Brazilian designer Patricia Bonaldi wants the fashion industry to look beyond the familiar clichés of Brazil that circulate through pop culture and fashion, and to recognize a fuller image of the country through craft, movement, landscape, and tradition. For Spring/Summer 2027, she offers that vision through Brasil Esplendido, a collection rooted in Brazil’s natural beauty, artistry, and centuries of creative practice. Rather than treating those references as literal motifs, Bonaldi translates them into shape, color, texture, and motion.
Presented at Domino Square in Brooklyn, the collection is alive with vibrant color, sculptural silhouettes, intricate handwork, and references to the landscapes that have long shaped Brazil’s visual identity. Bonaldi builds an expansive picture of the country through her designs, moving from tropical aesthetics that feel immediately familiar into something more subtle and distinctly personal.
The influence of nature is immediately apparent. Fluid silhouettes follow the body’s movement, while undulating prints, cascading fringe, and layered ruffles create a sense of constant motion. One look pairs a delicate open-knit halter bikini top with a sculptural golden-yellow skirt resembling a blooming anemone, its gathered layers and fringe extending from the waist and moving like windblown grasses with each step.
Elsewhere, soft waves of blue, pink, and green sweep across a fitted long-sleeve dress, while tiers of ruffles gather at the waist, amplifying the watercolor-like print. A sleek blue slip dress takes the collection into eveningwear, where its streamlined silhouette gives way to a curtain of featherlight blue and green fringe that hangs from the hem and dances with every step. Across the collection, the clothes respond to movement rather than simply following the body, giving the pieces a feeling of aliveness.
That fluidity could easily fall into the familiar language of resortwear, but Brasil Esplendido resists being reduced to a vacation wardrobe. Bonaldi has spoken about the tendency to associate Brazil primarily with Copacabana and its tropical surroundings, while her own understanding of the country is broader and more layered. That distinction comes through in the collection’s range, which moves from beach-ready swimwear and cover-ups to sleek eveningwear and relaxed, streetwear-influenced pieces such as jeans paired with vibrant fringe jackets.
Throughout the collection, the silhouettes capture the beauty of Brazil’s landscapes, while the handwork conveys their richness. Beading, fringe, embroidery, crochet, and sculptural embellishments transform the garments through texture and dimension. Floral motifs appear repeatedly, shifting from lush all-over prints to delicate embroidery and three-dimensional ornamentation. One pink and lavender floral drop-waist dress features flowing tiers of ruffles that gather dramatically around the skirt.
One of the collection’s most intricate looks pushes this approach even further. A sheer, floral-printed halter top and fitted skirt are covered in delicate pink and lavender blooms, while hundreds of strands of shimmering beadwork drip down from the neckline and across the silhouette. A three-dimensional bouquet of peplum sits at the waist, its oversized bow-like folds introducing volume against an otherwise very sleek silhouette. With its translucent fabrication and layered three-dimensional accents, the look feels overgrown, as though a garden has begun to grow on the body.
Movement becomes a cultural reference throughout the collection, not merely a design detail. The bouncing fringe and intricate layering recall the importance of Brazilian traditions of dance and dress. Like samba itself, the garments are designed to come alive through the body and take on a life of their own.
There is also an unmistakable Carnaval-like exuberance in the collection’s use of color, embellishment, and motion. The connection feels especially apparent in a bandeau top and skirt ensemble, where an exposed midriff and dramatic yellow, purple, and pink fringe bring to mind the energy of Carnaval costume. Brazilian Carnaval dress is known for elaborate embellishment, feathers, sequins, beads, fringe, and bold color, though these elements vary widely across regions and traditions.
Bonaldi channels a similar sense of spectacle through a fashion-forward lens, allowing the reference to register as one layer of the collection’s broader celebration of Brazilian creativity rather than as its defining image. Brasil Esplendido is most compelling when it treats Brazil not as a set of familiar visual codes, but as a living source of craft, movement, landscape, and imagination.
