Her Autumn Winter 2002 collection is potent with this feeling. Devoid of any glam or unnecessary embellishment, the essentials took the runway: shirts with gathered yokes, bibbed dresses, menswear-inspired suits. Some designers spend years perfecting small details in their patterns, but Branquinho’s signature puffed shoulders and flared trousers have already matured to near-perfection. Pleated skirts gave the show a balletic movement that imbued the whole spectacle with a sense of poetic reverie. Perhaps the most discussed garment of hers, the infamous pleated skirts, came in all forms — sometimes long and kilt-like, other times short, cinched and structured. Each piece was ingrained with its own movement and flow, it is no wonder her peers have dubbed her the “Queen of Pleats.”

When it comes to menswear, Branquinho does not envision her male customers to fall in line with the “fashionable” archetype. Instead, her focus was to let the clothes speak for themselves opting to showcase distinctive fabrics with romantic yet functional designs. The designer sees her male clientele as individuals who value quality construction as well as garments that occupy an enduring space in their wardrobe — a perspective that is most apparent in “Complice," Branquinho’s Autumn/Winter 2005 presentation. Both ‘his' and 'hers’ versions of the same outfits were presented on male and female models, who were selected in such a way that they would represent everyday people. Devoid of the gaudy nature of the catwalk, the presentation, like many of her men's collections, drew attention to the garments themselves. It was here that she was most inspired by couples of the 60s and 70s and their romantic output on the cultural climate of that era: Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin. The presentation itself manifested the different lenses Branquinho used when designing, her unique approaches complementing each other in garments for both men and women.

The Belgian maven manages to wear her heart on her sleeve while remaining completely original: each reference compliments one another and expands on her universe. As a die-hard romantic, Branquinho’s quietude is in part due to the music and art that has cultivated her throughout the years. She mentions the usual suspects like Nick Cave, Emily Bronte, and David Lynch. The aforementioned Bob Dylan’s influence is most apparent in her Spring/Summer 2006 men's collection where the shaggy models were presented in slim-fitting suits reminiscent of the folk singer's wardrobe during the ’60s. Her most overt homage, however, was to David Lynch’s television series Twin Peaks. In 2004, she was invited to present her menswear collection at Pitti Imagine which allowed her to showcase an alternative to the usual catwalk. The designer and her team passionately recreated the “Red Room” set down to a tee. Here, models dressed in sleazy suits, heavy knitwear and layered plaids reminiscent of Bobby Briggs and Leo Johnson’s wardrobe danced and paraded themselves beside a Laura Palmer look-alike. Lynch’s language, while steeped in the obscure translates well through Branquinho’s lens, who consistently finds herself dipping her toes into the cryptic nature of everyday life.

Behind the dark ambiance, subdued garments create an undeniable sincerity in her work which can only be explained by seeing her garments in the flesh. A sense of movement and comfort twinged with assertiveness makes her pieces functional, offering insight into the designer and the sensitivity necessary to create work that says so much with so little. Though Branquinho has much to say, we are just beginning to grasp at the surface of her narrative.