Antonio Banderas surprised fans last month when he announced that he had enrolled at fashion institution Central Saint Martins. Now, the Hollywood actor has opened up about his studies and why he decided to go back to school.
Antonio Banderas has been studying menswear design at Central Saint Martins
"What am I doing here? Knowledge. I'm here to gain knowledge, basically," the 55-year-old told the school's magazine 1Granary. "I got to a point where I've done 92 movies - I am not going to stop - I'm going to continue doing movies and producing, and I want to direct more - but there were other things in my life that I was interested in."
Antonio, whose studies focus on creating menswear, revealed that it was his perfume business Puig which had inspired him to follow a path into the world of design.
Antonio began his short course at the institution last month
"The world of perfume is very close to fashion," he said. "At Puig we have many people that are in the fashion world, and for them perfumes are an accessory. My team there realised that I didn't just like going around to promote the perfume, so they started exploring other aspects of me that were not public.
"They gave me the opportunity to get in the studio with clothes and models. And I did two expositions, and I started smelling closer and closer the importance of what we wear, of colour, the importance of shapes to send a message, to say something."
The Interview with the Vampire star went on to explain that it was recent changes in his personal life which inspired him to finally make the move.
Antonio revealed he wants to bring back the cape in menswear
"Last year my personal life took a turn and I decided to take some steps ahead," he said. "As something that had been cooking in my brain for a while, I decided to put a company together called Antonio Banderas Designs, which encompasses the perfumes that have been there for 19 years, but I also jumped into the world of glasses."
There is one particular item of clothing which Antonio hopes to create – and it seems to have been inspired by his iconic role in The Legend of Zorro.
"There is one garment that I love that was lost in menswear a long time ago, and I would like to experiment with it: the cape," he revealed. "Capes in the winter, in places like this… I think they have incredible possibilities. They're very comfortable."
He later added: "And it is in a way so logical, coming from Zorro!"