Deconstruction: When fashion stops being a standard and becomes an encounter

Models: REAL WOMEN / Photography: @demmacedo @andersonmmacedo_ / Media: @anaterra.oli / Video: @olivervideomaker_ / Beauty: @dariobion / Styling: @diegobbueno / PR: @hooks.magazine @directorhooks @evelyoliveira / Studio: @nasulstudio / Support: @caetano3353 @karladelreimacedo_ @vilareencontrotiradentes / Looks: BAZAAR @institutohuman_org / Partnership: @likxy.br @eucamilamn / @prefsp / @smads_sp

In a context where fashion still often sustains structures of exclusion, frequently in subtle ways, the DESconstruction Project emerges not merely as an aesthetic proposal, but as a political and sensitive gesture of rupture. More than questioning standards, it challenges narratives, shifts centers, and reconfigures the gaze.

Conceived by Anderson Macedo, the project arises from a genuine unease with the standardization of beauty, not only as an image, but as a historical, social, and symbolic construction. Since 2017, its intention has remained clear: to broaden perspectives, expand access, and reposition the bodies and stories that, for so long, have been kept at the margins.

Throughout its trajectory, DESconstruction has established itself as a visual manifesto that moves across fashion, art, and representation. If, in its early stages, it found resonance among artists and influencers, over time the project deepened and, in this process, revealed new urgencies. Drawing closer to historically invisibilized realities was not a change of course, but a natural unfolding of its essence.

In this special edition, carried out in partnership with the Vila Reencontro Tiradentes Transitional Housing Social Program, the project is situated within a territory shaped by social vulnerability, but also by strength, resilience, and rebuilding. Here, the images do not function as an escape from reality, but as a tool for repositioning within it.

What is revealed is not a superficial transformation, but an internal shift. A moment in which the mirror stops reflecting absence and begins to affirm presence. A moment in which these women recognize themselves from a place that, for a long time, was denied to them: the center.

The presence of Ana Terra adds depth to this construction. By accompanying the photoshoot and engaging in dialogue with the participants, her active listening builds a bridge between image and narrative, between aesthetics and lived experience. The result is not only visual, it is relational, it is human, shaped by exchange.

More than a photoshoot, DESconstruction establishes itself as a space of encounter.

Between fashion and truth. Between image and identity. Between the external gaze and intimate recognition.

It is from this space that the conversation with its creator begins.

1. The DESconstruction Project emerges from a sense of unease and an encounter with very specific realities. How did this connection with transitional housing come about, and at what moment did you realize that these stories needed to be transformed into images?

I first came into contact with the Transitional Housing Village through a social initiative in partnership with the Human Institute. What I found there were not only stories of vulnerability, but narratives of strength, rebuilding, and a desire for the future. There was a latent power, and it was in that moment that I understood fashion and image could serve as tools to amplify this perspective. Not as a solution, but as a possibility to reposition how these women see themselves and how they are seen.

2. The name DESconstruction carries a powerful idea. In practice, what is being deconstructed through these women, these images, and the narratives built throughout the project?

What we seek to deconstruct is, first and foremost, the restricted idea of who belongs in fashion. For a long time, it has been presented as a limited territory, both in the way it is communicated and in who occupies that space. The project challenges this logic. With each photoshoot, with each encounter, what we witness is a shift in posture, presence, and perception. People begin to recognize themselves within the image, not as an exception, but as a legitimate part of it. And that is transformative.

3. This edition is situated within a context of vulnerability, but also of female strength. How do you build a perspective that does not romanticize these experiences while still revealing the strength within them?

This is a constant concern. We work with a team that deeply understands the responsibility of the project. Before any aesthetic direction, there is listening, there is research. Each person is understood in their individuality, and the construction of the photoshoot begins from that essence. Fashion enters as a language, not as an imposition. The goal is never to soften reality, but to create an image that engages with it in an honest and respectful way.

4. Working with people outside the traditional fashion circuit shifts the creative process. What did this project demand of you as a photographer and creative director, in terms of language, listening, and aesthetic construction?

It demanded presence. More than technique, this project requires the willingness to listen, observe, and adapt. Each photoshoot brings its own dynamic, and this displaces any ready-made formula. The language is built through encounter. The aesthetic emerges from the relationship. As a director, my role is to guide this process with sensitivity, ensuring that the final image is not only beautiful, but truthful.

5. There is a fine line between representing and exposing. During DESconstruction, how did you create an environment of trust so that these women truly felt seen, and not merely portrayed?

Trust is built throughout the process. From the first contact to the moment of the photoshoot, everything is approached with care, transparency, and respect. There is no distinction in how we treat people. The experience on set, in direction, and in delivery is the same for everyone. This creates an environment where they are not being observed, but actively participating in the construction of their own image. And that makes all the difference.

6. The project asserts that everyone is part of fashion and that art exists in everyone. After this experience, what has this idea come to mean for you in practice? Was there any moment or encounter that redefined this perception?

   
   

This idea has always been present in my journey, but the project deepened that understanding. I come from a family context that already nurtured this sensitivity, with a mother who was a social worker and a brother involved in community initiatives. I have always been close to different realities. DESconstruction materializes this. It transforms a thought into practice. And along the way, each encounter reinforces that beauty is not in a standard, but in the uniqueness of each story.