Created to shine
Made by hand,
from start to finish.
I created Estúdio ALA by bringing together two things that have always been part of my life: Carnival and the desire to make art by hand.
Part of that comes from home: I grew up with two very creative grandmothers, one a teacher and craftswoman, the other a visual artist. Each taught me in her own way that an idea needs time, materials, experimentation, technique, and craftsmanship to become real.
Estúdio ALA grew from this mix of references, making by hand, and Carnival.
From the first idea
to the final sequin.
At Estúdio ALA, I have always been responsible for every stage of the creative process—from research, material selection, and early tests to assembly and finishing each piece. My work also includes campaigns, photography, video, visual identity, communications, the website, customer service, packaging, and shipping.
That is how Estúdio ALA became an independent brand, with its own products, voice, and aesthetic—and a distinctive way of turning ideas into projects that came to life at Carnival.
Dressing up reveals more of who was already there.
ALA is deeply connected to Brazil and Carnival, a celebration where creativity, freedom, and self-expression can take on a life of their own. This connection informs one of the brand’s central ideas: dressing up is not pretending to be someone else; it lets more of who was already there come into view.
Estúdio ALA creations were made to be part of this experience. Headpieces, bands, turbans, and accessories explore colour, shape, texture, and shine, inviting people to express themselves in new ways and celebrate their own identity.
ALA is on pause.
After two Carnival seasons, it was time to put the banner away for a while.
After moving abroad from Brazil, it became impractical to continue making pieces by hand for Brazilian Carnival. This pause does not erase the brand’s story or the ideas that keep coming. Production and sales are suspended while the archive preserves the designs, images, and everything ALA has brought to the streets.
The archive
ALA is always alive.
The banner is put away, but ALA remains where it began: in my mind and in the minds of everyone who wore it.
I do not yet know when the next parade will begin. But when the time comes, we will raise the banner again and bring ALA back to the streets as it was meant to be.
Until then, we remain between wings.