The 33rd edition of INSPIRAMAIS, Latin America’s leading materials salon, unfolded in Porto Alegre with a clear message: the future of fashion will be shaped not only by technology, but by cultural intelligence, ecological awareness, and a renewed understanding of materiality. Held January 27–28 at the FIERGS Event Center, the event brought together designers, researchers, and industry leaders to explore how innovation and identity can coexist in a rapidly shifting world.
At the center of this edition was The Turning Point, a research-driven narrative led by Walter Rodrigues, coordinator of Assintecal’s Design and Research Center. His proposal is bold: fashion has moved beyond Bauman’s “Liquid Modernity” into a new state, Gaseous Modernity, where ideas no longer simply flow but evaporate. Volatility, acceleration, and impermanence now define the creative landscape.
The research is expressed through three conceptual atmospheres, each offering a lens into the materials and aesthetics shaping the next generation of design.
Gaseous Holistic
A feminine, contemplative universe where technology and emotion intersect. Materials emphasize softness and transparency, tulle, nylon, airy volumes, and hybrid surfaces often enhanced by AI-driven experimentation. It is a space where design becomes a tool for regeneration and effect.
Gaseous Biological
A digitally ancestral landscape inspired by organic systems. Here, materials mimic cellular structures, layered textures, gelatinous surfaces, and emerging biomaterials such as biopolymers and nanocellulose. It imagines a future where nature and technology merge into new material ecologies.
Rupture
A counterforce that challenges homogeneity and repetition. Through 3D constructions, abrupt folds, fragmentation, and body-based geometries, this theme reclaims individuality in a world saturated with sameness. It is bold, architectural, and unapologetically experimental.
Together, these atmospheres form a palette of ice violet, yellow, and aqua, signaling transition, instability, and transformation.
Amazonian Identity as Innovation
One of the most compelling moments of INSPIRAMAIS 33 was the presentation of Iconografía Local Bioma Amazónico, a project rooted in deep territorial research across Santarém, Alter do Chão, Belterra, and Mojuí dos Campos. The initiative explored local identity through agriculture, gastronomy, music, natural medicine, biomaterials, and artisanal practices.
Assintecal supported 19 local enterprises in transforming these cultural insights into innovative materials and products. The result is a powerful example of how bioeconomy, craftsmanship, and design research can intersect to create solutions that are both contemporary and deeply rooted in place.
It is a reminder that innovation is not only technological, it is also cultural.
What’s Next: Essência
Looking ahead to the July edition, INSPIRAMAIS introduced Essência, its next research theme. At a time when luxury is increasingly threatened by price-driven competition, Essência proposes a return to meaning.
Two contrasting yet complementary directions emerge:
Purism
A retreat into silence, ancestry, and essentialism. Materials include clean leathers, satin finishes, delicate prints, exotic skins, suede, and couture-like refinement. It is luxury as heritage and restraint.
Popism
A celebration of intentional excess. Inspired by baroque drama and pop culture, this theme embraces bold prints, florals, sensory intensity, and vibrant color. It is luxury as exuberance and cultural energy.
Together, they challenge the industry to rethink value beyond price to rediscover luxury as rarity, narrative, and cultural authority.
A Salon That Shapes the Future
INSPIRAMAIS 33 reaffirmed its role as a platform where design research, cultural identity, sustainability, and material innovation converge. More than a trade event, it is a space where Latin America asserts its creative voice and contributes meaningfully to global conversations about the future of fashion.
