Banking on 'fast fashion'

Fashion stars Stella McCartney and Donatella Versace this week are launching collections with two department stores in Brazil – a country with consumers hungry for top brands despite an economic downturn.
The daughter of the Beatles legend is launching her second collection, this time just for Brazil, for international chain C&A.
Versace meanwhile has designed an exclusive collection for Brazilian store Riachuelo, which has more than 220 stores – and more than 20 million clients. Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima is fronting the ad campaign.
The launches – the latest in a series of similar high-low collaborations in the fashion world – come during Sao Paolo Fashion Week, the largest such event in Latin America, which runs through Friday.
“These collaborations with C&A and Riachuelo show the maturity and the marketing power of Brazilian fashion – its importance, scope and strength,” says Paulo Borges, the founder and artistic director of Sao Paolo Fashion Week.
The McCartney line for C&A includes suits in pastel shades with hints of navy blue, gold and black.
“For me, Brazilian women are cool and sexy and I think they’re very much at the forefront of fashion,” the designer says, adding that she was driven by a sustainable and responsible approach to her work – values that come from her parents.
“I grew up in the countryside, on an organic farm, so I was very aware of the seasons of nature.
“So for me, when I went into fashion, I wanted to be responsible, and have a different take on luxury fashion, where I would not work with fur or leather,” McCartney explains, adding she wanted her collection to be affordable options for the buying public at large.
“I try to approach what I do in fashion in a sustainable and a responsible way, so not only in the materials that I use, but the way that I source and manufacture my product,” she says of a range that’s priced between $35 and $150 and made from fabrics including cotton, viscose, lame and lace.
Much, but not all, of the collection is Brazil-made, with some items produced in Asia – primarily China and India – C&A vice president Paulo Correa said.
The Versace for Riachuelo collection, meanwhile, is the Brazilian store’s first international fashion collaboration. It includes “animal print” designs in mauve, yellow, black and off-white. Prices range from $20 to $200.
“Fast fashion” is a process which allows a greater number of consumers to satisfy their fashion desires,” he adds, referring to the trend to get designs quickly from catwalk to store shelves.
Over the past decade, Brazil has undergone a deep social transformation with welfare programmes lifting some 40 million people out of extreme poverty and into the burgeoning consumer ranks.
As a result, it has become an attractive destination for top international fashion and beauty brands. Shopping centres are springing up at a rapid rate.
Luxury labels such as Chanel, Gucci, Dolce and Gabbana, Prada, Tiffany and Valentino can all be found in this country of 202 million people – in both big wealthier cities such as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and in smaller cities in the Northeast like Fortaleza and Recife.
Spain’s Zara, the reference in the fast-fashion world, has already set up shop in Brazil with great success.
Others like Sweden’s H&M – one of the pioneers of special collections with top-name designers – are scheduled to make the move in 2015.
“Brazil is a huge market, but one that is essentially geared towards the mass market. We are betting on the future by setting up here,” says a spokesman for one Italian luxury brand.
Brazil is home to some 300,000 fashion businesses. But even if the market is booming, many are struggling.
The reason for that is what is termed “the Brazil cost” – high taxes and lots of red tape, along with expensive raw materials and labour, make local production costly.
In addition, quality lags behind international standards, leaving Brazilian labels at a disadvantage compared with foreign luxury brands.
Brazil also suffers from competition from large-scale producers in China, where associated costs are generally lower.