions. A guilty pleasure of mine is eating Mediterranean red shrimp from my hometown in Spain. We eat them with our hands, and it's the most delicious indulgence. I prefer books and films over TV series. "The Maniac" by Benjamín Labatut is the best book I've read this year, and "Bad Habit" by Alana Portero was a moving summer read. I've danced ballet and loved music since I was a child. I mostly read poetry, and I try my best to write some verses from time to time.