My Style Heroes: Aline Bessa
A mind-altering introduction to Brazilian fashion via the closet of one of the sharpest curators I know.
Hi! I promised a tour of the coolest corners of my new friend Aline’s closet, one that would introduce you to Brazilian designers and blow your brains out with its beauty—get the brain broom out of storage! Aline is a data scientist from, as implied, Brazil, who is so smart with everything from math to strategizing a night out to composing looks that it is honestly a bit frightening, not because her brilliance is intimidating or alienating, but because it’s so exciting it makes it hard to go back to the influencers on your feed trotting out the latest satin ballet pumps like the good soldiers of capital they are. I stayed with her and her husband Chris last week while I was in NYC for NYFW, and it was an unforgettable experience…
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The thing that brought Aline and I together was actually this blog—I’d fallen deeply in love with this then-stranger’s outfit on nyc_looks:
I wrote a glowing review of the fit back in October, and even now I can remember how shocked I was at the compositional genius at play. I was also excited to see a piece from Janelle Abbott’s line JRat—the stranger and I had both been at the SS25 JRat show a month prior, apparently. Aline reached out to me upon seeing herself in Esque, we followed each other on the Instagram she essentially never posts on but luckily uses to keep in touch and scope out brands, and when she heard I needed a place to stay for FW25, she (and her husband) kindly opened their beautiful Brooklyn home to me.
Here’s another JRat piece from Aline’s closet—everything Janelle makes is upcycled and, of course, one of one, which is Aline’s preference for the clothing she collects. This year I keep writing about devil-may-care ruffles [thankfully] superseding the overwrought bow (per Aline: “bows are patronizing”), and Janelle’s deployment of them to subvert expectations of “flattering” clothing shapes, such as above where she allows them to droopily obscure the curve of the bust, is up Aline’s [and my] alley.
Aline walked in the JRat show I styled last week (more on that to come), and I took inspiration from her personal style to inform how I dressed her. I knew I needed something with volume, something that showed off her stomach tattoo, and something that felt equal parts urban and rustic, like a boy in a renaissance painting got dropped into NYC in 2025. The puffy-shouldered jacket stood out to me (I kind of like it only half-buttoned as it is in the fitting photo above), as did the bloomers—Aline LOVES neutrals like gray and brown, finding them very sexy and romantic, which was a novel thought to me after seeing so many vacant, dull “minimalist” looks courtesy of The Row and similar brands these past few years. The designer, Janelle, wanted me to add another layer to the look, so we added a plaid-lined shirt tied around Aline’s waist. For the show itself, I made sure the shirt was buttoned but facing button side out, so the audience could see all of the different materials that comprised it. I loved Aline’s raffia clogs, they felt very serf-y in a way that served the look, and we ended up going with gray knee-high socks on the day of, which added a lot to the fit as well.
The most exciting new-to-me designer Aline introduced me to is her Brazilian friend Renata Buzzo (similarly to Janelle, she’s a designer devoted to zero-waste production) whose clothing M.O. is creating clothing that represents femininity in its full reality: the gauzy and the grotesque, the virginal and the visceral. She acts out relationship dramas, reproductive anxieties, and frank depictions of body horror in painstakingly hand-wrought masterpieces.
Aline actually gifted me these sheer gloves, which I hope to style soon!
The white dress above, with its cotton ball-like neckline and frizzy waterfall of a string bodice, is on the more “normal” end of her design sensibilities, but I loved going deeper…
Much of Buzzo’s work is shot through with implications of violence and sex, either dependent or independent of each other—holes and their penetration are a recurring motif, though often rendered with an elegant solemnity as in the gorgeous gown above. Like the first dress, fabric strands form a rushing waterfall, this one with far more kinetic energy than the frothy white strings, and the downward motion slips under the chest like a diagram of oxygen entering the lungs through the sinuses. Aline loves to dance (I was supposed to go to a party with her and her husband but was so exhausted from jet lag and fittings that I ended up going to sleep right as they left for the rave at 12 AM), and pieces like this that create their own secondary system of movement, as if they’re sentient creatures responding to her separate body, abound in her collection.
Yet another Buzzo dress, this one seemingly addressing reproductive trauma with a stark brutality that nearly brought tears to my eyes. The rent-open lump at its center reminds me of the J.Kim Blister Leggings in their sickening fleshiness, but unlike those cursed bottoms, this dress is not devoid of sexuality, and Aline’s stomach tattoo peeking out from the gaping void adds a layer of cheeky, subversive humor that I think completely changes the dress’ meaning (and makes me desperately want a belly tattoo myself). The way the loosely-knotted “fringe” at the hem looks like it’s floating off the dress is fascinating. There’s some wild sperm-and-womb imagery happening here that’s frankly quite shocking in an article of clothing. I feel privileged to know this dress exists and will probably think about it for the rest of my life or until I’m able to own one.
Aline served us pomegranates, cheese, and butter with her crunchy-crusted homemade bread, fresh out of the oven (she baked it in a vintage feathered hat):
Along with the Renata dress, she donned an old, crushed-looking Schiaparelli cap I couldn’t find online, but she also likes to hat shop via Amy Downs (upon seeing those, I recommended she check out Hurtence, as well).
The last Renata piece she showed me was this tank/bra/corset that looks plainly like a draggling pile of intestines, which led us to realize we both had a thing for the artist Paul Thek, whom I’ve written about several times before on Esque (the linked article is titled “Treat Your Clothes Like Pets,” which is quite appropriate for Aline’s collection). I also thought of my college obsession with Georges Bataille, Philip Guston, Francis Bacon, all artists who dealt in the sensuality, violence, and humor of not treating the human body as untouchably holy.
Renata makes almost every part of every zero-waste, carefully upcycled garment by hand alone or with her assistant Marcela, who also has her own line of body horror-inflected garments like this terrifying bodice Aline has a version of in her room (I couldn’t stop looking at it and thinking about Demi Moore):
I loved the way these Valentino sunglasses looked like two friends in a fight, facing away from each other petulantly.
I had never seen a Myfawnwy piece in person and had barely thought about her work since the early days of the pandemic, so this sick snake tee was a welcome reminder. I also love Aline’s go-to photo pose which is an expression of uncontainable excitement: eyes squeezed, mouth agape, hands jazzy. It’s genuinely really flattering and makes you look fun, so if you ever feel awkward having your pic taken (I often do), maybe try “the Aline.”
My first time ever trying on a Yuhan Wang number! This set is SS20 and to me looks like an overripe watermelon with its guts bulging out of sudden splits in its rind. But sexy.
The heels of these shoes, by Brazilian designer DriCarneiro (possibly for a show by Brazilian brand Aluf, which I am also having a great time checking out), are breathtaking. As someone who nearly failed woodworking in college, I can only imagine how much effort getting those blobby gobs of wood flush against each other took, and it adds so much to what I think would otherwise be a kind of Row-y slipper silhouette.
Another Brazilian designer friend of Aline’s is Heloisa Faria, who makes compulsively wearable but still-off-kilter pieces (like the above jacket) that focus on texture and color in an insouciant way, combining formal and casual elements with abandon.
A piece that stopped me in my tracks was this pirarucu (a fish) leather tote from Osklen. It feels kind of random for the brand, which seems to make mostly vacation wear and rave-ready dance fits (this tracks for Aline), and feels as forbidden as a Not For Sale item you’d see hung up behind the cash register of a 300-year-old antique shop. Something about fish leather feels illegal, but I’m sure it’s more sustainable than cow leather, and it looks absolutely creepy… I’m into it.
Finally, Aline’s favorite piece in her collection (as of now): a Marcia Ganem “item” made out of fishing twine that Aline typically wears as a vest, though it can be worn multiple ways. It reminds me of South American grasslands, and since it’s made of a material used in commercial fishing, this piece feels like a strong candidate for the most representative clothing item of cool Brazilian fashion that I’ve seen thus far. I know my peek into the country’s style is only the beginning of a journey that will hopefully take me back down south sooner than later (Aline, I’m coming for your Carnivale trip!).
Three other Brazilian brands Aline mentioned are Chaouiche, making romantic, tropical, durable casual wear; Estúdio Traça, making “trashy” (in a good way), weirdo club gear; and Āo, my favorite of the three, making ruched, rumpled, sculptural pieces that seem easy to pack, easy to wear, and easy to love. “Not Just a Label” seems to be a great resource for finding sick Brazilian designers (as well as designers from other countries worldwide).
Thank you again, Aline, for opening your home and closet to me, and for your brilliance that inspires me on a daily basis. She basically doesn’t use it, but you can send her love notes or threaten to steal her clothes on IG—you just might not get an answer, likely because she’s too busy dancing at an underground Brooklyn rave in crotchless leggings OR inventing a brilliant new form of data analysis to reply.
I’ll be back soon!
<3 ESK
Thank you ❤️
Oh my gosh, Esque, what a trip into Aline's wardrobe! What amazing pieces she has, and what a verve! I love the Aline pose!