Webinar | The Convergence of Fashion & Design

How do the objects we wear - and the spaces we inhabit - reshape the way we see ourselves? In Architecture Hunter’s latest webinar, we welcomed Paola Vilas (Founder, Paola Vilas), a multidisciplinary artist whose work moves between sculptural jewelry, furniture, and scenographic interiors. Over the course of the session, Paola shared the creative path that has defined her practice, one where scale, ergonomics, and symbolism intertwine to empower the feminine and introduce new rituals into everyday life.

Her journey began in 2016 with a central question: how can we heal our relationship with the feminine by reclaiming the body? Initially working with large-format sculptures, Paola soon sought a more intimate form of interaction. This exploration led her to goldsmithing, where she discovered the potential of wearable objects as small, unexpected portals - pieces capable of interrupting routine and sparking new encounters. “If we’re not connected to our bodies,” she explained, “we can’t access the feminine in an honest way.” Since then, her creations have embodied a magnetism designed to draw attention and invite reflection in both daily life and cultural settings.

Materials play a crucial role in this process. Early hand-carved prototypes offered tactility but came with limitations, while the shift to 3D printing during the pandemic expanded the possibilities for intricacy and precision. “Details within details,” as Paola described them, became possible, allowing her to embed new layers of meaning without compromising comfort or wearability. For her, scale carries an architectural weight - capable of transforming the message of a piece - yet always balanced by the need for ergonomics so that provocation remains integrated into lived experience.

A highlight of her practice is the collaboration with the Instituto Lina Bo Bardi, where she translated Bo Bardi’s Cavalletti and Pompeia’s striking architectural gestures into sculptural jewelry. Rather than reproducing, Paola sought to resonate with Bo Bardi’s language, creating a dialogue between biomorphic forms and structural clarity. This work, alongside ventures into leather bags, furniture, and immersive retail spaces, continues to expand her vision. Her Rio store, for example, was conceived as a body-like space, with curved walls and tactile surfaces shaping a dreamlike, participatory environment.

Her work shows that convergence is not a boundary, but a medium. In Paola Vilas’s universe, fashion becomes spatial, design becomes personal, and architecture begins with the body - scaled to the rhythm of everyday life.

_article written by Daniela Moreira da Silva
_speaker: Paola Vilas - Fouder of Paola Vilas