Zoot Shoots

ETIC: Illusion of Freedom

Eight groups, one inescapable show. In “Illusion of Freedom”, ETIC students from the Styling and Fashion Production courses translate modern alienation into a performance of rigid bodies, vacant gazes and aesthetics that drift between puppet strings and haunted dreams. Directed by Mónica Lafayette and Dora Nobre, this collaboration with ETIC and ZOOT merges identity, control and theatricality — like a circus where even freedom is staged.

Photography Sérgio Santos
Assisted by Catarina Carreira

Beauty Antonia Rosa and team

Hair João Batalha with GHD

Styling coordination Monica Lafayette

Production coordination Dora Nobre

Words Eduardo Alves

Special thanks to

ETIC • MODA ETIC • Luis Santos • Da Banda Model Management • Face Models
Ganesh Comunicação and Fora de Serviço

llusion of Freedom marks the latest collaboration between ZOOT and Lisbon’s ETIC — School of Technology Innovation and Creation. A pioneer in hands-on artistic education since 1991, ETIC blends creative training with real-world industry collaborations across fashion, design, and visual communication.

Led by fashion creative Mónica Lafayette and ETIC production teacher Dora Nobre, eight student groups from ETIC’s Styling and Fashion Production courses deliver a striking visual critique of contemporary unease. Illusion of Freedom casts everyday life as performance, where identity is constructed and freedom manipulated and orchestrated by an invisible higher force, an unseen Puppet Master. Through surreal imagery, grotesque beauty, and theatrical styling, the editorial blurs the line between reality and spectacle — as if each day were just another act in an inescapable play.

To bring the world of cardplay and circus to life, many of the pieces were custom-made by the student groups or fellow fashion students, complemented by selections from Portuguese designers like Valentim Quaresma and Constança Entrudo. The editorial was lensed by longtime ZOOT contributor Sérgio Santos, whose eye for tension and detail framed the surreal world with uncanny precision. Hair was styled by João Batalha with GHD, transforming each look into sculptural drama, while ZOOT’s beauty editor Antonia Rosa and her team crafted bold, expressive makeup that danced between illusion and identity.

DAVID —The Dotted Fool

Fashion production and set design Mariana Machado and Nicole Kathleen
Styling Flávio Ribeiro and Mariana Santana
Makeup Fernanda
Model David Moreira from Da Banda Model Management

*Overcoat by Beatriz Brandão from GANESH, top, boots and umbrella from production, skirt custom made*.

Individuality is an illusion; everyone is merely a piece in a grand spectacle
from which there is no escape.
etic styling class, 2025

INÊS — The Escapist

Fashion production Eduarda Marques and Madalena Brassard
Styling Margarida Cardoso and Maria Ribeiro
Makeup Antonia Rosa
Assisted by Zoé Peres
Model Inês Martinho from Face Models

CAROLINA — Miss Blackout

Fashion Production Rita Brito and Sofia Lopes
Styling Maria Roque do Vale and Sarah Moreira
Makeup Antónia Rosa • Diksha • Zoé Peres and Fernanda
Model Carolina Alfar from Face Models

*Custom made headpiece by Catarina Guerreiro; lace jumpsuit by production.*

The artists, trapped in an endless show, move through repetitive and meaningless
choreography, believing they possess free will.
etic styling class, 2025

DAVID — The Hollow Prince

Fashion Production Paulino Gomes and Bruna Silva
Styling Cintia Baptista and Mariana Marques
Makeup Diksha and Zoé Peres
Model David Moreira from Da Banda Model Management

INÊS — Queen of the Deck

Fashion Production Willy Paia and Alex Andres
Styling Lara Henrion and Joana Guedes
Makeup Diksha
Model Inês Martinho from Face Models

*Blouse by Constança Entrudo; custom made shorts by Lara Henrion and neck piece by Valentim Quaresma*.

CAROLINA — The Animatronical Doll Olympia

Fashion Production Margarida Henriques and Bruna Pinho
Styling Carolina Viegas and Patrícia Franco
Makeup Antonia Rosa assisted by Zoé Peres
Model Carolina Alfar from Face Models

*Corsage dress by Vitória Feliz from GANESH.*

The aim is to illustrate the illusion of freedom. The central idea questions how much free will we truly have when, in reality, there is always a higher force controlling us. The aesthetic of the editorial seeks to artistically translate this critique by deconstructing classical elements of circus imagery and adapting them to everyday life, creating a fusion between the surreal and the real.
etic styling class, 2025