São Paulo – Having lived in the Arab world for over 16 years, fashion designer Vincenzo Visciglia has launched a new collection inspired by Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. Well-known among luxury fashion buyers in the United Arab Emirates, the 48-year-old Brazilian decided to bring back the Latin inspiration to the clothes he creates and sells. Pictured above, an outfit from the collection.
“This is the second time I make a collection inspired by her. First, it was in 2017, when I made a collection of clothes inspired by the paintings of Kahlo. This second time around, I thought about creating outfits that had her style of clothing, to show a more personal side of this Latin woman, showcasing how strong she is,” says Visciglia. “The first time, most women didn’t know much about her life story, but now she has become more popular with Arab women.”
The new collection was launched in October 2023 and brings two types of pieces: superluxury and streetwear. The luxury side of the collection features dresses and skirts that remind of the artist’s clothing style when she lived in Europe, while the urban pieces include t-shirts and less luxury skirts.
In addition to being sold in Dubai, UAE, the pieces of the collection are also being sold in Doha, Qatar’s capital, and some other countries in Asia. “This year we want to take the brand to Saudi Arabia, but in a different format. We also want to sell in other Gulf states like Bahrain and Kuwait. At some point I want to adapt more pieces to sell in Brazil, too,” he says.
The Brazilian designer’s career
Born in the city of Tatuí, São Paulo, Vincenzo Visciglia was still a teenager when he moved to the United States with his parents. In the new country, he finished his studies, pursued a degree in architecture and worked as a model.
After years working as an architect, in 2010 he was offered the opportunity to design houses in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE. The project was supposed to last one month but ended up taking longer.
After years working as an architect, the Brazilian designer decided to venture into a new career – fashion. “Besides my experience as a model, I lived around fashion during my years working as an architect. It may not seem like it, but the two industries are very similar.”
In 2011, through a collaboration with Lebanese fashion desiner Ahmad Ammar, Visciglia established AAVVA. “Our first collection had just 14 dresses. I took them to the multi-brand store of a friend. In the first 30 minutes of the first day eight of the dresses had already been sold. I hadn’t even managed to put the prices on them, and they had been bought,” the Brazilian recalls.
The brand, which first started as a hobby, gradually started to grow, gain visibility and be sold in some stores. Over time, the luxury ball and wedding gowns started competing with famous brands like Carolina Herrera. The expansion of the brand paused during the two years of the pandemic, when no dress was sold.
The time for sustainability
Following the pandemic, the Brazilian decided to change the brand’s focus towards sustainability. When he resumed working on the label, Visciglia unsew the pieces of his previous collection and used the fabric to construct an entirely new proposal.
“During the pandemic I started thinking about how luxury fashion and life can be transient. So I changed a lot of things in my studio – I reused old pieces, reduced the working hours of my employees, started working with more natural light from the sun and less electricity, and started creating smaller collections,” says Visciglia.
The new collections now have less available sizes but with the assurance that adjustments can be made in a few hours. When the collections change, the remaining pieces are sold in out in outlets so that all fabrics can actually be used, and the brand can reduce its waste production.
“Our distinguishing feature compared to our competitors is that we make entirely customizable luxury pieces, and we work with real bodies. Therefore, we design what will look good on the body of real women, not that extremely thin body that is still boasted as normal. Although most buyers are Arab, we have Russians and Chinese as well,” says the designer.
The business has now over 60 employees. The studio of AAVVA is at the Galeries Lafayette in the Dubai Mall, the world’s biggest mall. Buyers can purchase the brand’s dresses there, too.
Report by Rebecca Vettore, especially for ANBA
Translation by Guilherme Miranda
