![\"Each](\"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/callicore-1024x767.jpeg\")
She could have continued as a self-taught designer, relying on her \u201cnatural talent, intuition, observation, research, systemic thinking, and a keen eye for fashion, costumes, aesthetics, human rituals, art, culture, and, above all, sustainability\u201d. But she knew the market demanded a diploma, so she pursued Fashion Design, Styling, and Costume Design at Senac and Belas Artes in Goi\u00e2nia. She later studied Social Communication and completed numerous specializations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was the late 1990s, and the term sustainability still felt distant. Ecology was the buzzword (echoes of Eco Rio 1992), and recycling was just emerging as a way to care for the environment. For Faiad, it all made perfect sense. \u201cI had a hyper-focus on butterflies, their species, and a deep connection with everything related to the earth, the planet, and nature,\u201d recalls the designer.<\/p>\n\n\n
![\"Sustainable](\"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/callicore-1-1024x602.jpeg\")
\u201cVery early on, I wanted to transform the world into a better place through the language of fashion, and that\u2019s how I found how to communicate, by turning what was considered waste into luxury. And the understanding that there\u2019s no such thing as waste.\u201d By the way: Callicore is the name given by the German biologist Jacob H\u00fcbner to a genus of subtropical butterflies that only live where the ecosystem is balanced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In her journey to establish her name and her signature fashion, Faiad spent twenty years in S\u00e3o Paulo. In addition to presenting her pieces to various audiences, she conducted numerous sustainable fashion workshops with the Oficina Callicore. She also worked as a costume designer for TV channels and took on the challenge of designing the costumes for the performance of The Nutcracker<\/em> presented at the Theatro Municipal de S\u00e3o Paulo in 2022. She created 588 costume and accessory items for 388 students from the S\u00e3o Paulo Dance School (Edasp), all in just 26 days.<\/p>\n\n\n Recently, in 2024, she returned to Bras\u00edlia after living in S\u00e3o Paulo for 20 years. A cancer, which left sequelae, made her realize the need to be close to her family again. Her family has Syrian and Lebanese roots. An aunt, a historian, even wrote a book about Faiad\u2019s maternal grandmother, called Flor da S\u00edria, a hist\u00f3ria de uma m\u00e3e<\/em> (\u201cFlower of Syria, the Story of a Mother\u201d), published in 1996. The title honors the family\u2019s business when they first arrived in Brazil in the early 20th<\/sup> century: Casa Fl\u00f4r de S\u00edria<\/em>, which used to sell spices and fabrics from England (and a bit of everything else). The book tells the story of the grandmother, from the arrival of the immigrants to her marriage, her children, emotional losses, historical documents and photographs, as well as stories from her children and some of her grandchildren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy great-grandfather was born in 1885 in Tripoli and later moved to New York before coming to Brazil. My grandmother was born here during World War I,\u201d she explains. \u201cAccording to my aunt\u2019s book, during political upheavals in those times, Casa Fl\u00f4r da S\u00edria<\/em>, located in Santa Catarina, was frequently invaded and looted by intruders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n \u201cMy grandmother always supported my career\u2014she was the only one in the family to do so. While she was alive, I was highly determined to achieve my dreams and make her proud,\u201d says the designer, whose collections and pieces are heavily influenced by the Middle East\u2014the culture, the embroidery, the fabrics used, and the tailoring all serve as references. \u201cI\u2019ve designed pieces for a Muslim clothing brand, creating scarves and dresses for women. In my work, I seek the lightness of fabrics, paintings, and anything that can highlight the positive aspects of Arab culture\u2014something that is increasingly necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Bras\u00edlia-born designer has never traveled to Arab countries\u2014though she certainly would love to\u2014but she once sent a collection to a friend who owns a jewelry store in India. In 2014, he showcased his jewelry along with her dresses at a fair in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The collection drew a parallel between planned cities like Bras\u00edlia and Dubai, highlighting their architectural and natural beauty. Beyond fashion, Faiad has a deep love for Arab cuisine and the memories it evokes. \u201cI really miss the family gathered around a table filled with delicious Arab dishes\u2014such a feast of flavors,\u201d she sighs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From when she first started\u2014as one of the pioneers in the field\u2014to today, much has changed in the so-called sustainable fashion market. \u201cEverything in this space has evolved, and many new brands have entered the market and gained followers. There\u2019s a lot of imitation and little authenticity, but there\u2019s also incredible, high-quality work backed by real investment,\u201d reflects Faiad. To her, the term has grown in popularity but has also become diluted in meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA thrift store that sells second-hand clothes and uses this term is mistaken\u2014what they do is circular fashion. For fashion to be truly sustainable, it must follow a complete cycle of clean, renewable energy. It can be made from waste, reusable, recyclable, ecological, and biological raw materials, and most importantly, everything must be done ethically. There are countless factors that truly define sustainability\u2014it\u2019s not just about riding the wave of green marketing.\u201d The designer has always offered a 10-year warranty on her products and services. Today, she has extended it to 20 years\u2014going completely against the grain of fast fashion, where pieces fall apart after just five washes.<\/p>\n\n\n In her creations\u2014always unique pieces\u2014she incorporates everything from leftover fabrics from major manufacturers to scraps from the costumes she designs, especially for theater. She also works with a vast array of recyclable materials: coffee filters and capsules, shampoo bottles, cosmetic containers, threads and fibers, and even food peels and seeds, such as avocado, jabuticaba<\/em>, jamel\u00e3o<\/em>, mulberry, as well as spices like saffron, turmeric, yerba mate, and hibiscus. Faiad welcomes clients where she works\u2014\u201cmy home office is my showroom\u201d\u2014and is always surrounded by plants. Now, back in Bras\u00edlia, she is looking to reinvent herself in terms of space and plans to invest more in online sales. However, she has also participated in many open-air markets, festivals, and bazaars\u2014and even owns a Kombi that doubles as her traveling boutique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the pandemic, the designer bought the Kombi and took it to Ubatuba, on the northern coast of S\u00e3o Paulo state\u2014a way to make a living during that time. After being stolen, damaged, and later restored, the Kombi is now with her in Bras\u00edlia, fully equipped with a clothing rack, table, electric power, and a renewable battery. Versatile, the vehicle also serves as a dressing room and a support car for productions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After undergoing surgery to remove four kilos of tumors, followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy, Faiad was left with some lasting effects. A second surgery impacted on her ability to walk, and now she uses a cane. Despite having her temporary disability benefits denied by Brazilian social security agency INSS, she must keep working\u2014but she wants to do so differently: with less focus on productivity and more on creativity and exclusivity. In addition to cancer, she also suffered a household accident that left her with facial burns. All of this combined eventually led to burnout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was a series of battles in life that made me rethink everything, the need to produce only what\u2019s necessary, made to order, with creative planning to return to working with the physical limitations I have now. The issues with my health made me reframe my journey. But, as a true Taurus, I\u2019m stubborn and I fight and resist to this day in this profession, which to me is a mission, because it\u2019s not as easy as other professions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another reason to slow down is the concern for the planet\u2019s health. \u201cOne of the things that made me rethink mass production is that our planet can no longer handle so much production, it can\u2019t take so many people stuffing their closets with clothes and accessories. Life is much more than a product, but the life of a product needs to be, at the very least, less disposable than it has been.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Go ahead:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instagram: *Report by D\u00e9bora Rubin, in collaboration with ANBA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Translated by Guilherme Miranda<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Stage](\"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/callicore-3-683x1024.jpeg\")
![\"The](\"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/livro-flor-da-siria-1-749x1024.jpg\")
Sustainable fashion, a world on its feet<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Andr\u00eassa](\"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/andressa-faiad-757x1024.jpg\")
The future calls for calm<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Callicore Moda Sustent\u00e1vel<\/a>
Andr\u00eassa Faiad<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n