Barbara Casasola

Born in Brazil in 1984, Barbara studied Fashion Design at Central Saint Martins in London and later at Istituto Marangoni in Milan where she graduated Cum Laude and first in her class in 2007.

On graduation, she was hired by Roberto Cavalli in Florence, where she was first Assistant Designer for womenswear for over two years. She subsequently moved to Paris in January 2010 to work alongside Gabriele Greiss (former Creative Director of Sonia Rykiel) on assignments for See by Chloe and Lanvin.

With a focus on pared-down occasion wear, Barbara launched her eponymous label in Sao Paulo for summer 2012. Vogue Brazil’s Costanza Pascolato wrote of the inaugural collection: “Her great triumph is to create atemporal fashion that is unequivocally contemporary.”

From winter 2012 Barbara began to present on-schedule during Paris Fashion Week. Style.com’s Maya Singer wrote of her second solo collection: “Confidence in construction and a refined sense of detail… sophisticated, sexy and sui generis.”

Casasola was selected as a 2012 finalist for the coveted “Who is on next?” award. The international jury included Franca Sozzani of Vogue Italia, Silvia Venturini Fendi of Fendi and Suzy Menkes OBE.

In September 2012, Casasola was also shortlisted for Milano Unica’s on-stage project, as well as selected for Milan Fashion Week’s Vogue Talents Corner.