São Paulo Fashion Week (SPFW), the top such event in Latin America, kicked off on Monday to showcase designs of its 2013 winter collection.
The show, featuring 20 Brazilian designers, is being held at a new venue, Villa Lobos Park.
"Brazilian fashion continues to show a fresher outlook, a lighter way of seeing things, and this has something to do with our DNA," said SPFW's creative director Paulo Borges.
"It has something to do with colours, transparency, lightness and joy. ... There is much talk of happiness and I strongly believe in this. It is a trend."
The Osklen label will start the show with a presentation hosted by a leading art gallery. Ronaldo Fraga, Tufi Duek, Ellus, Joao Pimenta, Colcci, Alexandre Herchcovitch, Forum and Reinaldo Lourenço will follow.
"The Brazilian fashion industry is young. The Brazilian economy is young and only recently found a way of establishing a world presence," Borges said, noting that 95 per cent of the country's fashion output was for domestic consumption. - AFP
