Isabelle Donola is 33, born in Rio de Janeiro and now lives in New York, NY.
This quirky-cool Brazilian transplant seems like a hot mess, but underneath her laissez-faire attitude is an absolute fearlessness and a relentless optimism that has shaped her remarkable life. She brings her spunky personality to her modern, out-of-the-box garments, playing with details and asymmetrical silhouettes.
Growing up in a working class suburb of Rio de Janeiro, Isabelle always dreamed big. Her mother taught her how to hand-sew at age three and by six she had created a full collection for her Barbie dolls. Her path deviated from design when she was given the chance to study ballet at a prestigious school in Rio de Janeiro. A broken leg forced her to shift focus again, and she soon found herself skateboarding professionally and winning championships. She finally came back to fashion design, which she has been pursuing relentlessly since 2004, opening a designer co-op on a posh block of Melrose in Los Angeles, and, more recently, moving to New York to cultivate her own brand. Though Isabelle swears she doesn’t have a competitive bone in her body, she has in fact been competing for a good part of her life.
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