Indigenous Designer Creates Her Own Brand, Challenges Standards and Reaches Paris Fashion Week - 26/05/2026 - Culture
Designer Day Molina, 36, transformed a family tradition into a business focused on inclusion and sustainability. Descended from the Aymara and Fulni-ô peoples, she grew up surrounded by seamstresses in the countryside of Pernambuco, graduated in fashion design from the University of Buenos Aires and began her career as a costume designer at age 17.According to Day, the market resisted both her defense of Indigenous causes and her critical view of fashion. In response, she created the concept #DecolonizeAModa and founded Nalimo in 2015, a brand that mainly employs women, Indigenous people, immigrants and Black women. Of the five people working in the atelier, only one is a man, and all partner associations linked to the company are led by women.
The brand also adopts environmental practices, using natural raw materials and fully reusing waste generated during production. For the designer, business growth should be associated with the well-being of the team and the construction of more humane working relationships.
In 2021, Day created Aldeia Criativa Design do Futuro, a school focused on training Indigenous people for the fashion industry. The following year, she designed a dress presented at the Met Gala in New York.
Her trajectory gained international visibility in 2025, when Nalimo walked the Runway Vision show during Paris Fashion Week. Despite the recognition, Day says she values moments shared with her team more than the major events of her career.
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