Day 3 – Belo Horizonte

 

COVEN

At the Coven showroom we are greeted by Liliane Rebehy, the creator of the Coven label.

She tells us that the company was founded in 1993 and became famous in 2003 after taking part in Rio Fashion Week. This new found fame gave them the chance to export and open up showrooms abroad.

As recently as this month, Coven are big in the Brazilian fashion media, a statement dress from their latest collection is on the April 2010 cover of Elle.

The theme of the most recent collection is war and the circus. This is inspired by the artist Goya. This Spanish artist painted a famous war image that was modified by another artist who painted a layer of circus elements in. This is the inspiration from the collection and you can see this is the sparkling lurex mixed with camo prints, a khaki palette and shimmering chain mail made out of gorgeous metal sequins.

Liliane tells us that her inspiration is not swayed by trends or current events, just her research and desires.

 

 

Every season the label creates a catwalk collection and a commercial collection that they sell in their showroom as well as gorgeous childrenswear, with slogan tees and cute motifs.

Mabel Magalhaes

Mabel Magalhaes specialise in evening and cocktail wear. The company has been running for 40 years and after the death of the original creator the company was taken over by her two sons and two daughters. The company employs 200 people and has a flag ship store in Belo Horizonte and are looking to open up two more in Brasillia and San Paulo. They have chosen these locations carefully. Brasillia has the highest average income in Brazil and there are many forgien embassies based in the city, this means a lot of fancy partys and a lot of demand for fancy dresses.

The dresses are stocked all over the world and are designed with each different country in mind, considering things like religion that may effect the length, amount of flesh covered and colours used.

 

 

All the embroidery is produced and developed in Belo Horizonte where is some what of a tradition but the fabrics come from mainly Italy and Switzerland. Dresses range from 400 euros to 3000 euros, which are quite competitive prices in this evening wear market. The embroidery and embellishment are detailed and stunning.

There are a large range of sizes catered for which makes them extra popular amongst many women!

The Mabel Magalhaes store is very chic and smart looking with many beautiful dresses lining the walls. They also sell other brands such as Coven in store to add effect and balance.

 

Ronaldo Fraga

 

The exterior of the store is bright red and the window has just a row of masks instead of clothes. These were the masks worn on the back of the head in a recent catwalk collection symbolising ‘ill perspective’ in the fashion industry. Inside there are 4 swings, real, sit on and swing, playground swings! The visual merchandising in the store is gorgeous with one wall of menswear covered in multi coloured squares. There is a wooden cabinet which we are told was from the chalkboard collection and it is explained that Ronaldo Fraga does not design by the conventional seasons, rather as and when he pleases, the same goes for the store. The swings are from the last shop that was a small house with many different environment rooms but some elements of the store will change on a regular basis.

The clothes are casual and edgy, with great cuts and something a little bit different available for everyone. Even ultra trendy children are catered for with cutesie playsuits with frills and, my favourite, a Pegasus pattern.

 

The showroom visits are enlightening and add another dimension the the catwalk shows.