Dellas Lingerie develops mask models during the pandemic

Dellas Lingerie, as well as many companies in the previous months, has found itself in an unprecedented situation when it had to halt production in face of COVID-19. Part of Texbrasil (Brazilian Textile and Fashion Industry Internationalization Program) – the result of a partnership between Abit (Brazilian Association of the Textile and Clothing Industry) and Apex-Brasil (Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency) – the underwear, fitness and beach fashion manufacturer has seized the moment of “halted machinery and surplus fabric” to make masks aimed at fighting the new coronavirus.

Fabrício Tardin, the company’s director, says that since the beginning of the pandemic he has been exchanging information with other market players and experts to develop a product that could aid in preventing contagion. The brand has created masks that are already available for sale in two models with different sizes and grammage.

Sustainability in mind

According to the executive, the process has helped Dellas to put many acquired knowledge from the previous years into practice. In addition to taking part in the Fashion Revolution, a movement that campaigns for a more humane fashion, the company develops multiple sustainable projects, whether in manufacture or socially.

The brand’s latest beach fashion collection has been working on this concept in all its aspects. Fabrício tells that textile waste from apparel was used to make accessories, and a new project that capacitates people from communities close to the brand’s headquarters in ongoing. Unfortunately, this novelty was temporarily suspended due to the pandemic. 

Sustainable practices were also developed keeping an eye on the international market, as Fabrício explains: “We know that in more developed markets the demand for a more conscious fashion is a reality. The European customer values knowing how the product was made, which raw material was used, and this encourages us”, he says.

It was by observing all these aspects that the company bet on taking its brand abroad in the last years. However, Fabrício clarifies that the process began with a lot of learning. “I started to understand the textile business, that was how I met Abit and Texbrasil”, the director says. In the past years, he took part in missions around the world to get acquainted with success models abroad, in addition to developing new work methodologies in the factory to better meet international demand.

“I did training with Apex-Brasil, which have broadened my mindset and, from there, we began to organize the production process. Previously, we only worked with lingerie, but this knowledge enabled us to make men’s underwear, then sportswear, beach and nightwear. All of this has come from the desire of internationalization”, he explains.

It was precisely in those missions that Fabrício had contact with his first international buyers, for which he makes the same apparel in the national market. “One thing that became clear was that we wanted to bring the essence of Brazil. Our goal is to always bring Brazilian fashion to the world”, he states. 

With dedication and the acquired knowledge from the past years, it is not by chance that Dellas has bold plants for the foreign market in the future. The next step, Fabrício describes, is to understand which countries have greater purchasing potential for the brand and make an appearance in those places.

“Within five years we want to be well established in South America, particularly in the Colombian and Chilean markets, and keeping an eye on or otherwise being present in Europe”, Fabrício says.

Before that, however, Fabrício is focused on the present: “We’re currently manufacturing masks”, he highlights. The company has been sharing the modeling it’s developed with other companies so that more masks can be made. Moreover, Dellas has developed an action in which from every two masks purchased, a third one is donated by the company. “Those are times for cooperation”, the director concludes.

About Texbrasil

The Brazilian Textile and Fashion Industry Internationalization Program (Texbrasil) works with companies in the textile and clothing sector developing strategies to conquer the global market. Over nearly 20 years, it has helped around 1500 brands to enter the export trail, making US$ 3.6 billion in business. The Program is carried out through a partnership between Abit and the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil).