Founded in 2017 by São Paulo-based designer Marina Dalgalarrondo, womenswear brand ÃO has carved a name for itself in Brazil‘s fast-evolving fashion landscape with quirky silhouettes that emphasise creativity and redefine female shapes by blurring the lines between fashion and visual arts. Taking its operations to a new level, ÃO has recently inaugurated a new retail space and workshop in Pinheiros, a downtown area that has become increasingly fashionable, and gentrified as such, in the past few years. The company has secured a lofty 90 sqm. (969 sq.ft.) unit at LAPI, short for Largo de Pinheiros, an urban redevelopment project which encompasses a block of low-rise buildings which aims to be the area’s new hub for shopping, dining out and cultural events.

The interior design of the repurposed building, created by local creative collective CLUBE, uses the building’s original shell, either sections of bare bricks, freshly painted walls and ceilings, and concrete beams, as an intentionally eclectic backdrop. A variety of fabrics, both translucent and opaque, and suspended by rails, add an unexpected layering, serving as dividers that separate ÃO‘s showroom from its workspaces, while also defining a circular fitting room. Interestingly, the fabrics intentionally come in the hues white, grey and beige, adding depth to the various settings. Lighting is simple and functional, comprising of a suspended metal frame with tubular lights attached, and a separate one for the fitting room. The new ÃO store carries the brand’s full collection of dresses, skirts and tops. © superfuture