São Paulo – Brazilian women’s clothes brand Brazoo’s spring/summer collection will feature Morocco-inspired embroidery. The brand’s owner, Maria Micalopulos, took a personal trip to the Arab country in April this year and found the elements she needed to create Brazoo’s next collection.
Back then, the businesswoman was deciding what the brand’s summer season pieces would be like just when she came across Moroccan handicrafts. So she started photographing activities such as plate painting, pottery and argan oil extraction. “I made a connection between these activities and the manual labour we have,” says Maria.
Brazoo’s pieces are all handmade by seamstresses and embroiderers. The team comprises around ten women who work on production from their own homes in an outsourced process. While they are working, they are also able to take care of their families and children, according to the owner.
The pictures Micalopulos took in Morocco were the basis for the pieces’ embroideries, which should arrive in Brazoo’s store by late September. The embroideries were not copied from the pictures, just inspired by them. For instance, the images of several babouches, i.e. typical Arab footwear, will influence colourful embroideries. And each embroidered pattern will be named after a Moroccan city, says Maria.
Brazoo manufactures women’s items such as dresses, headscarves, skirts and blouses. The products are only sold in the brand’s own store, at Frei Caneca mall, in São Paulo. The store also sells products such as shoes and bags by other brands.
Brazoo was founded in 1997 by the businesswoman Clarice Borian with the intention of exploring the theme “animals from Brazil” in clothes. Thus, the name is a portmanteau of Brazil and Zoo. The brand also derives inspiration from other typically Brazilian themes, such as Cordel literature, i.e. popular literature printed in pamphlets in Northeast Brazil.
In 2011, the brand was purchased by Maria Micalopulos, who was born in Brazil, but lived much of her life in Greece. Run by Maria, Brazoo’s embroidery was flower-themed for quite a while. She, however, was keen to go beyond her own country and found the opportunity in Morocco.
The clothes were designed with a focus on comfort and most of the pieces are viscose blends. Creativity and originality are the brand’s main features.
Brazoo
Website: www.brazoo.com.br (in Portuguese)
Phone: (+5511) 3545 4455
*Translated by Rodrigo Mendonça
