FASHION Magazine

The mention of Brazil usually brings to mind exotic images of beautiful beaches, dancing until dawn at Carnival and knockout models like Gisele Bündchen. Another image to add to that list is the ultra-colourful work of one of the country’s most renowned designers, Ronaldo Fraga.

With a knack for turning arts and crafts concepts into high style, the glasses and curly-tipped moustache donning man always creates collections that tell the story of his country with an execution that is so spot on because, for the past eight years, he has worked with rural artisan groups from every corner of Brazil. “I believe there’s an immediate need to close the gap that exists between designers and artisans in Brazil,” says Fraga. “I think much of our identity in Brazil is handmade.” For his last two collections, Fraga worked with the same group of craftswomen, Gatas Bordadeiras, from the city of Passira in Pernambuco, a state in the North-East of the country.