Made in Brazil

by Filipa Oliveira

Under a staggering heat wave that has sent the temperatures soaring, January saw the 16th Fashion Rio edition in Brazil. For six days, the event presented the upcoming Autumn/Winter collections by brazilian designers under the theme Rio, Olympic and Marvelous. And though Fashion Week schedule still remains dominated by national brands, if Scott ”The Sartorialist” Schuman and his muse Garance Doré found the time and energy to trade the winter blues for the stifling summer heat, there’s got to be more with Rio de Janeiro than just Bossa Nova and Madonna’s Jesus Luz.

As an emerging fashion market, Brazil lives tormented by the copycat effect. The year was 2007, and brazilian magazine Piauí had published a ten page article exposing the plagiarism in national fashion. Names, dates and places were precise and explicit. The country was surprised by the brutal honesty. Opinions were divided. If some identify the dishonest behaviour as normal product of a controversial political society, others as Paulo Borges (director of São Paulo Fashion Week) and brazilian designer Gloria Coelho, believe that that’s a huge difference between copy and inspiration.”You reinvent something, thus it’s your own creation”. Nevertheless, Brazil is giving its first steps into the globalized fashion scene, starting to find its own voice, its own personality. Last year, five thousand people attended Rio Fashion Week and since 2002, Brazil’s fashion exports have increased an average five percent every year.
Today the Sartorialist, tomorrow the world.

Brazilian blogosphere, social networks and press were fizzing during Rio Fashion Week. Between twits and blog posts, everyone had something to say about this year’s collections. We bring you Rio’s fashion highlights as well as the top Fall/Winter trends identified in the carioca runways by style bloggers and brazilian fashion experts.

Coven: rag doll vibe, texture and patchwork, gold and silver tones, glitter

Andrea Marques: romanticism, sensuality, light colors, flirty dresses, hair accessories

Filhas de Gaia: architectural influences, flower printings, blue and grey, puffy skirts, two-tone lips

Printing: rock chic vibe, mini skirts, metallic fabrics, maxi accessories

Cantão: gipsy feeling, deep tones, headscarves, patchwork

Teca: elegant and modern, urban dark fantasy, structured sleeves, green, royal blue and grey

Juliana Jabour: feminine collection, lurex colorful tights, frolicsome shoes, playful hats

Maria Bonita Extra: feminine and sweet, cowboy chic, neon colors, playful pink lips

Lucas Nascimento: structured forms, knitwear, metallics, clog+leather sock

Redley + TNG: urban style, graphic silhouettes, grunge vibe, sportswear look

More: Andrea Marques • architectural influences • blue and grey • Cantão • clog+leather sock • Coven • cowboy chic • deep tones • elegant and modern • feminine and sweet • feminine collection • Filhas de Gaia • flirty dresses • flower printings • frolicsome shoes • Garance Doré • gipsy feeling • glitter • gold and silver tones • graphic silhouettes • green • grunge vibe • hair accessories • headscarves • Juliana Jabour • knitwear • light colors • Lucas Nascimento • lurex colorful tights • Maria Bonita Extra • maxi accessories • metallic fabrics • mini skirts • neon colors • playful hats • playful pink lips • Printing • puffy skirts • rag doll vibe • Redley • Rio Fashion week • rock chic vibe • romanticism • royal blue and grey • Scott "The Sartorialist" Schuman • sensuality • sportswear look • structured forms • structured sleeves • Teca • texture and patchwork • TNG • two-tone lips • urban dark fantasy • urban style

Added on January 19, 2010

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