Fashion Capital in Brazil

 

On Monday Director Jennifer Holloway and Creative Jemima Daisy will be flying to Belo Horizonte, Brazil to attend the Minas Trend preview.

The Minas Trend Preview is similar to London Fashion Week with some of Brazil’s best deisgners showcasing on  the catwalk and at the trade show.

Belo Horizonte means ‘beautiful horizon’ and is the capital of the state Minas Gerais, the third largest metropolitan area in the country.

Brazil is one of the ten largest fashion consumers in the world and recently in Brazil statistics show that, despite the global recession, sales of clothing and footwear are rising as are income levels. This has driven up fashion consumption in the middle classes. This economic security has let Brazillians spend more money on their families and the sector recently seeing the fastest growth in Brazil is childrenswear as fashion seeps into the lives of the younger generation. Another devopment of the fashion industry in Brazil includes an influx of chinese imports and fast fashion concepts borrowed from europe.

Brazilian Textile Industry in Figures (2009)

–                   Annual turnover of the Brazilian textile industry: USD 47 billion (growth of 4% compared to the year 2008)

–                   Total value of exports in the year 2009: USD 1,85 billion (USD 1,2 billion without cotton fiber)

–                   Workers: 1.65 million employees (75% of them female labour)

–                   The second most important industry in Brazil with regard to employment within the field of handcrafted products

–                   The second most important industry in Brazil in terms of job creation 30,000 companies form part of the textile industry

–                   The sixth most important textile producer in the world

–                   The second most important producer of denim in the world

–                   Brazilian textile industry accounts for 17.5% of the country’s manufacturing industry and represents 3.5% of total Brazilian production

The fashion sector employs 1.65 million people, in approximately 30 thousand companies, distributed throughout the country. Upon adding the indirect jobs, more than 4 million people are working in this industrial sector. With a turn-over of U$ 47 billion dollars, Brazil is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of denim and knit fabrics. It is self-sufficient in the production of cotton and counts on significant investments in chemical fibers and filaments. With know-how in all areas of the production chain – from fibers to apparel – Brazil is a reference in fashion.

The Brazilian textile and apparel industry has figured among the main suppliers of ecological and socially responsible products. With a legislation focused on environmental protection, the sector was a pioneer in the country in developing environmental reports and indicators, in creating cleaner production guides, in using solid residue to produce energy, in cultivating colored cotton, in using natural national flora dyes and in certifying the organic manufacturing processes. Technology and professionalism are at the service of this commitment with biodiversity, because exuberant nature has served for centuries to the Brazilians as inspiration.

Of course, the recession has effected the market but while retail chains are still gaining shares and San Paulo fashion week and the Minas Trend previews continue the fashion industry seems stable.

 

The trip will kick off with the Minas opening event, will be held at the ‘ Museu de Artes e Ofícios’ which is a large art gallery and museum in the centre of Belo Horizonte. This is set to be a grand, fantastical event and FashionCapital will be delivering you all the news, gossip and photographs both here and at www.twitter.com/fashioncapital .

The second day will begin with a welcome to the press and buyers attending then a lunch with the National Industry Confederation where we hope to discover how we can help the Brazillian designers and Brazillian economy. From here we will go directly to the Minas fashion shows and attend up to 10 catwalks throughout the evening!

Day three will be made up of showroom visits all over the city and more catwalk shows at the base of the Minas Trend Preview.

The fourth day will start with a trip to the historic town of Ouro Preto. Founded at the end of the 17th century, Ouro Preto (Black Gold) was the focal point of the gold rush and Brazil’s golden age in the 18th century. With the exhaustion of the gold mines in the 19th century, the city’s influence declined but many churches, bridges and fountains remain as a testimony to its past prosperity and the exceptional talent of the Baroque sculptor Aleijadinho, this promises to be a cultural extravaganza and is doubtless inspiration for local designer talent. Once again you will be able to see images from this trip both on www.fashioncapital.co.uk and on our twitter: www.twitter.com/fashioncapital.

Designer : Graca Ottoni – http://www.gracaottoni.com.br/

The evening will continue with the last 8 runway shows of the event, these will hopefully be even more fabulous than their predecessors!

Jennifer and Jemima will be back on the 2nd of May, ash cloud permitting, with a dose of jetlag but ready with some fabulous infomation for you.

The itinery for the trip is jam packed and the pair may have problems accessing and answering emails. If you need to urgently contact a member of staff please email Jenni Sutton jenni@fashion-enter.com and she will help you how ever she can.