International guests see Brazilian fashion during SPFW

At the invitation of Texbrasil, the Brazilian Fashion Industry Internationalization Program, developed by Abit in partnership with Apex-Brasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency), three international journalists and one buyer took an up-close look at the latest in Brazilian fashion during Sao Paulo Fashion Week, the largest fashion week in Latin America, held from April 13 to 17, at Parque Candido Portinari. Maria Williams, a buyer for Net-a-Porter; Ophelia Wu, a correspondent in London for Elle Hong Kong; Holly White, Fashion Assistant for Glamour UK; and Akiko Ichikawa, a contributor to Vogue Japan, fulfilled an intense schedule to learn a little more about Brazil’s culture and creations.

In Sao Paulo, the opinion-makers had an agenda that included visits to the Adriana Degreas, Patricia Motta, T. Arrigoni, Joulik and GIG stores and to the Grupo Nohda showroom, featuring the Patricia Bonaldi, PatBo, Apartamento 03 and Lucas Magalhaes brands. In Rio de Janeiro, they visited the Blue Man, Andrea Marques, Cantao, Vivaz, Fabiana Milazzo and Mabel Magalhaes stores. The guests also attended all of the Texbrasil member brands’ fashion shows during fashion week: PatBo, Colcci, GIG, Teca by Helo Rocha, Apartamento 03 and Adriana Degreas. Holly and Ophelia said that their high expectations about Brazilian fashion were exceeded.

“I expected Brazilian fashion to be very colorful and full of ornaments, so seeing cleaner and black & white collections in addition to being a pleasant surprise also allowed me to see that the designers here keep up with global trends. I can see many of the pieces by Brazilian creators walking on international runways,” says Holly. When asked about what they would say to Brazilian brands that are just starting out, both agreed that today’s fashion is much more about the lifestyle of the target public than about the simple act of buying a product. “Something that I find to be very important is the story behind the clothes. Designers should be concerned with creating something unique and special, and publicize the development of the collection to grow a relationship with their consumer,” says Ophelia.

Maria Williams, a beachwear and lingerie buyer for Net-a-Porter for the last five years, saw countless collections by Brazilian designers. Among her favorites is the work done by Adriana Degreas, who has already been chosen to be part of the e-commerce site. “I liked the diversity of styles; the country has very rich options and I am taking several names back as possible brands for Net-a-Porter,” she explains.

In May, a second group of international journalists invited by Texbrasil will come to Brazil to work on fashion editorials and exclusive reporting. The next edition of SPFW is scheduled for October and will feature F/W 2016 collections.