Texbrasil brings international speaker and successful businessman to MIT

International and Brazilian speakers gathered in Belo Horizonte from July 23 to 24 for the Fashion & Textile Industry Workshop (Workshop MIT – Moda & Indústria Têxtil), promoted by the Apparel Manufacturers Union (Sindicato das Indústrias do Vestuário) in the state of Minas Gerais, with the support of FIEMG and Texbrasil (Brazilian Fashion Industry Export Program), developed by Abit in partnership with Apex-Brasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency). Guests debated important topics in the global fashion market, where the Brazilian business community and apparel manufacturers are finding a growing number of business opportunities and international partnerships.

Among Program guests were Inacio Ribeiro, the owner of London’s Clements Ribeiro label and Creative Director at Cacharel, and Danish designer Kim Laursen, who served as a trusted advisor to Christian Lacroix for 14 years and spearheaded work at Prada, Kenzo and other labels. On the first day of the event, Inácio spoke about showing his brand at London Fashion Week, success investing in the plus size market and the importance of e-commerce. The executive believes that the internet offers a world of possibilities and that people are increasingly buying online; “it’s time to embrace the future,” he added.

Along those lines, Laursen discussed topics connected to a global view of fashion. He says that it is essential for fashion artists to make designs and plan their creations: “I draw all the time and I keep my designs to look at. To make a collection you have to have coherence and planning,” stated Laursen.

The full schedule also included costume designer Marília Carneiro, who looked at TV’s influence on fashion and lifestyle; Claudia Narciso, Director at Arezzo, speaking about the Brazilian market; and businessman Jorge Facioni, founder of UseFashion, a leading strategic information company in the fashion area. Facioni took part in the event’s roundtable debate, coordinated by Heloisa Aline, along with designer Mary Arantes, journalist Natalia Dornellas, fashion designer Camila Faria, and Texbrasil Fashion and Design Manager Evilasio Miranda.

The event also featured a Business Showroom that gathered suppliers of raw materials, showing the top new product launches in materials for A/W 2014. Kalimo, Renauxview, Moltec, Modatec, Europe Star, Nova Giulen, Glow Tecidos, Covolan, Brasilev and Lunelli were some of the companies that took part.