Kat Wallace (Writer)
Maranda Jordan (Editor)
POR/BWS 383
10/28/2015
The
Fashion Industry and Women in Brazil
The
fashion industry is one that would normally be considered a female dominated
industry. In the United States, that is a primarily true statement with
designers such as Betsey Johnson, Donatella Versace, and Stella McCartney
gracing positions in the top ten fashion designers. However, in Brazil[1] , the idea of the fashion industry
as a female dominated field is a different story.
During
the research of famous fashion designers in Brazil, the only results were those
of men and their designs. In the article, Top
Ten Brazilian Fashion Designers to Watch, nine out of the ten were men with only one
female making the list of top designers.[2] This is a surprising article for
many reasons, the first being that women outnumber men in Brazil about 100 to
86.5, meaning for every ”100 ladies…there are a mere 86.4 males”
(Brones 1)[3] , on average. Given this
information, the United States is only fifty-one percent female, but the number
of women fashion designers greatly outnumbers those in Brazil. Before
understanding gender roles, we must first understand the industry itself. The
fashion industry in Brazil, “encompasses over 30,000 formal companies that
together move BRL 50 billion per year. The employee count is more than 1.7
million, of which 75% are women” (Farah 1). Additionally, cost of production is
very high in Brazil, which serves as a deterrent to domestic textile
production. Most production of textiles takes place in China, leading to higher
rates of imports rather than domestic production. Furthermore, Brazilian brands
are partnering with Programa de
Exportação da Indústria da Moda Brasileira, which helps to export the
brands created by Brazilian companies including nine different target markets
and over 321 companies registered. Among those companies are Havaianas and
Osklen. Havaianas is a sandal company owned and created by Robert Fraser and
operates in Brazil; Havaianas is widely considered the most successful
Brazilian company abroad. Osklen is a brand created by one of the designers on
the Top Ten Designers to Watch, Oskar
Metsavaht. This company produces sportswear and is advertised by models like
Gisele Bunchden. Designers that are considered successful in Brazil [4] include Carlos Miele, Alexandre
Herchcovitch, Reinaldo Lourenço and Ronaldo Fraga, all men; the only female
fashion designer that appeared in the research was Barbara Casasola, who is not
yet internationally acclaimed.
Though
male designers are the ones with their names on the labels and brands, women
are involved in the fashion industry, just not at the forefront. In the article
by Jorge Grimberg, Three Women Behind the
Scenes of Brazil’s Fashion Industry, he notes three women who are highly
successful, not in the fashion industry, but more for supporting the fashion
industry. Alice Ferraz is the first woman listed and she’s made her money in
the public relations of fashion. She handles over seventy different brands and
is described in this article as “the connector”. Natalie Klein is woman number
two and her
claim to fame [5] came from collecting pieces of
fashion for fashion shows; she is known as “the curator”. Last, but not least,
is Constanza Pascolato who writes a fashion column for Brazil Vogue and she is known as
“the muse”.[6] Additionally, the article states,
“For many, Brazil’s body culture, eternal summer, and supermodels — not to
mention its successful bids to host both the 2014 World Cup and the 2016
Olympic Games — make it the sexiest of all the BRIC countries” (Grimberg 1),
which leads to the support the industry receives from supermodels. Of course,
everyone knows Gisele, but other Brazilian supermodels include Adriana Lima,
Cintia Dicker, Camila Alves, and Alessandra Ambrosio. These beautiful ladies
spend their days walking the runways of the world’s top brands, including the
brands born in Brazil. Though they have become their own brands, these models
still lend their faces and their names to the brands created by the designers.
In this way, the male designers in Brazil are still the ones receiving the
attention for the fashion.
The
fashion industry is an industry that many see as a woman’s industry. However,[7] this idea is the opposite with men
dominating the entire fashion industry of Brazil.[8] More often than not, men are
responsible for designing the brands and clothing in Brazil, and many of them
are internationally known. These designers and the fashion industry are
supported by women in fields such as public relations, purchasing, writing, and
modeling. Although these women are heavily involved in the industry, they are
not often household names, lending their hard work to the success of the male
designers. The supermodels who model these designs become icons and their
success only bolsters those of the designers themselves. Throughout this
research, it has become apparent that the fashion industry is a male dominated
field supported by women behind the scenes.
Works Cited
Brones, Anna. “Rio: Women outnumber
men on the beaches of string bikinis.” Brazil.
Gadling, 21 Jan. 2008. Web. 27 Oct. 2015. <http://gadling.com/2008/01/21/rio-women-outnumber-men-on-the-beaches-of-string-bikinis/>.
Farah, Ana.
“The Fashion Industry in Brazil.” The
Brazil Business. The Brazil Business, 22 Jan. 2014. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.
<http://thebrazilbusiness.com/article/fashion-industry-in-brazil>.
Freeland, Lucy. “Top 10 Brazilian
fashion designers to watch.” The Culture
Trip. 2015. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.
<http://theculturetrip.com/south-america/brazil/articles/top-10-brazilian-fashion-designers-to-watch/>.
Grimberg, Jorge. “Three women behind
the scenes of brazil’s fashion industry.” Global
Currents. The Business of Fashion, 11 Apr. 2012. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/global-currents/three-women-behind-the-scenes-of-brazils-fashion-industry-2>.
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