MARCO – exploring the naked form as an act of self-expression, not sexualization

It is a period of reflection and relates to aesthetics, taking place before considering the restraints of production. Intw – Marco Ribeiro

How do you bring a vision into full-fruition? Forming ideas, images and concepts means to operate beyond the input of our physical senses. It is a period of reflection and relates to aesthetics, taking place before considering the restraints of production. Design is the process that precedes the discipline of manufacturing. Our Fashion Editor Giorgia Fuzio in conversation with Marco Ribeiro, founder of MARCO.

My parents had a small atelier at home, supplying local stores in my hometown. Just being around that creativity rubbed off on me and it just felt natural to do it myself. My father also used to make clothes during the week to wear on Saturday night. The idea of making something from nothing, the unlimited possibility of imagination, and the power of expressing your own voice inspired me. The Brazilian visual artist Hélio Oiticica – his performance ‘The Parangolé’ – is a reference. Objects only come truly alive through the movements of the people who wear them, he said. Nudity is a part of my collections. It started with The Birth of Venus and grew from there. I want to explore the naked form as an act of self-expression not sexualization. Portrait of Madeline by Marie-Guillemine Benoist (1800) is an image I come back to every collection.

It was painted by a woman in a time where this was rare, and it celebrates the abolition of Slavery in the French colonies. How people interpret the exposed breast, and how that might have changed from the time it was painted to now fascinate me. The painting of black skin was seen as more technically challenging at the time, which might explain why she is wrapped in white fabric – to offer a contrast and show off the skill in the painting. Architect Oscar Niemeyer and sculptor Constantin Brancusi also inspire me. Niemeyer designed the school I went to in Brazil and is how I know his work. Playing with freedom and hard materials. Disrupting the environment around them in an unexpected way.