Blueman turns the runway into a living scene of a Carioca beach. There are vendors selling mate, shrimp, bikinis. A model rides a bicycle, a tourist arrives with a suitcase.
The brand returns with a stronger focus on world-building. And it works.
Photos: LeeOliveira & Patrick Doering
It’s not just a show, it’s behaviour.
But the turning point isn’t the set design. It’s the casting. That’s where Blueman expands its gaze: diverse bodies, different genders, a more plural idea of desire. A move that speaks directly to the spirit of Rio’s beaches, where everyone belongs.
The collection dives into the domestic market, but through a lens designed for the foreign eye. It’s Brazil Core showing up more on tourists’ bodies than in the Carioca wardrobe. Lycra macramé emerges as a protagonist, bringing texture and a sense of reuse. Bags and shoes with lycra straps forming pom-poms add a layer of visual humor.
What’s built here is a Brazil of immediate reading, sun-soaked, easy to recognize, easy to consume.
Some familiar codes return in a very explicit way, like the tie-dye swim briefs with the Brazilian flag, a hit from another moment in the brand’s history.
It works through recognition. The focus is on narrative and styling.
The show closes with a moment that perfectly captures the spirit of the collection. Helô Pinheiro, at 82, the eternal Girl from Ipanema, in a swimsuit. An absolute icon. An immediate image. Almost an emotional shortcut.
And in the middle of it all, the presence of Neg Black reinforces the desire to create a scene, while names like Débora Secco and Pocah add shine and instant recognition to the looks.
In the end, Blueman doesn’t return trying to reinvent fashion, but understanding the value of building image.
And in today’s game, that, when well executed, is already half the way.
Captured and curated by Lee Oliveira & Patrick Doering, live from Rio.