Queen Victoria, who ruled the United Kingdom from 1837 to 1901, was of worldwide renown for her garments. Part of the extravagance of the Victorian period is going to be present in the fashion that Brazilian shoe factories have created for the autumn/winter season.
The new season’s models were shown at Couromoda, the International Shoes, Sportsgoods and Leathergoods Fair, which ended Thursday, January 19, in São Paulo, southeastern Brazil.
The shoes that Brazilian industries will produce for the cold season will have shine, strong colors and will have stones.
"Queen Victoria liked purple, black, dark colors," stated Flávio Marques, the commercial director of women’s shoe producer Século XXI, one of the exhibitors at Couromoda. Stones and shine will also be present in the collection.
Século XXI is based in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina and produces 40,000 pairs of shoes a month. According to Marques, 15% of company production is turned to the foreign market.
The main bets of shoe producers are on boots and pumps. Boots should have a special place in shop windows. "This is going to be the winter of boots," stated Ricardo Machion, the Marketing manager of women’s shoe producer Via Uno from the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul.
The boots will have pointed or square tips, high or low heels, and will be long or short. That is, there will be boots for all tastes. Suede was popular among the stylists. Some factories, incidentally, have created boots in metallic materials.
Bebecê, a maker of female shoes also from Rio Grande do Sul, has in its winter catalogue various models of embroidered boots. Embroidery on a large part of the front of the boots, is put both on suede and on leather.
The company used raw material like suede, metallized satin and Italian fabrics with colorful prints. Bebecê was the first Brazilian company to receive the Comfort Stamp, given by the Technological Center for the Leather, Footwear and Related Industries (CTCCA), for shoes.
Pumps were already in fashion last winter and are still popular, according to Marques, from Século XXI. Once again, most of the shoes will be pointed and long. And they will include stones and shine.
Século XXI also inspired its collection on the folk style, which includes happy colorful products, and on the androgynous style, in which women’s shoes have masculine elements in them, like big buckles.
Color of the Land
Brazilian winter shoes will have earthy colors. Although purple and black will also be used, the main colors will be ranging from caramel to coffee and will include metallic colors in bronze and copper. Golden and silver will also be present in the shoes of the season.
Extravagance and shine, however, should mainly be present in shoes turned to people with higher buying power. Via Uno, a brand turned to this public, is also going to use synthetic feathers on their boots, making them more luxurious.
Via Uno makes around 30,000 pairs of shoes a day and exports 45% of production. The brand shoes go to countries like the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Morocco, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan, according to the company export manager, Jadir Bergonsi.
According to him, the Arabs purchase many sandals and pumps produced by the company, apart from their sports fashion. The latter are shoes for daily use, not for sports, but in sporty style.
Anba – www.anba.com.br
