CAROL RIBEIRO: THE LUXURY OF NOT FITTING IN
- Evely Oliveira
- Aug 28
- 6 min read
'FASHION' EDITION COVER - AUGUST 2026 ISSUE
On the day she turns 40, Carol Ribeiro seems more interested in what is yet to come than in taking stock of what has been left behind. There is no concern with turning her age into a statement. The moment seems to call for something else: looking at her own journey with greater clarity and realizing that there is no single way to be Carol.
Her story spans fashion, communications, entrepreneurship, and management. Spirituality holds an important place in her life, as do horses, a passion that began in childhood. They may be different worlds, but in her, they share a common thread: identity.
With a degree in Fashion Management, Carol understands aesthetics as a language she knows well. Her style moves between sophistication and western influences, femininity and strength, without the need to follow a single formula. There is a sense of repertoire, but also freedom. She knows what she likes and doesn’t seem interested in explaining every choice.
That same confidence comes through in her work. Today, she is at the helm of her family’s construction company, where she handles management, decision-making, and responsibilities that are quite different from those associated with the fashion world. At the same time, she continues to develop projects connected to image, communications, and entrepreneurship.
There is no attempt to make these worlds seem alike. They aren’t. What brings them together is the woman who moves between them.
Perhaps that is one of the most interesting aspects of her journey: why should a woman have to choose a single definition of herself in order to be taken seriously?
Carol doesn’t seem willing to make that choice.
The same applies to her relationship with image. After so many years immersed in fashion, photography, and communications, she understands the weight of the external gaze. But today, there is a difference between building an image to be accepted and using it to express who you are.
Away from the cameras, horses occupy a different place in this story. The connection began in childhood and has remained throughout the years. The equestrian world has also found its way into her aesthetic, particularly through western influences, but its significance goes far beyond image. There is a connection to nature, freedom, and a part of Carol that existed long before photography.
It is precisely this combination that makes her journey so difficult to summarize. And perhaps it no longer needs to be summarized.
A woman can run a company and remain passionate about fashion. She can be practical and intuitive, sophisticated and free, change direction without having to erase the path she has taken.
Carol Ribeiro seems to have understood that identity is not about choosing one of these parts.
It is about being able to live all of them.
And perhaps that is the true luxury of not fitting into a box.
At what point did you realize you were no longer building an image for others, but instead expressing yourself in a way that was more true to who you are?
I think that realization came with maturity. For a long time, I worried about how I would be understood, what people expected of me, and even which versions of myself would be more easily accepted. Today, that has lost its importance. At 40, there is a kind of freedom that comes at a high price, but is incredibly beautiful: no longer needing to fit into a box. My image is still a form of communication. I love fashion, aesthetics, and photography, but today, it comes from the inside out. I don’t dress, position myself, or build an image to convince anyone of who I am. I simply express myself.
Perhaps that is the great difference between being seen and recognizing yourself: being seen depends on someone else’s gaze; recognizing yourself depends on your own.
2. You move naturally between fashion, business, communications, spirituality, and the equestrian world. But for a long time, perhaps people expected you to choose just one of these versions of yourself. When did you realize you didn’t have to choose?
When I realized they were never different versions of me. They are all parts of who I am. I can be at the helm of a family-owned construction company, make decisions, and deal with very practical responsibilities while, at the same time, being deeply connected to fashion, communications, spirituality, and horses. One does not cancel out the other. For a long time, there was this idea that, in order to be taken seriously, we had to choose a role and remain within it. I don’t believe in that. We are multifaceted.Fashion is a very strong personal signature for me; business is part of my development as a woman and a professional; communications allows me to build bridges; spirituality gives me direction; and the equestrian world connects me to something I have loved since childhood. I don’t need to choose between these women because all of them are me.
For a woman who works with image, beauty can open doors, but it can also bring expectations. How has your relationship with your own appearance changed over the years? And what can you see in the mirror today that you perhaps couldn’t see before?
Beauty has always been very present throughout my journey, especially because I work with fashion and image. And I think that when we are less experienced, there is a tendency to see beauty as something closely tied to external validation — those very common trends among younger people.Today, my relationship with my appearance is lighter. I’m still someone who cares about how I look, and I still love fashion, makeup, photography, and everything related to aesthetics. It is part of who I am, and I have no need to downplay that side of myself in order to appear more profound.But today, I understand that beauty without identity is very little. When I look in the mirror as I approach 40, I’m not looking for the 20-year-old girl I once was. I like the woman I see. I see history, personality, confidence, femininity, and, above all, identity. Today, I don’t want to look younger. I want to look more and more like myself.
Faith and ancestry are part of your life and, in some way, also appear in the way you express yourself and make choices. In a routine that demands decisions, responsibilities, and results, do you still listen to your intuition? How much has it already changed the course of your life?
Very much. My spirituality is not an accessory to my life; it is one of my foundations. I have a very deep connection to faith, ancestry, and to things that we cannot necessarily explain rationally. And that coexists perfectly with the practical woman I am, who needs to make quick decisions and deal with concrete results every day. To me, spirituality doesn’t mean abandoning reason. It means understanding that reason and intuition can work together.My intuition has already led me to change direction, close chapters, begin new ones, trust when there seemed to be no guarantees, and, above all, perceive things before they became evident. Some of the most important decisions in my life began with a feeling I couldn’t yet explain. Today, I listen to that voice much more closely. Reason helps me decide how to move forward; intuition, many times, shows me where to go.
Is there a dream or desire that you feel even more ready to pursue today?
Many. (Laughs.) I find it interesting because there is this narrative that turning 40 should make us more settled or cause us to lower our expectations. The opposite happened to me. I arrive at this age with greater clarity about what I want to build and, above all, about what I am no longer willing to compromise on in any way.I want to expand my projects in fashion and communications, grow professionally, pursue entrepreneurship, create things that carry my identity, and continue occupying spaces that, perhaps a few years ago, I never imagined I would. Motherhood is even on that list! I want to experience it very soon.
6. Finally, there is a voice that is also yours and goes beyond image, projects, and everything you have built so far. If you had the world’s attention for a few minutes, what would you want people to hear from you?
I would tell people not to waste their lives trying to live up to what others expect of them. There is an immense sense of freedom that comes when we understand that we can change, start over, have seemingly contradictory interests, occupy different spaces, and still remain deeply true to our essence.I strongly believe in purpose, faith, hard work, and integrity. I believe success should not be measured solely by what we manage to accumulate or achieve, but also by how much of ourselves we are able to preserve while building it all.Understand the value of time and use it to your advantage. Leave positive marks wherever you go, don’t engage in unnecessary competition, study, have fun, work, experience a little bit of everything... The world is a place of infinite possibilities. What a tiny fraction of people think does not define anything!You don’t need to choose a single version of yourself to present to the world. Let’s be whole and multifaceted. And faith, my people — not religion, FAITH!
