São Paulo – Hailing from Brazil’s Bahia state, Luciana Galeão designs clothing items that set themselves apart for the use of mosaics, a widespread art in Arab countries. And indeed, she has shipped her clothes to the Middle East. Galeão runs an eponymous high-end women’s clothing brand that has sold to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
“I’d love to sell to them,” says Galeão regarding possibly going back on that market. The brand only sells domestically at this time, but it did export from 2008 to 2010, when in addition to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, Galeão shipped product to countries like United States and Spain.
“Mosaics originated in that region/ [the style of Luciana Galeão brand] has a lot in common with Arab clothing,” says the designer and entrepreneur, mentioning the detail-heavy style. Galeão says the items sold to Kuwait and Saudi were of the richer variety, featuring embroidery. Sleeve size and overall length was adapted for the region and made larger.
According to Galeão, following 2010, major international brand names like Armani, Prada and Gucci lowered their prices due to the economic crisis, so it became hard to compete with them internationally. Currently, Luciana sells her items via contacts made on her website, and often makes clothes to order, or on two studios in Salvador, the capital of Bahia.
She explains that the items are increasingly exclusive, richer in details and handcrafted. The designer creates all sorts of women’s clothes, such as blouses and skirts, but her flagship product is dresses. The mosaics are mostly made from leather.
The brand also sells a sustainability-oriented line using second-hand uniforms and featuring PET bottle embroidery and mosaics. Luciana Galeão has even used uniforms formerly worn by the construction workers who built Arena Fonte Nova, the Salvador stadium that hosted FIFA World Cup matches last year. This type of product, however, is usually made as part of specific projects and orders. Galeão champions sustainability in the fashion world.
For ten years now, she has outsourced manufacturing to a studio. She earned a degree in Fashion Management and Design from Universidade Salvador (Unifacs) in 2003, but started teaching herself fashion in 1996. She even designed on occasion prior to graduating, but set up her own business the moment she got her diploma.
The great-granddaughter of a Syrian, she also works with interior decoration. Her choice of working in fashion came from her desire to work with art and to create. “I chose fashion as a form of expression,” she says.
Contact:
Luciana Galeão
Website: www.lucianagaleao.com.br
Email: carvalhogaleao@gmail.com
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
