‘Imposing and extraordinary’: Designer talks about inspiration from a giant Amazon tree for the samaum tree dress worn by Gaby Amarantos at the Grammys

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Marco Normando detailed that the dress took around 200 hours to produce, around 8 hours a day over 25 days. “Until then, the most complex piece made by Normando and the one that took the longest,” he detailed. Singer Gaby Amarantos Rodolfo Magalhães Samaúma, a gigantic tree in the Amazon that can reach up to 70 meters in height and is centuries old, is known for being the ‘queen of the forests’ and recently served as inspiration for the production of Gaby Amarantos’ dress, used at the 2023 Latin Grammy awards, when the tecnobrega artist from Belém was internationally recognized for having the Best Roots Music Album in the Portuguese Language. “Gaby is like Samaúma herself: imposing, resilient, extraordinary and giant. With her voice and talent, as well as Samaumeira’s roots, they reverberate out of the earth and nourish, open doors for other artists from the Amazon”, he says Marco Normando, designer from Pará who created Gaby’s dress. Samaúma is known for being the ‘queen of the forests’ Ivan Duarte / OLiberal Samaum trees are known in the region as Queen of the Amazon and stand out in urban environments due to their size. The species is protected by municipal law in Belém, “which provides for the permanence of the species existing in public places as they are part of the city’s historical and environmental heritage.” Dress made in 200 hours The costume was daring in every way, as it was not just a garment, it had meaning that was displayed by the artist during her walk on stage to receive the award. The green tones representing the leaves and stem as the main part of the dress caught the public’s attention and had repercussions on social media. According to the stylist and creative director, Marco Normando, the production of the piece took around 200 hours, totaling 8 hours of work per day over 25 consecutive days. The main part needed to be meticulously detailed in manual work, in order to refer to the thick roots of the vegetable. “Our rivers are drying up, our forest has been destroyed and burned for years. I believe we can communicate important issues through the arts and also through fashion. Gaby herself mentioned it in her speech at the awards ceremony”, recalled Normando. Stylist talks about creating the dress worn by Gaby Amarantos at the 2023 Latin Grammys Rodolfo Magalhães In her acceptance speech in Spain, the singer mentioned the importance of the Amazon rainforest for the planet and how it is necessary to pay close attention to the needs of this region so that stay standing. See the full video below: Gaby Amarantos wins Latin Grammy: ‘I want to dedicate it to all the black women in Brazil’ “I’m dressed as Samaumeira, an Amazonian tree that has big roots. We need to take care of our Amazon forest and one way to take care is listen to their music, get to know their culture!”, detailed Gaby. For designer Normando, it was essential to bring reflections on the Amazon in Gaby’s dress, so he could take the origins of Pará to the world. See also ‘I’m harvesting fruits that were planted more than 20 years ago’, says Gaby Amarantos after Grammy nomination One of the points mentioned by the creative director were the inspirations that were based on tecnobrega, a rhythm sung by Gaby, in addition to mixing with nature which are also portrayed in the artist’s music video editorials. “I wanted to bring a lot of Gaby into this work, so I looked for materials that spoke both to Samaumeira’s idea and to the cultural references found in her works”, he revealed. Creation During the research process for the production of the piece, the designer says that together with the artist, partner and also general director of the Normando brand, Emídio Contente, they found metallic and shiny fabrics, managing to make the dress light up on the red carpet. The part with the greatest detail and manual work was the pleating, where they sculpted a polyurethane material into three-dimensional shapes to shape the roots and trunks so that it was built into the body in such a way that it resembled a Samaumeira tree. Process of creating the dress for Gaby Amarantos Reproduction/Social Networks Another special part was the seam (back of the dress), built from scratch, using the dubbing of two fabrics and in the middle of them, sewn every 5 cm, monofilament lines so that when Gaby wore it, the piece would structure itself, creating the appearance of a tree canopy. History and work with Gaby Normando and Gaby are from Belém, capital of Pará. They both currently live in another state, but the designer says that his charm and partnership with the singer began in the capital of Pará. One of the first times he remembers being hallucinated by his fellow countrywoman was when he watched her show, inside a bar, on the banks of the river that surrounds Grande Belém. “My story with Gaby comes from other carnivals. I followed, like many of us in Belém, the trajectory through local radio stations, but it was at one of her shows at Palafita that I was enchanted”, he said. In 2022, after 10 years, the people from Pará did their first work together, a production for the final of the 11th edition of the Brazilian program The Voice Brasil, where Gaby was one of the judges. This time, a top and a skirt were custom-created for the artist, made from pleated satin technological fabric with metal threads. Top and Skirt created by Normando for Gaby Amarantos Felipe Braga The pieces had references to Icamiabas, warriors who lived in the region of Nhamundá (border between Pará and Amazonas) and who defended their people from invaders; as well as a skirt inspired by the aquatic plant Vitória-Regia. “My admiration and support for Gaby has been long-standing and remains strong and vibrant because Gaby is this resilient woman who empowers so many others, being a northern black woman, who comes from the outskirts (as the same person says) and who never gave up on dreaming, who always went after what he wanted and achieved it!” For the designer from Pará, boosting Brazilian professionals and artists, especially from the North, is extremely important. “Supporting also means consuming, we can’t just talk about it. The Amazon is huge and important, proof of this is Gaby winning the Grammy Awards wearing Normando. We want to see artists from Pará and the entire Amazon shining”, he concluded. Read also Gaby Amarantos wins Latin Grammy in Spain: ‘I want to dedicate it to all black women in Brazil’ After winning the Grammy, Gaby Amarantos is received with shredded paper, hugs and a party by her family in Belém; VIDEO *Under the supervision of Marcus Passos and Gil Sóter VIDEOS with the main news from Pará See more news from the state on g1 Pará

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