RIO SS27 Looks Toward a New Horizon
For Spring/Summer 2027, Rio Uribe returned to the New York Fashion Week calendar with RIO, presenting a collection rooted in optimism, renewal, and the beauty of the natural world.
Presented September 11 at The Lighthouse in Brooklyn, “HORIZONS” began with a striking image: a pink house in Mexico set against an expansive blue sky.
The architecture of Mexican architect Luis Barragán became a point of departure for Uribe, inspiring a collection shaped by vivid color, sacred geometry, light, and the relationship between architecture and nature.
That influence immediately emerged through the collection’s palette. Sun-faded pinks, deep cyan indigos, and succulent greens recalled both Barragán’s colorful modernism and the landscapes surrounding it.
But nature wasn’t simply referenced visually it became part of the process.
Blue botanical cyanotypes were individually printed, transforming plant forms into photographic textiles. Shirting and denim were naturally dyed with beets and berries, while repurposed wood and aluminum from previous projects found new purpose as jewelry.
Even the silhouettes looked toward the natural world. Shapes inspired by flowers and carnivorous plants introduced organic forms into RIO’s distinctive vocabulary of gender-fluid sportswear and artisanal construction.
Sustainability has long been embedded within Uribe’s approach to fashion, and “HORIZONS” expanded that conversation by considering cycles of creation, transformation, and rebirth.
Like nature, fashion experiences periods of abundance and drought. Ideas emerge, disappear, and eventually return in new forms. For Uribe, SS27 captures a moment when inspiration feels renewed and another period of creative growth appears possible.
That sense of rejuvenation also feels significant for RIO itself.
Originally founded as Gypsy Sport in 2013, Uribe’s independent fashion house has evolved while maintaining its commitment to inclusivity, cultural expression, craftsmanship, and individuality. The designer’s perspective has earned industry recognition throughout his career, including winning the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund in 2016 and joining the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 2022.
The setting for this season reinforced the collection’s emphasis on community. The Lighthouse served not only as RIO’s runway venue but as part of the collection’s development, hosting open model castings, fittings, previews, and ultimately the show.
It made “HORIZONS” feel less like an isolated runway moment and more like the culmination of a creative process.
With handcrafted techniques, repurposed materials, vivid color, and silhouettes informed by the natural world, RIO SS27 ultimately offered something increasingly valuable in fashion: optimism.
A horizon represents something that can be seen but hasn’t yet been reached. For Uribe, that distance becomes an invitation to keep moving forward.
And RIO is moving toward the light.
Photo credit: Latin American Mode