The Paradise and Havaianas: pop memory on the SPFW runway

A familiar object can become unfamiliar through accumulation. At São Paulo Fashion Week in 2024, The Paradise used Havaianas references not only on feet, but as the material of an entire dress.

WAYFARER Brazil’s October account described a collaboration marking Donald Duck’s ninetieth anniversary. The Paradise, founded by Thomaz Azulay and Patrick Doering, brought its tropical maximalism into contact with Disney imagery and the recognisable outline of the Brazilian flip-flop.

Footwear acquired sculptural heels and leather straps. Mini bags and earphone holders extended the imagery into accessories. The Top Disney Classics model, carrying Donald Duck, supplied one of the direct links to the collaboration’s theme, while the dress made from miniature flip-flop keyrings took the product into a different scale of use.

The result was not simply a runway version of beachwear. Small objects were repeated until they became a surface, and a casual form was given a more theatrical role. Product availability is not verified here; the story records that specific 2024 presentation. Its design interest lies in the change of category. A souvenir becomes a component. A component becomes a garment. The original object remains visible even when it is no longer doing its original job.

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Adapted from the WAYFARER Brazil archive, first published 2024-10-23. English adaptation: 6 October 2026. This is an archival account, not a report of a new visit. Exhibitions, collections and menu details are described in their original context, not as current availability.