Inside a Destination Wedding in Rio That Revives the Radiant Flair of Tropicália with Giovanna Battaglia
Summer is wedding season, and especially for the glamorous globetrotter Giovanna Battaglia Engelbert, that means it’s destination wedding season. W‘s contributing fashion editor jetted down to Brazil for a wedding in Rio de Janeiro whose theme revived the exuberant flair of tropicália, the youthful, radical cultural movement that swept over Brazilians in the 60’s and 70’s. Along the way, she stopped to take in even more art, at Inhotim, the expansive art complex set amid a stunning 5,000-acre botanical garden. Go along for the ride, here.
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“While in Brazil for the wedding of my good friends Amy Terry and Basil Mavroleon, I visited Inhotim, the amazing contemporary art institution near Belo Horizonte. I just loved Hélio Oiticica’s Invenção da Cor, Penetrável Magic Square No. 5, De Luxe. That multicolored outdoor installation is a total feast for the eyes!”
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“The wedding afterparty, which was held in Rio de Janeiro, had a Tropicália theme. This is my Brazilian family portrait with Natalie Massenet, Matilda Long, Emma Grede, Caroline Winberg, Renata Zee, Elisa Sednaoui, and Josephine Dahlin [from left].”
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“Elisa Sednaoui was pregnant. I checked to make sure that her baby was having fun at the party, too.”
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“I wanted to channel a chic Carmen Miranda vibe, so I designed this headdress with Stephen Jones. Instead of plastic bananas, he used delicate straw fruits and cotton flowers.”
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“Ever the stylist, I laid out my colorful accessories in my hotel room like I was setting up at a photo shoot!”
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“Arizona Muse’s dress matched the setting so well I christened her Amazonian Arizona.”
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“Eugenie Niarchos wore the perfect Gucci dress to the wedding reception. Doesn’t she look like a very fashionable bird of paradise?”
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“Another one of my favorite works at Inhotim was the Chris Burden sculpture Beam Drop Inhotim. My group excursion there, with Eugenie Niarchos, Dylan Don, Bianca Brandolini d’Adda, my husband, Oscar, Emma Grede, and Jens Grede [from left], felt like a school field trip. So we had to take a class picture!”
