90th anniversary celebrations costume | Homem da Meia Noite
Costume design, 2022

“People are Frevo. Frevo is the people”. The catchphrase provides Joana Lira’s concept and starting point for the creation of this homage-costume, an honored celebration of the 90th anniversary of the Mystical Giant, the iconic character of the Homem da Meia Noite (“Midnight Man”) krewe, cultivated by the crowds every Carnival Saturday in Olinda. In each piece of the costume, countless details full of meaning emerge as rally cries for a stand before Brazil’s current political moment. The bowtie shapeshifts into a butterfly to represent transformation, joy, beauty and the ephemeral character of nature. The coat’s graphisms make direct reference to the body painting of Native and African peoples, in addition to eyes and hands that symbolize the reveling mass that a Carnival krewe is, while mirror-skinned fish shine in honor of Yemanja. On the top-hat, words and sentences call for resuming partying in the streets, and the explicit statement on the coat declares: “THEY WILL NOT SILENCE US TODAY”. The people will resist. Always.