Exploring the myriad connections binding the worlds of art and fashion, the current show at São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand Museum of Art (MASP), ‘Arte na Moda: MASP Renner’, invites 26 pairs of artists and designers to create works for its collection in dialogue with contemporary issues. “Concerned with stereotypes about Brazilian culture, we ask what our culture would be if we bring people like Angela Brito who is Cape Verdean in the diaspora, and No Martins who is an Afro-Brazilian artist, together. We ask how people are dealing with issues around race, gender and territory,” explains Hanayrá Negreiros from the curatorial team.

Describing the show as an “artistic experimentation project” – thus avoiding the ideological binarism of whether fashion is art or not – Negreiros adds: “We consider art and fashion as politics. The museum space is not only an area of memory but also a space for the dispute of narratives. So, the choice of collaborators is based on their aesthetic creations and on their political activity through a series of ethical and aesthetic codes.”

It is interesting to observe how these two fields have become increasingly significant in terms of identity construction and collective representation in Brazil. In the exhibition, some of the duos were formed by black creatives who sought to elevate aspects of Afro-Brazilian culture. This move is significant in a country that is home to the largest black population outside the African continent yet which in practice, still brings little appreciation to this community.

Seven years in development, the show has also allowed for these unconventional clothing productions to take shape at their own pace, free from commercial pressures. “The fashion industry is very fast-paced, and yet these duos took between a year and a year and a half to create, allowing time for reflection and research,” says Leandro Muniz, also on the curatorial team. The museum put couples together who shared certain affinities but then left each pair to explore their own narratives and collaborative processes. “There was an idea in principle for artists to make something wearable. But that's it: wearable on what body or at what scale? This was each team's negotiation. There are pieces that have a certain functionality and could potentially be applied while there are others that are more conceptual,” Muniz adds.

Cape Verdean designer Angela Brito, who has been living in Brazil for three decades, worked with São Paulo artist No Martins. In the initial phase of the project, she was enchanted his sculpture Regras do Jogo (Rules of the Game), which resembles a chess board. “This work creates a social map of Brazil. Since the so-called ‘discovery’, there was a Portuguese court. The board is made up of a majority of black 'pawns', in the middle there is the white court, and at the ends, there are four pairs of black kings and queens. The board has a movement of advancement so these pawns are serving this court, but on the other hand, the court is also cornered. Either it gives in, so we can go in search of racial equality, or it will continue as it has been doing until now,” No Martins explains.

For Brito, the strategy game goes back to her childhood memories of playing chess. Consequently, they extracted a black and white colour palette, the central pieces give body and name to the creations, and details in gold represent the raw material extracted during the colonial era that has gained new meanings in contemporary times. “We are from different countries but being black, our experiences are practically the same. So, both Martins and I wanted to talk about this historical trajectory that exists in our work,” reflects Brito, emphasising that this starting point in their project then took on a life of its own.

Another duo that found common memories was the artist Criola and designer Luiz Cláudio Silva from Apartamento 03, who are both from the state of Minas Gerais — a region known for its artisanal practices. They chose to represent a maternal figure and the Orí, which in Yoruba cosmology represents life choices. Braids were used to interconnect the three pieces created, emphasising the sense of ancestry. “Bringing together the memory of hair, the use of Criola braids and basketry makes a direct connection with our ancestors,” says Silva. Kanekalon (thread used by black women to make braids) was harnessed to weave the pieces along with satin strips using the basket weaving technique, resulting in a puzzle. While the beads, also used as an adornment for braids, gave shape to an entirely geometric composition. Their creative process took time to study and develop. “Criola suggested the hair beads and the colours. From there, we made the pattern for the top with rhombuses, and the skirt with fringes. She came to the studio, saw the pieces and tried them on. So, it was a slow process because experimentation is important for the designer,” reveals Silva.

Afro-Brazilian artist Ayrson Heráclito from Bahia and designer André Namitala from Rio de Janeiro chose religiosity as their central narrative by drawing on the spiritual practices of their regions. “I have the desire to express myself with my clothes as if they were almost ritualistic. Each piece looks like it’s going to receive a ritual that will embrace the body, an article of clothing that has this connection with nature,” Namitala explains of his aesthetic.

Their pieces make reference to Afro-Brazilian clothing from the 19th century, a period in which black women traders rose economically and invested in luxury clothing. They wore fabrics imported from Africa with jewellery produced in Brazil. However, as a culturally complex country, the mix of original indigenous peoples, Africans and Europeans often come together in profound ways, as with religious practices, and this became the central question of Heráclito’s artistic journey. Drawing on Ìtan narratives of Yoruba cosmogonies, the duo fell in love with gourds, which in some of these narratives carry three sacred pigments: blue, white and red – all present in the pieces created. The maximised Pano da Costa fabric reflects the hierarchical aspects of Candomblé, and the white set, in a tropicalised way, illustrates an idea of African royalty.

The Barrueco look evokes Omolu, the orixá who is the lord of pearls, the god of illnesses and healing. The artisanal work combines Palha da Costa with bleached silk straw on the skirt, while the coat contains 12 kilos of pearls, the result of 400 hours of work. “It really sits between clothing and a wearable work of art,” Heráclito says, concluding: “We made an amulet that gives protection. People are enchanted not only because it is beautiful, but because it reflects many more layers of meanings, which is this positive energy that only axé emanates to everyone.”