Brazilian brands participate in Chinese concept store event

With an increasingly consolidated fashion week, a metropolis like Shanghai needs showrooms that are at the event’s level, with the power to draw journalists and buyers beyond the runways. Various international showrooms are already operating outside of the city and during fashion week, they come in the form of pop-up stores. However, some people have already seen an opportunity and have set up permanent locations in China’s largest business center. According to an article in The Business of Fashion, while there are players operating on a small scale and only selling Chinese brands, there are also those that are betting on different kinds of market niches and working with international brands.

With this in mind, Texbrasil, the Brazilian Fashion Industry Internationalization Program, developed by Abit in partnership with Apex-Brasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency), has joined Alter, one of the most promising Chinese concept stores, for the Alter Showroom, an event that selected 30 international brands to show their products from April 7 to 15. Brazilian brands that participated were Gabrielab, Pat Bo, Lucas Nascimento and T. Arrigoni.

Founded in 2010 by Sonja Long Xiao, Alter has achieved international recognition as one of the most successful concept stores in China. In 2012, it received the WGSN Global Fashion Award for best new store. The Alter Showroom was launched this year and includes services such as brand management, sales, retail, visual merchandising, marketing and positioning in a 1200m² space located in the Huangpu District. In addition to having invited buyers, directors and investors from various cities, Alter put together a press day that drew major magazines, celebrities and TV networks. The event is currently one of the official partners of Shanghai Fashion Week.

Gabriela Braga, of Gabrielab, was there at the invitation of Sonja, who discovered her during a visit to Sao Paulo. “Taking part in this showroom was important to see the demands of a public that is very different from the Brazilian public, including because it is more accepting of knitwear for use in the summer, but this public could also prefer more monochromatic pieces,” says the designer, known for her multicolored items. “In the end, the outcome was positive; the showroom was full of good buyers interested in seeing all of the brands that were on display,” she said in conclusion.

The next edition of the Alter Showroom will take place in parallel with the F/W 2016 edition of Shanghai Fashion Week, in October. Texbrasil will continue to participate in the event, always looking to associated Brazilian fashion with high added-value collections and products to raise Brazil’s position within the Asian market.