Isaura Daniel*
isaura.daniel@anba.com.br
São Paulo – It all started in the second half of last year, when three artists from Kenya, an African country, spent one month exchanging their experiences about artistic technique and fashion with a representative of non-governmental organization (NGO) Ação Comunitária do Brasil (Community Action of Brazil), in Rio de Janeiro, in the southeast of the South American country. The thirty or so days were enough for a collection of clothes to have been drawn by November 2006, using African moulds and painting techniques. The designing of the collection was coordinated by stylist Núbia Beatriz Gomes Ferreira Fontes, a member of the NGO. The production is now in the hands of the residents of Complexo da Maré, a group of slums in the northern zone of Rio de Janeiro.
The garments produced range from frocks – which are very popular among Africans – to shirts, skirts, dresses and handbags. The moulding follows the African style, but was adapted to Rio de Janeiro. "The clothes are not so wide," explained Núbia. One of the painting techniques used also comes from the African continent. It is called batik and uses beeswax and paraffin. The product is applied on the areas of the fabric that are not to be dyed. The technique was taught to the members of the NGO by the Kenyan artists. The garment manufacturer, established due to the exchange with the African artists, is called Moda Étnica (Ethnic Fashion). The group from Kenya participated in the World Cultural Forum, in Brazil, where the work was presented.
Seven people from the Complexo da Maré work on the production. Five are youths who operate in silkscreen, dying and art, and two are seamstresses. Núbia designs the clothes, works on the moulds and cuts the fabric. The capacity of the group work, according to the stylist, is around ten products a day. They are currently sold at shops in Brazil, mainly in Rio de Janeiro. But in August, Moda Étnica is going to participate in the Madrid International Fashion Week (SIMM), in Spain, with the intention of starting exporting. The group is also going to participate in Fashion Rio, a fashion fair that receives many importers and should have its next edition early next year.
Stylist Núbia believes that the products will be well accepted on the foreign market, mainly due to the fact that they have adapted African moulding. The choice of the African style was made, according to her, due to the large number of African descendants in the region. The objective of the garment producer, according to her, is to expand activities and involve more people from Complexo da Maré in the work. Apart from techniques from Africa, Moda Étnica also uses other fabric painting methods like Tie Dye, in which the fabric is tied in various forms, using threads, and then is dyed. They also use silkscreen. Some of the products also have prints inspired on Rio de Janeiro.
NGO in action
The NGO Ação Comunitária do Brasil operates both in the Complexo da Maré and in the Conjunto Habitacional da Cidade Alta (High City Housing Project), also in Rio de Janeiro. It was established in 1966 and works in training and professional qualification of the residents, establishing cultural and artistic groups and the developing education and health programs. Ação Comunitária has already received several awards for its work, among them one from the World Bank for Art-Education, in 2002, for an innovative experience in the social area. Around 50% of the educators in the NGO are residents and former students of Ação Comunitária programs.
Contact
Moda Étnica
Telephone: (+55 21) 2253-6443
Site: www.acaocomunitaria.org.br
*Translated by Mark Ament
