DES PREZO presents: UGLY KIDS DEAD DREAMS
- Matheus Hooks/ Editor-In-Chief
- Aug 21
- 6 min read
DES PREZO arrives at its Drop 3 with a collection that closes a cycle and opens the door to a new chapter. Entitled UGLY KIDS DEAD DREAMS, the collection embodies the brand’s evolution. The name speaks to those who have always felt outside the norm and to the dreams left behind along the way, which ultimately made room for something greater and more consistent.
This time, the message is clear: dreaming is not enough, transformation is essential. The rebellious and experimental aesthetic that has always defined the brand now comes with a more conscious and strategic vision. Maturity can be found in every detail, without erasing the nonconformist essence that makes DES PREZO a true reference of authenticity.
The pieces combine oversized silhouettes, raw textures, and refined finishes. The color palette is the widest the brand has ever used, yet it preserves its identity through intense washes and distressed effects inspired by grunge, punk, and rave culture. The collection also embraces a variety of materials, including leather, knitwear, denim, jersey, and fleece, showcasing both strength and technical precision.
If the previous drop was about exploring dreams, this one carries a more realistic message. It’s about understanding that growing up also means letting go of certain illusions, without losing creative power. This shift is reflected in the balance between bold pieces and more commercial ones, designed to be worn while still provoking thought.
The collection’s narrative resonates with a generation that matured quickly, that often felt out of place, but discovered creativity as a way to exist. Wearing DES PREZO means embodying this story of struggle, resistance, and transformation.
We had the opportunity to interview the brand's creative director, Guilherme Menegat Biondo. Check it out below:
The collection is titled UGLY KIDS DEAD DREAMS, which carries a deep symbolic weight. How is this concept translated into the pieces and the overall aesthetic?
The name already conveys much of what we wanted to express. It is about those children who grew up feeling different, who dreamed of something beyond what the world offered. Along the way, they faced reality. This forces you to stay grounded, swallow the dream, and refine it.
This collection is more mature and conscious than all the others. The aesthetic embraces contrast, with pieces featuring wide silhouettes and raw textures, yet finished with precision and refinement. It is our collection with the widest color palette so far, and also the one that challenged us the most technically. Each piece carries a level of detail and complexity that reflects this process of maturation.
UGLY KIDS DEAD DREAMS marks a turning point, where nonconformity remains, but now with greater clarity of purpose.
When you talk about "the end of a cycle and the beginning of a new phase," you suggest creative and business maturity. How does this maturity appear in the construction of the clothes and the narrative of the collection?
Before, everything was very impulsive. We created with the heart—which still exists—but today we are able to balance that with strategy. During ‘Punk Ravers,’ I was able to express aesthetically everything I had always imagined for the brand, but I still lacked experience. Over time, I understood that having a brand means being more than a designer—it also means being a businessperson.
Being a designer requires imagination; being a businessperson requires calculation and responsibility. I think this new phase is about combining these two aspects. We continue to create bold, technical pieces with unique cuts and unconventional proposals, but now with more conscious decisions. We test fabrics, patterns, bring more color, more complexity—but also seek commercial balance. We revisited patterns that worked in the past, invested in impactful pieces and others that are visually more accessible, without giving up our identity.
It is a collection with a variety of materials—leather, knitwear, denim, jersey, sweatshirt fabrics, accessories—but with shorter production times and more precise execution. The maturity is reflected precisely here: not in reducing creative ambition, but in understanding better where and how to apply it.
The idea of dead dreams and the weight of reality seems to speak to a whole generation that grew up “off the curve.” How do you hope this message will resonate with the audience that wears DES PREZO?
We believe that many people experience this conflict: growing up creative, intense, and outside the norm—and then being swallowed by a world that wants to normalize them. This collection doesn’t come with answers, but with identification. We want those who wear Des Prezo to feel that they are not alone in the process of accepting that some dreams die, but others are born from that. It’s about transformation.
In terms of design, what were the main elements, materials, or silhouettes chosen to convey this duality between youthful rebellion and a more conscious new phase?
Since the end of last year, I began structuring a collection that would be visually strong but also function strategically. The challenge was to combine pieces with bold designs that represented our identity with others that were more accessible, aiming to expand the business and connect with a broader audience.
Unlike Punk Ravers, which truly gave me space to dream and create a freer aesthetic, this new phase led me to a more introspective approach, revisiting my childhood and the dreams I had at that time. I drew on personal references, especially from music videos.
From there, I tried to fuse these memories with a more mature and concise language, balancing grunge elements with traces of the punk and raver universe we had been developing for the brand. The result is a collection rich in references but cohesive in execution—visually strong, with identity and purpose.
This fusion produced a collection that explores contrasts: t-shirts with heavy graphics share space with cleaner-looking pieces; washed and distressed items coexist with more traditional shapes.
All of this helps express the tension between youth and maturity—a balance I consider essential for Des Prezo, which is more than a brand; it is a living organism that evolves, learns, and transforms with each collection.
"Ugly Kids" symbolizes the outsiders, while "Dead Dreams" speaks to what has been left behind. How do you balance this melancholy with the creative energy needed for such a striking collection?
As a creative, my most powerful energy has always come from moments when I wasn’t feeling well. Dead Dreams does not emerge as a lament—it represents a turning point, a moment of maturity. It is as if, for the first time, everything is clearer. We have a direction. Looking back and seeing everything we have built proves that nothing happened by chance. With two and a half years of the brand, we have already done things I never imagined, and yet it feels like this is just a new starting point.
The essence of DES PREZO remains the same, but now we have a more strategic, more conscious vision. The melancholy of the name does not paralyze us—on the contrary, it pushes us forward. Because maturing also means accepting that dreams change, that some must be left behind, and that this does not make us any less creative. It makes us more prepared.
This collection is about transforming frustration into action. It is about understanding that to keep dreaming, we need to work, adapt, and grow. So Ugly Kids. Dead Dreams. is not an end—it is a milestone. The consolidation of everything we have been and the beginning of everything we are yet to become.
DES PREZO has always been connected to the idea of transgression and breaking norms. In this new chapter, what remains as the essence of the brand and what is reinvented for the future?
For me, DES PREZO has always been more than a brand—it is a living organism, constantly evolving. And like any organism, it matures over time, with the people involved, and through the experiences we live both inside and outside the creative process. From the beginning, our greatest commitment has been to aesthetics, to creating something we did not see around us. That has not changed. What changes is our perspective: today, besides being creative, I am also responsible for making the business work.
Over time, I learned that being a designer and being a businessperson are roles that often contradict each other. One works with imagination, the other with reality. What is changing now is the structure, not the soul. We continue to provoke, create, and seek something new—but now with more awareness, strategy, and consistency.
This new moment is about balancing desire and feasibility. We have learned from the market, from our mistakes and successes, and we are using this knowledge to grow without losing who we are. It is not about erasing the past or softening our ideas—it is about maturing what we have built. The change is structural, not creative. The essence remains: creating with truth, speaking to those who have never been heard, and occupying spaces where no one wants us to be.
_____________________
