Brazil is a land of beach and rainforest, opulent villas and desolate slums. It’s capital, Rio de Janeiro, a vibrant, heaving metropolis watched over by Christ the redeemer from atop an ancient volcano, is set to host the world’s biggest event, televised to millions of people from across the world.
With any worldwide, extraordinarily large event, inspiration will be forthcoming. The opening ceremony, within the context of the city and the country, will soon influence fashion and interior design. After the London Olympics we saw suitcases and trunks featuring heavily in interior styling, and another pop culture example is the nomadic, transitionary trend across both fashion and interiors following the release of the latest instalment from Star Wars- lots of burlap-style fabrics and Jedi-chic.* We have no doubt that the Rio Olympics will have a similar impact on design.
Rio de Janeiro has a colonial past with the architecture to match, standing alongside contemporary, edgy construction. It’s a city of concrete, mountain, ocean and forest. It’s both tropical and savage, with ghettos standing side by side with resorts. Timber is a massive resource, as is coffee (and for that we are forever grateful). We foresee that combination of dark timber and browns with the greens and blues of the landscapes will heavily influence design. This will translate into industrial style furnishings being paired with traditional pieces. Wall furnishings, art and fabric will embrace tropical leaves and foliage, and it will be fascinating to see how the design world will respond to the juxtaposition between the favelas and opulence that is such a key characteristic of this city.
Are you looking forward to watching the Olympics? We’ll be glued to the opening and closing ceremonies, but Sophie, our lead designer, can’t look away from the swimming.
*Jedi-chic- totally a thing.
