Gabrielab, winner of BtoBe contest, is highlight at Who’s Next

GabrielaBraga is just 21 years old, but she already has lots of stories to tell. With a degree in fashion from the SantaMarcelina school, the designer behind the Gabrielab brand won in the Fashion Student category at the 2014 edition of the BtoBe contest, whose aim is to discover, train and promote new talent, held by Casa de Criadores (House of Creators) along with Texbrasil (Brazilian Fashion Industry Internationalization Program, developed by Abit in partnership with Apex-Brasil).

Lectra, a company working with solutions in creation and pattern-making, awarded Gabriela and Livia Campos, the winner in the Fashion Entrepreneur category, with BRL 10,000 to invest in their brands, and also invited them to visit its headquarters in Bordeaux, France.From there Gabriela and Livia went to Who’s Next, the first international trade show for both. “In addition to learning about all of the workings of the show, visiting other stands and creating contacts with buyers and the public at large, it is interesting to learn about the differences between buyers from a cultural standpoint and see how the international market works as a whole,” says Gabriela.

Her collection was so well received by the public that Gabrielab is already on sale at China’s Alter concept store; items were also pre-selected to enter multibrand seller LuisaViaRoma’s catalog and she is in talks with a store in Dubai. Success was not, however, limited just to the young designer. KarinFeller, Trendt, CynthiaHayashi, DerMetropol, Gralias, Reptilia, Teca, LucasMagalhaes and PatBo are the other 9 Texbrasil brands that took part in Who’s Next. Together, they made over 623 contacts and generated around USD278,000 in business, with over USD 830,000 expected for the coming year. “Receiving feedback from buyers was very important to us; this allows us to make the necessary adaptations to the collection for the next edition,” adds designer Lucas Magalhaes.

Gabrielab has big plans for the future. “I loved the experience and want to participate in lots of international showrooms to make the brand more and more known on the international circuit. For now, I intend to study what the company can offer and how I should prepare for each country that I intend to enter,” says Gabriela in closing, reinforcing that looking towards the foreign market is a major step in gaining more chances to grow in an increasingly globalized world.