Sao Paulo fashion week: Economic crisis makes mark on style

Global Business

Models wear creations from the Salinas collection during Sao Paulo Fashion Week in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday, April 28, 2016. (AP Photo)

Brazil’s largest fashion event, Sao Paulo fashion week was underway. The crowds and brands were all celebrating, but the country’s financial crisis is on display, too.

CCTV America’s Paulo Cabral reports.

As expected, Sao Paulo fashion week brought color and glamour to Brazil’s biggest city. A casual observer might have no idea of the economic crisis taking place there.

The Brazilian fashion industry is feeling the impact of the country’s recession, so brands and companies are trying to develop strategies to survive the current crisis and prepare for a better future.

Looking to develop foreign markets is an option, as the devaluation of Brazilian currency is good for exports. But that requires large increases in production, which brings another set of challenges.

Still, there was a sense of optimism from some who showed this week.

“I think our goal in fashion is to make people wish for things and that’s what we have to do. It’s a time when we have to show all our creativity to deal with the moment we are going through in Brazil – and to show we go on living,” Liana Thomaz of Agua de Coco Beach Wear said.

It was a bright week for fashion in Sao Paulo, but one that can’t avoid a gloomy shadow cast by the economic recession.