Interview

Introducing: Renata Brenha

We sat down with the owner and founder of the eponymous brand to talk all things Renata Brenha.

The Brazilian-born, London-based designer is redefining fashion by upcycling materials to challenge perceptions of women and Latin America. After graduating from the Royal College of Art and Central Saint Martins, she quickly gained global recognition. Her designs, made from in-house textiles and curated waste, address some of today’s most critical issues.

Renata Brenha Dress On Model at Couverture and The Garbstore

Sustainability is a key pillar of your brand. Can you share more about your process for sourcing and repurposing materials, and how it influences your design approach?

I’m deeply interested in folklore and popular culture. My design process often begins with research into traditions, rituals of my own cultural heritage. From there, I explore ways to reimagine these ideas and make them relevant today, which naturally leads me to materials. I work with what is widely available, often in excess; materials that, if unused, would likely become waste.

One of the best examples of this is our work with football jerseys. I wanted to reinterpret this Brazilian cliché, so heavily stereotyped, and elevate it through fabrication and craftsmanship, giving it a new place in the wardrobe.

Our sourcing methods vary depending on the material. For the football jerseys, we collaborate with several second-hand warehouses in London. However, all cleaning, repairing, and sorting of the garments happen in my studio before they are sent to factories, it is a highly involved process. For tablecloths and other items, we often source through eBay, connecting with collectors or individuals who have them in quantity, allowing us to gather what we need for production. It’s an unconventional approach, as we don’t create new raw materials, we start with what already exists.

How has your experience at the Sarabande Foundation shaped your creative process and the future direction of your brand?

Being a resident at Sarabande has been an incredible experience. Just being surrounded by artists who are equally serious and invested in their craft is truly inspiring. I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with many of them—from sculptors who helped develop ideas for our showroom presentation to photographers, jewelry designers, and musicians, to name a few.

I believe collaboration is essential to bringing a collection or project together. This creative dialogue is what makes an artistic practice so special. In fashion, the workload can be overwhelming, often trapping you in your own world. But working with other artists and seeing how this expands our community has been profoundly meaningful for us—and absolutely the direction we want to continue moving forward.

Beyond that, the visibility and mentorship we’ve received at Sarabande have been instrumental in helping us grow within today’s challenging fashion landscape.

Your work highlights Latin American craftsmanship in contemporary fashion. How do you integrate traditional artisanal techniques into your designs while maintaining a modern aesthetic?

I believe that materialization is what truly makes something contemporary. While my inspirations often come from domestic spaces or ancient techniques, it’s the way we make the pieces, through upcycling or innovative recycled materials, that keeps them fresh, modern, and relevant to the times we live in.

I’m particularly drawn to the idea of making something new from something old, challenging perceived boundaries between nature and the city, the mutable and immutable, the present and the past. It’s also the unconventional combinations, like hand-smocking alongside pleated football jerseys, that bring the pieces to life, making them feel dynamic and unexpected

What challenges have you faced in implementing sustainable practices at scale, and how do you see the future of sustainability in high-end fashion?

The current fashion manufacturing process isn’t designed for these kinds of practices, which presents challenges at every stage, from sourcing and assortment to cutting and production. In the end, we’re creating one-of-a-kind pieces, it is almost like trying to scaling a couture process that is highly labour-intensive and complex.

But with each production, we learn so much, by training our factories, refining our methods, and constantly improving. I truly hope to see more government support in the future to make these new approaches more viable, as they are essential in addressing the urgent issues we face as a society.

What’s next for Renata Brenha? Are there any upcoming collaborations, collections, or projects that you’re excited to share?

Together with my partner, who is also a chef, I co-founded COCINA, a food project cantered on plant-based South American cuisine. Through it, we explore identity and culture within the food landscape, much like we do in fashion. This summer, we’re working on exciting projects that merge both worlds, bringing food and fashion together in new and unexpected ways. We’re really looking forward to sharing more soon.