The reinvention of Sao Paulo Fashion Week

In times of political tension starts the Sao Paulo Fashion Week. This is what happened on its runways

Sao Paulo Fashion Week is one of the largest in Latin America. It is also recognized for not following the standards and trends of the European fashion weeks and for promoting, above all, local fashion, Brazilian fashion. This year has just celebrated its 46th edition. Many equate this fashion week with those of big cities like New York, Milan or Paris because Sao Paulo could be the Latin American fashion capital. This may be due to the large Brazilian textile industry, which has a very high position in the production of swimwear and beachwear in general. We bring you, then, the news that made this version different from the others.

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The new headquarters of the SPFW

The most important fashion event in Brazil was moved this year to Arca, a former unoccupied factory that functioned as the setting for more than 30 fashion shows. According to the magazine Carrusel, some speculate that this change may be due to the bad time that Brazil is going through, which is in economic crisis since 2014 and that due to the recession can not afford a week of fashion too luxurious, but one more austere.

For others, according to the Spanish newspaper El Diario, this change in space is more about wanting to reinvent the SPFW than about an economic crisis. The abandoned warehouse in an industrial area is also the signature of some brands during Fashion Week in New York, who want to give their shows a more urban and industrial touch. This, in addition, gives this event a new image more interested in innovation than in luxury, because this old factory was the scene of the Stove Project, which will be discussed below.

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The debutants

The debuting design houses were interested in provoking and taking risks. One of them was Studio Kalline, a brand focused on leather work. In its parade, which took place on October 23, Studio Kalline risked showing new ways of wearing leather in colors other than black and brown. In a very colorful parade, this brand showed its ability to make fresh clothes with this material and with falls that seemed only to be achieved with other thinner fabrics.

On October 23, the costumes of Karine Fouvry, a French-Brazilian brand based in Paris, Sao Paulo and Rio, specialized in beachwear, also paraded. In his first participation in the SPFW, this brand showed very loose and lose garments in which predominantly pastel colors with some touches of warm colors.

Stove Project

As already mentioned, the Sao Paulo Fashion Week is an event interested in promoting Brazilian design and strengthening the national fashion industry. This is why this year the second version of the Stove Project is launched, which consists of a space that functions as a laboratory for Brazilian fashion professionals. The Stove Project is where the ideas of those who will mark the top of fashion in Brazil are cooked. In the words of Daniela Thomas, one of the leaders of this initiative, the Stove Project is "a conversation between different artists, people and parts of life".

Thus, as part of this project, different makes debutantes made parades that made a difference and that broke with the canons of beauty. An example of this was the Korshi 01 brand, whose catwalk showcased transgender and tattooed models wearing futuristic and geometric garments that went beyond the conventional.

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Elections in Brazil

This event coincided with the weekend of elections in Brazil and with the political tension that the country is experiencing right now. Although there were not many political demonstrations during this fashion week in Sao Paulo, its creative director, Paulo Borges, affirmed that Brazil is going through a complex moment in which it is difficult to look to the future. In addition to this short statement, there were not many political gestures, with the exception of the trans-models who paraded on the Korshi 01 catwalk and the gay kiss in the staging of the Brazilian designer Ronaldo Fraga, who also called for tolerance between Arabs and Jews. Thus, the Fashion Week of Sao Paulo ends to make way for what will define the future of the country.

LatinAmerican Post | Juliana Rodríguez Pabón

Copy edited by Vanesa López Romero

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