São Paulo – The Arab world appeared for the first time in the life of Camila Klein when she was little. While she was growing up, her house used to be full of the Arab friends of her mother Rosângela Klein. As time went by, her interaction with such women declined, but this finery-filled world never left her mind. In 2020, when she had already been the owner of her own bijou brand – which is named after her — for two decades, she found herself inspired by Qatar and Arab women.
“I’ve always really liked the queen of Qatar, sheikha Mozah bint Nasser al-Missned. She’s a woman of unparalleled beauty, she’s chic and inimitably sophisticated. In 2020 I was invited to go to Qatar for pleasure. I got even closer to this culture, so I decided to design a collection inspired by Arab queens and princesses. Through this collection I wanted to show our capacity to turn our deserts into something concrete, structured and surprising,” said Klein.
Her taste for jewelry also came during her childhood years, while her appreciation for bijoux came years later. The visual artist points out that her mother had always liked finery and had very different pieces of jewelry. Growing up, Klein took the pieces out of the velvet rolls to admire them, and in her teenage years she started designing jewelry. When she created her own company in 2000, she started making jewelry made of the pieces of her mother.
“From 2000 to 2001, I worked on smaller, heavier pieces. But since my mother didn’t let me melt her jewelry, and it was dangerous to mess with gold, I started making bijoux: necklaces, earrings, rings, bracelets, and even belts.”
At first, her brand did business in domestic national and international trade shows. In one of such shows Klein sold to the United Arab Emirates for the first time. Other destinations such as New York made the list of her international buyers. But after her children were born, the shows were left aside.
Now focusing on domestic stores, Klein grew to have 13 establishments across Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba, São Paulo, Campinas, and Recife. The stoned belts, earrings, and large necklaces were the favorite pieces of the Arab women living in Brazil.
“The Camila Klein brand didn’t come to empower women, as they’re already empowered, but it came to reclaim the essence of the femininity. I’ve always liked to make things that caused an impact and highlighted the female beauty. I believe the Arab women are the ones who best know how to do this.”
After the pandemic, the stores and two plants that used to produce the pieces closed. In recent years the visual artist has touched on her creative side to design the best of high-end jewelry into bijoux. In order to bring back the essence of the brand, its website has been overhauled, and the entrepreneur will open a new concept store in the neighborhood of Jardins in São Paulo in a couple months.
Collection inspired by Arab women
Klein has always liked Arab finery and tapestry, so she wanted to design a collection inspired by the Middle East. During her trip to Qatar, she created the Oásis collection whose pieces are still sold by the company. “The collection features nearly 100 pieces, there’re four families/sets that were inspired by four women from the Middle East.”
The Oásis collection — Rania was inspired by queen of Jordan. The family is elegant, modern and robust. The creations were structured with the metal luster and the contrast of triangles and tear shapes in organic movements reflects an aesthetics of independence. The green, blue and maroon tones are worked in old gold- and old silver-plated metals, together with crystals, resins and chains complementing the striking look.
Saudi Arabia’s princess and philanthropist Ameera al-Taweel served as inspiration for the Oásis collection Ameerah. “The bijoux of this family were made from rectangle- and square-shaped metals and crystals, enameling, resins, and natural stones like purple agate, brown agate, and green and rose Indian agate, rose quartz, and rutilated quartz. The stones are bound by authentic links like the symbol of union and regalness,” said Klein.
The Oásis family Deena was inspired by Egypt’s Dina Abdul-Hamid, who’s a member of the ruling family of Jordan. “With her unique style full of kooky clothes and heightened beauty, the princess become a royal that’s a reference in fashion in her country and around the world. Her outfits filled with sparkles, colors and authenticity inspire creations that express power and attitude through colors such as orange, pink, green and turquoise, resulting in a truly lively Oásis,” she said.
The queen of Qatar was the source of inspiration for the fourth and final family Oásis – Mozah. Klein explains the luxury and opulence that revolutionized the architecture of Qatar inspire the design of maximalist and exuberant pieces. “From the ocean breeze to the nighttime glow of the cities comes a unique mix of crystals, metals, pearls and natural stones aquarite, rose jasper, fluorite, and metalized volcanic stone. In contrast, the finesse of the creations is represented by the emotional curatorship in stones, making the free spirit, empathy, tenderness and love shine: the true symbol of richness,” the visual artist finishes.
In the near future Klein wants to design other collections inspired by Arab women and countries.
Report by Rebecca Vettore, especially for ANBA
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
