Menswear designer João Pimenta debuted at São Paulo Fashion Week Autumn 2011 and has fast become one to watch. Pimenta creates collections that challenge, innovate and provoke: don’t be surprised to find a skirt among the rails of razor-sharp suits, city shorts and tees.

His shop is inconspicuous and non-descript. Bare strip lighting, black walls and floors and black velvet changing-room curtains make for a stark atmosphere. Continuing the dark colour scheme, black lace-up boots cover a timeworn glass-topped table hinting at Pimenta’s antiquarian side. There is an intense drama to both his prêt-à-porter collections and the costumes he sometimes designs for productions at São Paulo's Theatro Municipal.

Prices are surprisingly reasonable, starting at R$75 for a printed T-shirt; around R$160 for trousers and R$220 for a matching jacket.