Her approach to fashion is as much about the tactile and material aspects of garment creation as it is about the social implications of who gets to wear those garments. Each collection is an exploration of materiality, often starting with hands-on experimentation on a mannequin, a method she attributes to her familial roots. Vitto’s work is a blend of artistry and advocacy, challenging the norms of the fashion industry by prioritizing craftsmanship, inclusivity, and a celebration of the body in all its forms.

Today, she not only inspires other designers with her actual approach to bodies and unique craftsmanship, but she also has a business savviness that she hopes to pass on to generations that follow. “I would love to create this precedent for other people to know what’s possible and what isn’t as well,” she explains. “I think it’s important to also make it clear that with smaller brands”.

In the last year, it has become clear her dedication to doing things has own way is working, having been shortlisted as a semi-finalist for the LVMH Prize and receiving support from Dolce & Gabbana for one of her standout shows. As she continues to grow her brand, Vitto remains committed to her principles, even as she navigates the complexities of scaling an artisanal operation. Her collaboration with BUILDHOLLYWOOD where her brand’s visuals will be prominently displayed on the streets of London, marks another significant step in bringing her body-positive message to a wider audience.

Below, Vitto discusses her journey from Brazil to London, her design philosophy, working with BUILDHOLLYWOOD and the challenges and triumphs she has encountered throughout her career thus far.

What was growing up in Brazil like for you?

Karoline Vitto: I grew up in the countryside so it was not your typical picture that people have of  Brazil – it was not the type of beachy situation. It was the countryside, a very small town. There was not a lot going on in terms of fashion but I was always very interested in craft, because both my grandparents worked around craft. My grandpa was a cobbler, so I kind of grew up around his workshop and always saw him work on the shoes. I always thought that was really fascinating. Both my grandmas used to sew, so I grew up around there. I think there was this sense that you would be able to make everything with what you had, those were my major influences growing up there.

Of course, I grew up in the 90s, and it was a time in which Brazil’s biggest export in terms of fashion was the models. These models did not look like your regular Brazilian woman, they were very Victoria’s Secret-esque and I think for me, it was always this notion of trying to understand and make sense of all of that growing up and being exposed to these very different beauty standards to what I was and what my friends were. There was also this notion that you can make your own things and you can create your own reality.

When did you decide to move to London, and why London out of all the fashion capitals?

Karoline Vitto: I moved to London in 2016 and then I ended up moving back to Brazil for a little bit before coming back. When I was in Brazil, I did my BA there but I wasn’t working in fashion. I think for me, I wanted to study here. I wanted to have this experience abroad, and I was pursuing a more creative approach to education because in Brazil it was a very technical type of study. Studying was my main force then I ended up staying because of the community here – the people, and the work. The work was kind of born here and I formed my community of people around here. It just made sense to stay.

How did you go about finding your own creative community in London? 

Karoline Vitto: I don’t know how I’ve done it to be honest. I’m a bit of an introvert. I think for me I’m not the most sociable but I was behind Instagram so I think connecting with people on social media made everything less scary. The way that I started the brand back in the day, I was literally drawing on top of photos of like influences and models. I would draw on top of the photos and post the drawing, and then they would like it, and they would share it and then talk. So, it began in this kind of exchange place where I was inspired by them, and they liked what I was doing. I think that connection kept going that way and thanks to social media I met a lot of people. It’s also collaborating with people; I was building relationships with stylists, with photographers. But it all happened very naturally – it started with looking at someone’s work online. I think when you see it in a magazine it feels a little bit more distant but when you see the same picture and you see it on Instagram and you like it and comment on it, you are a degree closer to it.

I think it started from a genuine appreciation for people’s work, for what they represent, and for their personality. Connecting through that without really thinking it would become a network – I think that’s the key thing. It became a community. That’s what I would probably tell people. I think if you genuinely like someone’s work there’s no harm in talking to them about it and saying you like it. Maybe you can work together on a project, or maybe you can offer help, or maybe you meet. I think it’s this conversation that needs to happen first, but I think it really is that simple at the end of the day.

A lot of talk about your work is heavily focused on the body-positivity aspect, which is of course important, but I am interested to know how you define your own work?

Karoline Vitto: For me, I think it never crossed my mind to do it differently. It’s not something that I decided to put forward as an afterthought. It was something that was born with the brand. We sample on a size 16 or a L and XL – which for us is the middle size of our range. We start in the middle of our range and we go up to 4XL today. It first came from a personal point of view. I wanted to be able to wear the clothes I made. I wanted to try them on and see how they felt. Then it also came from a practical point of view. People are there, they buy clothes, so why not make them? It was never something I decided to add to make a point. The point was already made, and I didn’t understand why people were not doing it. I think today the bigger we grow in terms of responsibilities with the brand and reach with the projects we take, the more difficult it is to remain true to our sizing and also remain true to our modes of production.

It is a challenge because as we try to scale, the more I see that the way that we work is so artisanal.  I can see why other people would not do it. It’s more expensive, it requires more research, it requires more development. There are a lot more things that can go wrong once you have more sizes. So, for you to continue doing it, you have to accept that the way you’re going to work is going to be different from everybody else’s, and you’re not going to be able to fit into the same box in terms of production and in terms of product availability. So for us, it was about being very clear in the intention, and understanding that we are going to do things a little bit differently, adapt and learn from our mistakes and hopefully continue growing.

That’s really important. The business side of launching a brand is increasingly difficult for young designers. Your made to order process has been praised for its savviness. But did you encounter any challenges when starting out that you were maybe not expecting?

Karoline Vitto: Every season we learn something new, then the next season we try to apply those lessons and then we try something different. Some of these things work, some of these things don’t. It’s just been a huge learning curve. But hopefully what we’re doing is kind of creating a precedent for other brands who also want to do it the same way that we do, because I would love to pass this on in the future. I don’t know if I’m going to be directing a brand forever. In the future, if I’m not doing this, I would love to just bring this knowledge to someone else and say this is what I learned from it, this is what you can do. I think we have a huge advantage, which is we have flexibility to do things in a way that bigger brands wouldn’t, because everything is in house. It’s kind of quicker to test ideas but obviously then we have restrictions, like budget, people. It’s really about understanding these limitations and these advantages.

Yeah, that’s quite powerful to set the blueprint to learn from. Could you give me a short summary of what your designing process looks like, from inspiration to the final product? Do you have a specific formula?

Karoline Vitto: It depends on every season. I think it’s never just myself. It always revolves around someone else in the process as well. I work a lot with my sister, who works on the branding and the image of the brand. She also comes up with some of the concepts for the campaigns, etc. But for us, there’s always this conversation of understanding what story you want to tell the next season. Sometimes the story comes first, and sometimes it’s about different pieces of inspiration that become a story together. I’m very inspired by music, Brazilian music in particular. Sometimes I’m listening to something and I’m like, oh, I can see a collection with that. So it’s that a huge part of the process for me – just kind of getting the energy from sound. Obviously, it’s very abstract but for me it’s about setting the tone. Music always sets the tone of the collection as a starting point. I read a lot as well. So sometimes about it’s about something I read.

I’m always kind of actively looking for things but then, in terms of more practical kind of research, I look at a lot of archives or fashion from the 60s, 70s, 80s. Depending on what we’re doing, I look a lot at archives, especially for construction, finishing or for trims. I’m kind of obsessed with it. Also photography as well, when we’re trying to kind of convey a certain energy of a certain place. It’s kind of like all these different things and when you look at them all together, you realise it’s all pieces of information from a story.

A few years on from your debut with Fashion East during SS23, are there any key lessons or ethos in regard to running your brand that you’ve picked up along the way?

Karoline Vitto: There’s been so much, it’s been a huge learning curve. There are practical lessons and there are more global lessons. Obviously there are practical things, like time management and getting your team together is really important. For me it’s really been about understanding the things that can go wrong; they are not the same for everyone and I think it’s really key to understand. At the end of the day, you have to make it to learn from it. I think that’s the biggest lesson. You have to do it to learn from it and then you learn what you can, turn the page and you do the next thing. Not everything you do is going to be perfect. Not everyone’s going to love it. I think the key is not doing the same thing every time and expecting it to work the same because it’s never going to be the case. Learn from the mistakes, improve and try something new. Keep what’s good and try something new. This new thing might work, and it might not work, but if it doesn’t work, you’re going to learn something from it.

What has been your biggest career highlight so far?

Karoline Vitto: One of the two key highlights for me was the show we did, supported by Dolce Gabbana – that was a real pinch-me moment. I didn’t believe it was happening until I went to the headquarters and I saw it all in real life and met them. I was like, okay, this is really happening. That was amazing, because the level of support they gave us was surreal, and it was my first experience of actually having so many people working towards the show – so many different teams, so many experienced people. Just to have this kind of heritage house experience, but even a fraction of it in my brand. It was a fantastic experience and I’ll never forget it. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience with them.

The other moment for me was the LVMH prize earlier this year, where I was a semi-finalist. It was fantastic, because I had applied before and I didn’t get through, and this year, I did. Part of me never thought I was going to get that far, so it was amazing. And having the chance to just pitch the brand to so many people; it was all these industry experts coming, to see you in this one day. The amount of people I met on that day and the connections made were also quite amazing. I met so many other designers who are in similar situations and at the end of the day, you see that you’re not alone. Everyone is kind of part of this ecosystem of brands trying to do something different and trying to do so either through sustainability, representation or craft. So everyone had their own thing going on, and it was just really beautiful to see it all come together.

Your collaboration with BUILDHOLLYWOOD’s ‘Your Space Or Mine’ initiative gives you a platform to showcase your work on the streets. How does it feel to have your designs displayed in such a public, accessible space?

Karoline Vitto: I’m super excited about it because I started the brand from an image-making perspective back during the first days of the brand. For me, it was about creating these beautiful images and then it evolved from then, and it became about making clothes. And then the clothes became part of the story. But now to kind of go back to what I liked to do in the first place, which was image making, is amazing. Especially because seeing it in large format I think it’s just a true representation of what it is. It really is about having this visual contact with the lines of the body, the curves and the proportions and just seeing it in the right format.

Hopefully, it also makes people who are not connected with fashion get the message and understand that for us it is about crafting work for a variety of bodies and having this energy present in the image as well. I’m very excited for it. I think it’s going to be a completely new kind of arena for us, street advertising. I’m very excited about the project. I think it’s great what you guys are doing because it’s very rare for us to have the budget to have this kind of exposure and looking at what the other designers did in the past as well, I think it really translates the energy of London Fashion Week and what you know the designers are doing here.

How did you go about deciding which image to have on the poster?

Karoline Vitto: We shot this campaign earlier this year when I was in Brazil. So I think for me, I had two minds about it. Either I was going to go in this direction with that campaign, or I was going to go into more archive images of the brand. But I decided to go with the campaign because I think for us it really brings out this energy of who the woman is as well – in terms of where the work belongs, and in terms of where it’s from as well. I wanted to bring a piece of Brazil to London. I wanted to bring the warmth and the heat of it. So that’s where I went with it. And I also talked to the models. I kind of wanted to gage from them as well. And yeah, so I think it was the right choice.

What does the future look like for yourself and your brand?

Karoline Vitto: I try not to think too far ahead, but the thing I’ve been wanting for a long time was to sell in Brazil and to be present in Brazil. For me, that was one of the key goals of this year. So we started developing product there, which I’m very excited for. Things are already in development, so hopefully by the end of the year we’ll be able to start selling there. I’m just really excited to see some Brazilian girls wearing KV.