Our last morning in Brazil couldn’t have been more exciting.
After getting out of my Uber, a man pulled open what looked like part of the wall, spinning the massive door on its middle hinge.
‘Obrigada’, I said and pushed Sofia’s stroller through.
We had just walked into the new showroom of Brazilian fashion designer Paula Raia.
I discovered Paula Raia through São Paulo Fashion Week about a year prior and added her store to my list of must-see designers and creatives for our next visit to Brazil. Walking through that doorway and watching the foyer open up into a space full of natural light pouring in through ceiling-high glass windows felt like a dream.
Karina, who has been working with Paula for the past 12 years, greeted me with a hug and Brazilian kiss and immediately introduced me to personal stylists and seamstresses and whomever else we passed by as we went.
She explained the style of the designs and the latest collection, the open space of the showroom, the neutral, sleek lines and their importance to Paula.
The collection on display was a rainbow of earth tones and soft pinks and of course classic neutrals of black and white. The feminine designs were made of flowing fabric with textures – always textures, Karina told me. Two-piece dresses that buttoned and fell perfectly into one, form fitted midi skirts and cropped blouses with keyholes for peeks of bare skin. I glanced at the pieces, my eyes dancing between each one and then stared, admiring every detail and texture.
A sisterhood of stylists ran the main floor; tall, energetic women who carried the same enthusiasm behind the brand. They sat cross-legged on plush rugs sipping herbal tea from pinched earthenware, cut rocks as tables and a giant crystal sitting in the corner. One fitted a woman in capris-length pants with waves of fabric in front, and another fastened a skirt around a young girl’s slender waist.
It’s couture, haute couture with a deep connection to the earth and clients.
That morning I saw how the pieces come to life, from cutting the patterns to being pieced together by seamstresses, down to the final touches and adjustments being made upstairs. But what I still wonder is how her thought process works, how Paula’s ideas are thought and made manifest into designs that perfectly fall on the body. There’s a pulse in her designs, in the way material, beads and yarn are joined and puckered to skirts and sleeves.
“The pieces need to be tried on”, Karina explained, “When looking at a dress just on the hanger, you don’t see its full design. But once you put it on you see how it perfectly hangs on the body.”
And so I made my way around the showroom, just as anxious as I was on cloud nine, and chose a dress to try on some of this magic for myself.
The first layer of the two-piece set was a pair of high-waisted short shorts, front buttons rising up over the hips on both sides. They were fitted and comfortable and hidden under the dress until a slit in the full skirt made them visible with each stride and a spin or two. After admiring the fit and details and taking a few pics (see below!), the stylist unfastened the buttons and slid the dress back off and onto the hanger. She chatted about how sweet Sofia was, who still sat fast asleep in her stroller beside us, and we sipped our herbal teas as she told me about her own children.
The visit came to an end with me trying to look around and adsorb as much beauty as I could and getting the model numbers for the designs I had just added to my wish list. And just as I made my way towards the foyer, Sofia awoke and locked eyes with Karina, who fell in love with her smile and called the rest of the ladies to come see her. Our way out the door turned into a mini photo-shoot as Karina snapped some last minute pics of Sofia and I. Although Sofia won’t remember this day, I know I will and I have lovely photos to share with her about the day she visited the new showroom and studio of Paula Raia.
I hope you enjoy the photos, too!
– You can shop the collections from the locations listed on the website here – just scroll to the bottom of the page.
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