Saudade – A somewhat melancholic feeling of incompleteness. It is related to thinking back on situations of privation due to the absence of someone or something, to move away from a place or thing, or to the absence of a set of particular and desirable experiences and pleasures once lived. – (Dicionário Houaiss da Língua Portuguesa)

Saudade is probably the most well-known Portuguese word in the world. Saudade is also the feeling that comes to me while slowly I begin to write this piece, two months after my return from São Paulo. Certainly, it is nostalgia for a place but the ardent desire to find it again as well. It is fierce longing for tasting again lights and colors, investigating people and culture, discovering a different way of conceiving the fashion system and enjoying it.

I was a host in the INSPIRAMAIS event from the 2nd to the 6th of July and thanks to the steady support of the tireless Lucius Vilar I had the chance to experience a show that pushes its borders far beyond the national boundaries, proving itself as one of the major exhibitions of its kind in Latin America.

INSPIRAMAIS – Components Design and Innovation Exhibition – was born in 2010 as a unique biannual platform focused on promoting the benefits of design and innovation. In each edition, renowned experts present innovative approaches to how design concepts can be applied to a product through the technologies used within the components sector in general. With a diverse program, this trade show intends to educate its participants by demonstrating the main innovations in the sector, bringing together important projects, lectures and exhibitions. The end-goal is to highlight the practical benefits of inspiration, innovation and creativity to the fashion industry. In this edition, the trade show, coordinated by the famous Brazilian fashion designer Walter Rodrigues, welcomed more than 100 exhibitors that unveiled their concepts and products for Winter 2018 for the first time.

The event is aimed at manufacturers, professionals, students and those with an interest in production methods related to the fashion industry. Participants are given colour and component swatches, attend lectures and debates featuring renowned designers and also visit the components showrooms, besides other special attractions.

With Lucius, I also explored the city – the one reserved for the Paulistas, tried the delicious cuisine, enjoyed all the moments. Lastly, thanks to him, I met young talented designers ready to take wing.

 

FELIPE FANAIA

Felipe Fanaia has just completed 5 years and part for his ninth season in the Casa de Criadores. The Brand works with a concept that is almost 100% exclusive. Today most of the pieces available in its store are exclusive, cut, modeled and sewn one by one, without a production line. Felipe Fanaia’s commercial is geared towards the chic street; deconstructed knitwear pieces with a more conceptual way is what the brand offers as its strongest product. Merged with this, we have flat fabric pieces: pants, shirts, all respecting that same deconstruction aesthetics. On the runway, the Brand always seeks to develop more conceptual collections, with elements that make the parade different, not only from others but also from itself. So that it becomes more interesting to the spectator.

 

CEMFREIO

Particularly genderless, Cemfreio is Apolinário’s fashion creation platform. At 24, the young self-taught fashion designer transposes gender limits into a narrative of reframing imagistic codes. “We are the representation of our history. We learn all things at all times, and we are in a phase of evolution in which we must forget everything and start recreating new fronts of interaction between image and social.”

In less than a year, the brand has already participated in the most important fashion weeks in Brazil, such as Casa de Criadores and SPFW.

Black, ghetto and gay, Apolinário turns its work into a new form of creating dreams and expectations through clothing.

 

ALE BRITO

Focused on a young and urban universe, Ale Brito rises as one of the most relevant designers of his generation. Former assistant to the brand Gêmeas, he was launched by Casa de Criadores Fashion Week in 2010, creating the brand that carried his own name. Nowadays, as the Brand grows internationally, Ale exports his creations throughout the world, to cities such as London and New York.

Independently, Ale Brito quickly established his own creative process which unveiled his brand DNA. His creations vividly explore the new and the will to underline the counter-culture, offering a clue of the trends yet to come.

The styling plays an important role on his aesthetics, and creates a sharp identity. Therefore, it’s not too hard to spot a member of Ale Brito’s gang in the streets and the nightlife. The attitude is essential, and first of all desired by the ones who want to stand out among the urban chaos.

 

PIET by PEDRO ANDRADE

Founded in 2012 by the young designer Pedro Andrade, PIET translates the urban lifestyle in the big cities. With a contemporary and sophisticated way to design, Pedro creates reissues of classical pieces of fashion, always keeping a minimalistic aesthetics through sober colours and clean cuts. Beyond the gender barriers, the Brand makes clothes for anyone who wishes quality and exclusivity.