About - David de la Marca

THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE

“Wealth does not bring excellence,
but that wealth comes from excellence.”
PLATO

For over 30 years, I have had the honour and the privilege of working with the world’s most illustrious and most respected luxury brands and purveyors of lifestyle; from my days as a buyer, curating the very best in woman’s ready-to-wear and couture to developing heritage brand teams and organisations, promoting their enduring legacy of craftsmanship and cultural import. It has been an extraordinary and rather nomadic journey that has offered me exceptional insight into the cultural and oftentimes mystic richness of our collective beliefs, rituals, and ingenuity. It has brought me from the concrete jungle streets of Fifth Avenue, bursting with technology and ambition to the drifting sands of Arabia where time itself seems to be defied by its endless and winding reliefs; a continual odyssey of contrasts that has made me the wayfarer that I am today.

For the longest time, I also experienced a spiritual conundrum in the face of such opulence and luxury. How does one achieve a virtuous balance that is neither tainted by hedonism and ego nor succumbed by Spartan-like dogma as defined by certain spiritual paths? I questioned whether it was possible to embrace the beauty of the material world yet live a holistically healthy life defined through piety and devotion. As my mother once said to an adolescent me when I was considering monastic life, “David, I have never seen a monk wearing Gucci sandals.” Though I never became a monk, unbeknownst to her, that fleeting comment would eventually become the very core of my own personal path to excellence.

THE SACRED PATH

What I have come to realise is that every spiritual tradition roots itself in the pursuit of excellence; Whether it is the Ahgori glowing in the fires of Varanasi, a Sufi spinning into euphoric communion, or the purity of a finely manicured zen garden…the thoughts, words, and deeds of countless generations have dedicated themselves to an undefinable quest of perpetual refinement. I have also determined that our ability to craft finery from the most simple of materials, create thought-provoking art, express our culinary feats, and chant energy-balancing mantras are all but celebrations of the human capacity for creativity which blend seamlessly into a singularity of divine nature. So, in essence, can the sacred and the profane be one and the same?

a SENSE OF PURPOSE

Over the years I have had the privilege to connect with a dynamic community of inspired artists, paragons of style, and enlightened polymaths whose vision, passion, and dedication to their calling formed my inspiration for this blog. Now, in my 50’s I want to share with you not only my personal reflections, but also my desire to showcase the talents that continue to shape shared perceptions of beauty, spiritual growth, civic duty, and the considered way that we live our lives. Through a sponsored and editorial lens of travel, culture, lifestyle, current affairs, and personal wellness, I want to beguile and inspire you to pursue your own path of personal expression. In other terms, I wanted to offer a contemporary exploration of what the ancient Greeks may have called Arete, a virtuous and indefatigable pursuit of excellence…in all things.

MORE THAN JUST A LOGO

I thought it important to offer some insights about my logo design. Rather than a cypher of purely decorative vocation, I aimed to create something that conveys a deeper message beyond a simple showcase of personal identity. In a style reminiscent of the Greek meander and the soft repetition of Arabian latticework, the 4 D’s come together to create a subtle statement of structured balance. Each D represents one of Aristotle’s cardinal virtues of Courage, Temperance, Wisdom, and Justice. It was important for me to pay homage to these themes of Nicomachean Ethics, as they have truly formed the paving stones of my road to happiness and fulfilment in this world. I believe that all of us have experienced moments where we were required to demonstrate great courage in the face of tragedy, conflict, or danger. I am also convinced that, regardless of our circumstances, we have all witnessed the benefits of practising moderation, wisdom, and justice in our daily lives. Conversely, we have also felt the emptiness and sadness that arise when these virtues are absent from our world. My unbridled passion for beauty, craftsmanship, and the divine only began to make sense when I started seeing them through a therapeutic lens of reflection and piety, tempered by the sharp edge of justice’s sword.