Brazilian Luxury Fashion (Article)

Touch down in São Paulo, a megacity of 12.3 million people, where luxury fashion is on the rise. Ever heard of Lenny Niemeyer, Farm, Osklen or Le Lis Blanc? Most likely not if you aren’t Brazilian. These authentic brands alongside your typical Chanel and Gucci are part of the expanding opportunity in the Brazilian luxury fashion industry which I witnessed firsthand during my trip to Brazil from December 19th - January 7th.

Julia, my boyfriend’s younger sister, and I selected a few of our favourite Brazilian luxury designs to stage photoshoots in two locations: Julia’s family’s house next to the beach between São Paulo and Rio as well as the nearby DPNY Beach Hotel in Ilhabela. Our “prior research” consisted of visiting two malls in São Paulo: Iguatemi, the oldest Brazilian mall and JK Iguatemi, the ‘new temple of Brazilian luxury’. While Iguatemi hosts primarily luxury Brazilian brands, JK Iguatemi has become the new home of foreign brands including Prada, Lacoste, Bottega Veneta, Lanvin and Miu-Miu.

I learned that for Paulistas, malls are the equivalent of Rio’s beaches with 20,000 visitors every day in JK Iguatemi. During Covid-19, while the EU suffered from a lack of tourism and a fall in sales for luxury fashion, Brazil saw the opposite effect with people buying locally for the first time. This was unusual as traditionally luxury fashion houses used to see their Brazilian retail presence as a marketing opportunity rather than for sales purposes due to high import taxes, allowing people to browse what they would then go abroad to buy. However, as Vogue has pointed out, ‘revenge shopping’ alongside the weakness of the Brazilian real and instalment purchasing has led to the industry’s recent success. Revenge shopping is when people spend exorbitant amounts after a frugal spending period, particularly on luxury items rather than mid-tier or bargain products to compensate for the lack of luxury experienced during Covid-19. The extended US ban placed on Brazilians forced luxury buyers to look locally and thus, created internal opportunities for both Brazilian and foreign brands. Hugo Boss, for instance, quickly sold out when

Track & Field

Lenny Niemeyer Richards

malls reopened and brands such as Farm Rio, my favourite Brazilian brand, experienced huge growth as people wanted to emanate the happy and lively Carioca spirit during difficult times.

Farm Rio is known for their bright colours and tropical motifs, incorporating Portuguese words for fruits like ‘goiaba’ (guava) and ‘cajuzinho’ (cashew fruit) into their unique designs appealing to both young Brazilians and foreigners alike. Farm Rio’s new collections include special edition garments which incorporate handmade embroidery such as the ‘Feito no Brasil’ denim shorts with intricate ‘abacaxi’ (pineapple) designs.

For swimsuits Lenny NieMeyer, Richards and Track & Field stand out with their laid back designs often inspired by the beach and surf, a very popular sport along this coast where Gabriel Medina, a world famous Brazilian surfer grew up.

The brand Le Lis Blanc Deaux designs complement the Brazilian beachwear aesthetic with lots of stripes and sparkles, perfect for parties at the beach (COVID restrictions permitting).

By far the most successful international Brazilian brand both in women and menswear is Osklen. Known for its classic Carioca style t-shirts and shoes and its sustainability, participating in organic cotton growing projects and producing t-shirts made with hemp.

According to the World Bank, Brazil ranks worse than the Palestinian West Bank (a conflict-ridden zone) in terms of the Ease of Doing Business Index. Despite this grim picture of political and economic difficulties, Brazilian and foreign brands alike have recognised the vast potential in the rapidly expanding Brazilian Luxury Fashion industry. Be sure to keep an eye out because Osklen and Farm, like many other Brazilian luxury brands, are the future of fashion and not just in Brazil.