São Paulo – In fashion for 12 years, Camila de Zorzi, a stylist and owner of garment producer CDZ, headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, creates embroidery for famous brands in Brazil, like Animale and Osklen. She has now decided to expand her market, and, in fact, to very far. She wants to produce abayas and export them to the Middle East.
“I am passionate about Arab world. I have been to Dubai and Abu Dhabi (in the United Arab Emirates) and have seen that abayas could have better details. I had been considering this market for a while and noticed that it has great potential,” said the specialist. Abayas are black robes that many women wear over their clothes, mainly in the Gulf.
The trip to learn about the market in which she plans to enter took place in June. She spoke to shop owners and also to common women, to learn about their taste. “I tried to come close to women at taxi ranks. I spoke to those who seemed approachable,” she pointed out. And what did she learn? “They have preferences for fabrics that do not crease and they also like gloss,” she added.
Zorzi’s idea is not just to embroider abayas, but to produce whole garments for Arab women. To differentiate the product, she plans to work with other fabric, different from most commonly used in abayas.
“They use much polyester, but as the climate is very hot (in the region), I considered it possible to introduce natural fabrics. I considered starting with a mix of viscose, polyester and cotton,” she explained.
Zorzi added that she plans to create two lines of abayas, one for everyday use, and another, glossier, for nightdress. “Both lines will be for the luxury market, as I work with top end garment producers. They are for people connected to fashion and good products,” she said.
The stylist from Rio Grande do Sul is studying the best way to enter the Arab market with her abayas. For such, she counts on the support of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. “I am going to start producing, to make a small collection, with some 20 items, to see how they go. I am also going to create a site. I should go to São Paulo (where the Chamber is headquartered) to present the items and start working (on export),” she finished off.
Contact
CDZ Bordados
Tel.: (+55 21) 2545-9699
E-mail: cdzbordados@gmail.com
*Translated by Mark Ament