Mario Lombardo

Translating stories into visual and sensual languages

Translating stories into visual and sensual languages

Mario Lombardo is known for being one of Germany’s most celebrated designers, but the dark-haired, bespectacled man wouldn’t describe himself as such. “I’m more of a translator,” he tells me, reclining in a chair in his vanilla and cardamom-scented studio. “All of my work is inspired by people. I translate their stories and create a new, personal language.”

Lombardo initially made his name in Germany as an editorial and print designer. In 2004, while living in Cologne, Lombardo founded his own design studio, BUREAU Mario Lombardo, which he later moved to Berlin in 2008. Since living in the German capital, Lombardo has been at the helm of various print publications, such as the magazines of the department stores KaDeWe, Oberpollinger and Alsterhaus, art publication Numéro Home Berlin and the Berlin-based culture and fashion magazine Sleek. His past clients at BUREAU include Mercedes, Absolut Vodka, Chanel and Louis Vuitton.

“Today, I like designing book covers, album artwork and sleeves for vinyl and LPs — anything by hand,” he says, passing me a selection of delicate, handmade invitations for a virtual event hosted by the German Art Directors Club and Monotype Studio. “I like to do modern designs, combined with something really classical which everyone knows. This is the magic actually: producing something timeless.”

‘All of my work is inspired by people. I translate their stories and create a new, personal language.’

Mario Lombardo, 2021

Lombardo’s designs are always rooted in his interactions with people: what he feels about them and how they “appear in his world.” His ability to do good work, he says, is dependent on having a good relationship with his clients. “I always meet my customers in person for a walk and talk, and try and find some words, ideas and a storyline for what they want.” And if he doesn’t get along with the person? “Then I have to build bridges,” he says, smiling. “In one case, I invited a client who I didn’t really get along with for dinner at my home, to show him that I was willing to make the relationship work. It was a game-changer.”

Relationships, attachments, have been a source of inspiration for Lombardo throughout his life and career. Lombardo came to Germany from his native Argentina in 1978 with his parents, who fled the country from the ruling military junta. “I don’t really have roots,” says Lombardo. “I’m German, Argentinian and Italian. I feel like a gypsy, roaming the world, but at the same time, I’m rooted in the memories inside my heart. There’s a lot of stories for me to tell, and it’s easy to compose things from them.”

‘Every time I start a new project, I feel like I’m in an ocean alone, trying to find the next buoy to hold onto...’

Mario Lombardo, 2021

Memories of people and situations live inside each scent in Lombardo’s perfume line, Atelier Oblique, which he launched in Berlin four years ago, shortly after his mother died. Gazing around the studio, which has a shop located at the front of it, one can see decanters of perfume yet to be given a name tag, and wax candles packaged up in deep blue boxes. “This scent is inspired by the changeable weather in April,” says Lombardo, gently spraying some on a card for me to smell. “Sometimes there’s rain, sunshine, hail, even snow at times. It reminds me of my daughter: sometimes she’s angry and upset, and other times she’s an angel. I love her this way though.”

Other scents in the collection are designed to weave stories into the minds of the wearer. One of them, whose name will be revealed when it launches later this year, is influenced by nights when the full moon is out — a time when Lombardo struggles to sleep. “You know those moments when it’s a full moon and either you’re alone, or you’ve had a crazy argument with your boyfriend or girlfriend and you can’t sleep? That’s what this scent is all about. It smells of coffee, or perhaps a sweet liquor that you’ve drunk before bed. It reminds me of longing for the morning.”

Atelier Oblique is tucked away on a side street near Hackescher Markt, a trendy area in central Berlin where fashion boutiques brush shoulders with art galleries. Lombardo loves the freedom and creativity of the city — the fact that at every corner he can find “people like me” — but he wouldn’t necessarily call it home. “It’s more of a base because usually, I love to travel,” he says, adding that he can see himself eventually living by the sea. “I’m fascinated by water. I can stand in front of the sea for ages, watching the waves go back and forth.”

Lombardo’s affinity with the sea is clear in the metaphor he chooses to describe the act of creating. “Every time I start a new project, I feel like I’m in an ocean alone, trying to find the next buoy to hold onto,” he says. “I love to create things and situations, to feel and touch things,” — to translate the world’s stories into a language that all can understand.

‘I like to do modern designs, combined with something really classical which everyone knows. This is the magic actually: producing something timeless.’

Mario Lombardo, 2021