São Paulo – On the Cia.Marítima site, a famous beach fashion brand in Brazil, the first image viewers get is of a dry desert. Some more clicks from the homepage will bring a more detailed view of the desert, with models Esti Ginzburg and Sylvia Geersen pictured in brand bikinis in the sand. They also show the ladies pictured in streets and in front of typically Arab constructions. The desert is the Moroccan Sahara. Cia.Marítima chose Morocco to inspire its 2010/2011 collection and as the backdrop for the campaign celebrating the 20 years of the brand.
Fabiana Kherlakian, from advertising agency Officecomm and creative director for Cia.Marítima, was responsible for development of the campaign. Together with photographer Jacques Dequeker and other professionals, she spent seven days in the cities of Marrakech, Ourzazate and Merzouga photographing and shooting the campaign. "We were well advised by the locals, and the trip to Merzouga from Marrakech was marvellous, crossing several places that are seen in movies," said Fabiana. She had already been to the country in 1990 and was impressed with manual art and culture, present, according to Fabiana, in fabrics, carpets and jewellery.
In the bathing suits and bikinis, Morocco may be seen in the colour scheme, all inspired on the country and composed of warm colours, like the Marjorelle blue. "We even made a camel print," said Fabiana. According to information disclosed by the press advisory at Cia.Marítima, the visits to the medina, the rich palaces and to the famous souk made the style team remember Thalita Getty, a fashion icon of the 1960s and the muse of Yves Saint Laurent, who loved Marrakech.
The collection is classical, according to Cia.Marítima, but also reaches the contemporary. The idea was to grant the beach fashion items, signed by stylists Mariana Adans and Patrizia Simonelli, an oriental touch, with information from the culture of Morocco, like the markets that sell beads, embroidery, jewellery and carpets, with their instigating colours, aromas and sounds. “In the East, costume jewellery is an essential part of the fascination of the street look. The jewellery is large and colourful. Cia.Marítima translated all this beauty and sophistication, in gilded metals, vintage style, and in the aged silver plating, in the Moroccan style," says Cia Marítima.
The collection includes several novelties like the string bikinis with internal supports, strapless bikinis with more rigid support and bottom parts with little material on the behind. The brand also decorated the denim and mixed prints. The collection has light material. Apart from bikinis and bathing suits, Cia.Marítima also produces other items, like dresses, tunics and loose shirts. The company is Brazilian, was established in the 1990s and is the largest in the sector in Latin America. It belongs to the Rosset group, the largest Lycra producing weaver in South America.
In Brazil, Cia.Marítima is present in over 1,000 points of sale. Abroad, the brand may be found in 500 establishments, according to figures on the company site, in South, Central and North America, as well as Asia and Europe. The company produces 1.5 million items a year and exports 10%. The brand is the main Brazilian exporter of bikinis.
*Translated by Mark Ament
