São Paulo – The Brazilian menswear brand Der Metropol developed its spring-summer collection inspired in Egypt. The brand’s designer and owner, Mario Francisco, one of the up-and-coming talents in Brazil fashion, went seeking elements to design the items in the Egyptian collection of the Louvre Museum, in Paris.
"The idea came up by accident. Five years ago I was granted a scholarship and went to Paris, France to study Fashion. I visited the Louvre Museum and what caught my attention the most was the museum’s Egyptian section," says Mario Francisco.
There, the designer say sarcophaguses, mummies, and a series of historical artefacts from the Arab country. Upon deciding to base his collection upon Egypt, Mario Francisco deepened his research and decided to focus mainly on the Egyptian Empire.
Art Deco also became an element of the collection. The artistic movement arose in the 1920s, bringing into design straight and circular lines, geometrical shapes and the abstract, showing women’s bodies and animals, and combining cubism, geometric abstraction, constructivism and futurism.
"Art Deco came up during the period of the discovery of pharaoh Tutankhamun’s tomb , and was strongly influenced by Egyptian art," explains Mario. In Der Metropol’s clothing items, the Egypt of the pharaohs is featured in zippers and golden buttons, the lotus flower, images of cats, an animal considered divine in Ancient Egypt, printed on zippers and rivets, and in the prints. The collection also features the combination of human heads on animals’ bodies, which is how the Egyptians used to represent the gods, and is present in prints that show feathers.
There are also clothes with x-shaped lines, in a direct reference to sarcophaguses and mummies, as bodies were embalmed with their arms crossed, and the tombs often had sculptures of mummies in this position.
The pockets of the trousers created by Der Metropol are slightly covered up, representing discoveries in Egypt from the time of the emperors, which continue taking place. Mario Francisco claims that he was careful, however, so the collection would not be exaggerated. In other words, so that it was suitable for being worn on a daily basis.
Der Metropol has featured in the Casa dos Criadores fashion show for approximately two years. A native of São Paulo, designer Mario Francisco designs his creations at home, in Osasco, and outsources the manufacturing of the items. The production, according to him, is still small and almost exclusive.
Presently, the brand’s clothing is sold at five points of sale, two in São Paulo and three in Belo Horizonte. The brand does not export yet, but it already has promising contacts for such in Southeast Asia.
Mario Francisco holds a degree in Fashion from the National Service of Commercial Education (Senac), where he earned an award while still a student, and he also studied at the Smod, a fashion school in Paris. He travelled to France in 2005 after being granted a scholarship for his performance in college. After returning to Brazil, he worked for large brands, such as M.Officer and TNG, to gain experience. He currently teaches fashion classes at Senac.
Contact:
Der Metropol
Telephone: (+55 11) 9434 1053
E-mail: mariofsc@yahoo.com.br
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
