London Fashion Week is almost here! Starting on September 14, the British capital will host its Fashion Week, and it will open its door to the Brazil: Creating Fashion For Tomorrow exhibition. The event will assemble 14 Brazilian fashion designers - who operate in London - to display innovative and sustainable solutions to the clothing industry.

The celebration with impeccably curated jewelry, clothes, and shoes is organized by the Brazilian Embassy in London and will be sponsored by Simple Organic. Iconic Brazilian fashion personality Lilian Pacce will moderate panels about the importance of sustainability in fashion and how the designers are instrumental in finding effective solutions. 

BRAZIL: CREATING FASHION FOR TOMORROW - GET TO KNOW THE DESIGNERS

KAROLINE VITTO

IMAGE COURTESY OF ADAMA JALLOH VIA THE CUT

Karoline Vitto is from the Southern state of Brazil, Santa Catarina - like us! She has lived in London since 2016, where she completed a graduate degree in fashion at Central Saint Martins and later earned a Master’s at the Royal College of Art. In 2019, she founded the brand that is her namesake. It develops clothing with silhouettes that complement women’s bodies with strategic cutouts.

Focusing on the mission to present diversity and flatter feminine curses on women of all sizes, Karoline told Vogue Brazil before her LFW debut in 2022: “My runway show will be the only one without models size 6/8 [...] It’s not about excluding people; they are also welcomed at our brand. But usually, fat and mid-size women are exceptions on the runway, and I wanted to invert that logic”.

The designer’s creations have been featured on the cover of Vogue Brazil, worn by Precious Lee. Besides the supermodel, celebrities like Jojo Todynho, Duda Beat, Paloma Elsesser, and Shygirl have also appeared in Karoline Vitto’s clothing pieces.

JOÃO MARASCHIN

JOÃO AT THE ETHICAL FASHION BRAZIL 

João Maraschin was an assistant to designer Ronaldo Fraga for two years before heading to England, where he earned a master’s degree at the prestigious London College of Fashion.

The Foreigner Traveler collection, created for his master's dissertation, premiered at the London Fashion Week 2020, where João’s work was acclaimed for using sustainable and innovative materials, such as “leather” made from leaves. BeLeaf was developed by Rio de Janeiro’s company Nova Kaeru. There was also a primitive silk thread, produced by Casulo Feliz, and embroideries created by elderly women in the Brazilian countryside. 

In London, João Maraschin worked for brands such as Gucci, JW Anderson, and Grace Wales Bonner until launching his own brand in 2021.

PEDRO LOURENÇO

PEDRO LOURENÇO IN PARTNERSHIP WITH NIKELAB

Son to established fashion designers Gloria Coelho and Reinaldo Lourenço, Pedro Lourenço had always had fashion running through his veins. At the age of 12, he was already creating pieces for Carlota Joakina, his mother’s brand. In 2005, he decided to have his own brand, officially debuting at São Paulo Fashion Week.

His namesake brand got to Paris Fashion Week in 2010. Six years later, he temporarily closed it down to take up the creative director position at La Perla, an Italian lingerie brand, where he spent several months.

After leaving the Italian company, Pedro launched Zilver, a clothing and accessories brand balanced between luxury and streetwear and emphasizing sustainability. The designer uses organic cotton and recycled polyamide, jeans, and nylon. 

FERNANDO JORGE

FERNANDO JORGE IN HIS STUDIO ATELIÊ

Famous for pieces highlighting the body’s silhouette, the jewelry designer has dressed Rihanna, Michelle Obama, Lady Gaga, Charlize Theron, and Adele. “I use some very Brazilian chichés as inspiration: the beach, bodies on display, sensuality, and transform all of that into easy-to-wear jewelry, which can be worn all day because you don’t make jewelry as a pair to specific clothes or style, but the women's body”, Fernando Jorge explained in a Forbes interview.

Fernando Jorge studied design in São Paulo, where he got a job at a jewelry factory. The experience was crucial to learn everything about this segment’s market. After three years there, he moved to London, where he earned a Master’s degree at the iconic Central St. Martins.

In the city, the designer noticed the viability of incorporating elements from Brazilian culture into timeless and sophisticated jewelry pieces. Fernando set up his first showroom and kept gaining ground in established stores until he caught the attention of high-profile international clients. Today, his brand is displayed inside one of Bergdorf Goodman's jewelry salons, next to the most prominent names in design worldwide.

RENATA BRENHA

RENATA BRENHA IN A FITTING SESSION WITH A MODEL AT HER STUDIO. IMAGE COURTESY OF JULIA PACEGUEIRO AND UOL

Born in the state of São Paulo, Renata Brenha has lived in Argentina, Mexico, the United States, and London, where she graduated from Central St. Martins and earned a Master’s in fashion at the Royal College of Art. Inspired by the diversity in Latin culture, Renata Brenha develops fabric in-house through artisanal techniques and carefully chosen material that would be otherwise discarded.

Renata became interested in anthropology and Indigenous peoples’ culture while in Mexico. She was enchanted by the stories told on the clothes of the Chiapas and Oaxaca peoples. “The posture of the Zapatistas and the fluidity with which the women tie (with fabrics) the children around their bodies are incredible”, said the stylist to the Brazilian website Uol.

You can find, among her creations, a raincoat that transforms itself into a purse, all made from coats; a top from pantyhoses inspired by her mother’s DIY to protect her as a child during winter days; a fur coat stained by animal blood; and other innovative pieces that represent Renata’s unique vision.

THE EXHIBITION

The Brazil: Creating Fashion For Tomorrow exhibition will take place between September 15 and 19 as part of the official London Fashion Week 2023 schedule.

Additional brands include Waiwai Rio, Bottletop, and Clements Ribeiro. And the scenography will be dreamed up by Pier Balestrieri and Sergio Fuentes.

SIMPLE ORGANIC AT LONDON FASHION WEEK 2023

We are official sponsors of Brazil: Creating Fashion For Tomorrow. Moreover, we will be in charge of neutralizing the CO2 emissions from the event, accomplished through regenerative planting in agroforestry regions, making the exhibition doubly sustainable. 

“The exhibition spotlights Brazilian designers living in London who have been dedicated to securing a new way to think and make fashion, experimenting with new materials, promoting upcycle, redefining materials stuck in warehouses - which is well described in the English language, the deadstock fabrics. When visiting their studios here, I was truly surprised by the consistency and quality in these designers’ works”, says Lilian Pacce to the Brazilian fashion news outlet FFW.

WHICH DESIGNER DID YOU GET MOST EXCITED ABOUT? TELL US IN THE COMMENT SECTION!