As the setting sun casts an orange glow
over the Sao Paulo slum of Paraisopolis, a dozen aspiring models sporting
towering heels strut up and down an improvised catwalk.
“Posture, attitude! Walk straight, stop. Again, walk!” shouts their
coach,
who is teaching the teenagers the tricks of the trade as part of a project
to
spread the glitter of the Brazilian mega-city’s famous fashion week, which
wraps up Friday, to some of its poorest residents.
They are far from the cameras, footlights and glamour of the main event,
the largest fashion show in Latin America, which has launched careers like
that of supermodel Gisele Bundchen, who strutted Wednesday in her final
runway
show.
But these teens are taking the idea of couture into their own brightly
manicured hands.
The project, whose name roughly translates as Fashion From the Fringes
(Periferia Inventando Moda), was launched by Alex Santos, a 24-year-old
fashion student from the slum who wanted to bring some of the glitz of Sao
Paulo Fashion Week (SPFW) to his own community.
“A year ago, I went to a show by the designer Joao Pimenta that SPFW held
in a poor neighborhood. And I had a revelation,” Santos told AFP.
“I thought, ‘Why don’t we create these events ourselves?’ It’s great for
SPFW to come here and hold shows, but we can do the same thing.”
That is how Fashion From the Fringes was born at the municipal education
center in Paraisopolis, which, with about 100,000 residents, is one of Sao
Paulo’s largest favelas, or slums.
As part of the project, Santos organizes runway shows, talks on fashion,
and modeling workshops that include lessons on self-esteem, like the one
these
local teens — mostly girls, but also a few boys — are taking part in.
Pimenta, the menswear designer whose show inspired the project, is now
its
sponsor.
“Brazilian fashion will be stronger when everyone is included,” Pimenta
told AFP.
“Fashion can go anywhere, without regard to class or skin color. And
inspiration can also come from unexpected places.”
Country of contrasts
“I’ve wanted to be a model since I was a little girl. And now, with
this
workshop, I’m taking it seriously,” said 16-year-old Gabriela Freitas, a
tall,
slender girl with large eyes and flowing hair that reaches her waist.
“I learned to improve my posture and how to walk on a runway. I never
thought I would be able to do something like this, but now I see that yes,
it’s possible.”
For other participants, the workshops are less about a future modeling
career than the life skills they learn.
“I’m black, I come from the slum. I live in Paraisopolis with my mom and
my
grandma and I know that everything will be harder for me,” 19-year-old
student
Denisse Sena said matter-of-factly.
“All my steps to get ahead start from that situation, and this workshop
is
helping me develop myself better.”
Like many of Brazil’s favelas, Paraisopolis shows the country’s
contrasts:
it is a violent, impoverished enclave surrounded by the wealthy district of
Morumbi, a neighborhood of towering high-rises and glistening shopping
malls.
Two workshop participants already scored a modeling job with Pimenta, who
had them photographed on the streets of Paraisopolis for a recent
advertising
campaign.
Brothers Anderson and Ebson Conceicao da Costa, 16 and 18 years old,
were
at the workshop with their sister when the designer discovered them.
“We learned and saw a lot of different things,” said Ebson.
“If you’re born in a place like Paraisopolis, you usually don’t get those
kinds of opportunities.” (AFP)
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By Natalia Ramos