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Fragile Democracy

Fragile Democracy - Column by Sarah Weyers - Photo © Sarah Weyers

The sun is shining softly through the big leafs of the carnauberia palm trees that form a perfect line alongside the busy roads of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The streets remind of those in San Francisco, equally many cars and pedestrians, and similarly steep hills that offer an incredible view. The lighthearted atmosphere in one of the biggest cities of Brazil doesn’t indicate how fragile the state of the democracy currently really seems to be – being the fourth largest democracy in the world only after Indonesia, the US and India, Brazil’s political tension is putting the peace of the country as well as its international standing at risk.

After surrendering to the police and beginning to serve his 12-year sentence in a federal prison at the beginning of April 2018, former president Luiz Ináco Lula da Silva is yet to endorse a new candidate for the upcoming elections. The arrest of the popular leftist candidate has thrown the elections into chaos, dividing the country into supporting crowds and right-oriented counter protests; the political and social tension more extreme than ever.

With politicians across all of Latin America and Africa being involved in what has been described as the biggest bribery and money laundering scandal in modern politics, the involvement of the former president was almost inevitable. The house by the seaside, which was the object of the bribery in da Silva’s case, was only the tip of the iceberg of money laundering and bribery, mostly conducted by one of the largest construction companies globally, Odebrecht.

Now da Silva is to serve over a decade in prison, after the court had reportedly debated for over 10 hours and finally reached a verdict, condoning his actions and enforcing the imprisonment of the 72 year old. It had been argued that the documents provided by Odebrecht representatives were falsified in order to incriminate da Silva, but the court voted 6-5 in his corruption conviction.

Having built a transformational leftist party, da Silva changed the political history of the country and provided improvements in the quality of education, as well as a more stable economy. A local source commented that “Event though he was arrested and he did commit a crime, Lula [da Silva] has done great things for Brazil. People were miserable and now they are just poor. They are still poor, but they are not starving anymore.” Even though imprisoned, the former president still enjoys great sympathy among the Brazilian people, with numbers as high as 31% that would vote for him if he were an available candidate. Narrowing the steep social inequality would have been one of the top priorities if da Silva had been eligible as a candidate to replace current president Michel Temer in October.

Even though US President Donald Trump does not enjoy the utmost popularity among European politicians, Brazilian right wing politician Jair Bolsonaro (Social Liberty Party) seems to be copying some of Trumps moves: Degrading women, lobbying for the gun industry and a free use and availability of weapons to every citizen, as well as inciting hate speech with attacks on women, black people, gay people and indigenous communities. His public speeches and press conferences are often lacking facts and contain mostly rambling and repetitions of phrases – again, a similar tactic as used by POTUS, are fascinating – not as much when transcribed, but definitely when watched live.

While Bolsonaro may not be representative of the general values and morals of the average Brazilian, he and his gun supporting political agenda represent law and order, which, in a country with approximately 60.000 homicides a year is something the pubic longs for.

The danger of the rise of right-wing parties has been proven in history more than once, and yet, they gain popularity all over the world. After Brexit, Trump and the rise of right tendencies in Germany, Austria and France, now Brazil is on the list of countries that rebel against current political representation by voting for the opposing parties; whether this is a favorable strategy for any of these countries or not is yet to be determined.

Overall, the political tension in Brazil may not be as tangible in the streets, and the fragility of the democracy not necessarily visible to foreigners, but as soon as the topic of politics or the upcoming elections come up in conversations, the fear and worries of Brazilian citizens from all across the country become obvious. Which consequences the potential presidency of a far-right candidate will have for both Brazil and the world are concerning; yet, the actual outcome will not be fully known until long after the elections in October.

PLURAL

Minas Trend S/S 19 | PLURAL Show | Photos © Agencia Fotosite

The Plural spring/summer 2019 collection was presented at Minas Trend 2018 in Belo Horizonte this past month. Gláucia Fróes, the creative director of the Brazilian brand has found inspiration in art movements and principle forms of geometry, which she translated into abstract patterns. These created prints and cuts that reminded of the first Mondrian paintings; yet more delicate and feminine. Since the constructivism era of art was one of the main inspirations for the collection, the most present colors include strong blue, yellow and red, as well as black.

Minas Trend S/S 19 | PLURAL Show | Photos © Agencia Fotosite

Throughout the runway show at Minas Trends, a development of the collection became visible, and it seems as though the designers dove deeper into their inspirations with every piece created. This appears to be the case due to the different styles created for the Summer season of 2019, including tone in tone outfits on an earthy beige, some of the characteristics of these outfits being the flowing cuts of the pieces. The light fabrics are delicately wrapped around the models, creating soft H, I and X shapes, all whilst slightly reminding of an African Safari summer in the 1960’s. The designer then moves onto the geometric prints on long, flowy dresses, wide legged trousers and multiple layers of fabric to create a soft silhouette.

With silk being one of the main fabrics for this collection, Plural created looks that are feminine, unique and stylish, as well as they enable the woman wearing the pieces to be comfortable and enjoy the Brazilian summer. Since the fashion in Latin America has a high standard of femininity, this collection sets a new sense of freedom- The gowns, kimonos, shorter dresses and blouses are loosely fit, while remaining very feminine and creating a natural I or X silhouette.

Some of the highlight pieces were a neckholder dress of a stiff cotton with pockets and a belt of the same fabric with an asymmetrical hemline, as well as the Mondrian reminding pieces such as a long, belted dress with wide sleeves, and a high slit and v-neck.

MANZAN

Minas Trend S/S 19 | MANZAN Show | Photos © Agencia Fotosite

Brazilian fashion brand Manzan presented their spring/summer 2019 collection called ‘Disco Gym’ at this season’s Minas Trend trade show in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The collection includes a wide range of looks, fabrics and silhouettes, creating a wide range of designs and making the core of the label, which is a loud, fun and excentric design, visible.

Minas Trend S/S 19 | MANZAN Show | Photos © Agencia Fotosite

Beginning the runway show with futuristic, slightly see-through rain coats in different lengths, the label shows a different approach to summer fashion as many other designers, which have so far mainly focused on a variety if silk dresses. Nevertheless, many of the designs by Manzan include dresses as well, creating feminine X-silhouettes with high waisted skirts of soft draping. The sportive look, which the name of the collection indicates, is not visible on every piece, creating a versatile variety of pieces. With volants, draping and ruffles, a playful yet elegant look is created.

Manzan is most likely the label that used the widest range of fabrics in one collection, including silk, cotton, chiffon, lace and PU for the rain jackets. Just as diverse as the fabrics is the colour palette used; it includes soft pink nuances, bright yellow, teal, light apricot, orange and rose tones, putting an emphasis on the season as well as the diversity of this collection.

While many of the looks presented in the Minas Trend’s runway shows are commercial, they have all managed to express the core of the brands, including their creativity, target group and approach of Brazilian fashion design. Balancing the many traditional influences of Latin American fashion with the demand of the Brazilian, as well as the global market, if they wish to expand. And even though this seems to be a struggle many brands have to deal with, all the labels presented in the numerous runway shows have managed to find a unique balance.

FATIMA SCOFIELD

Minas Trend S/S 19 | FATIMA SCOFIELD Show | Photos © Agencia Fotosite

Being the first runway shows during this season’s edition of Minas Trend in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Fatima Scofield set the bar high for the following designers.

Minas Trend S/S 19 | FATIMA SCOFIELD Show | Photos © Agencia Fotosite

The collection includes a wide range of dresses that all have a slight touch of light summer wear from the 1980’s, including belted, almost see through dresses, two-piece suits with a chic pyjama flair, almost all made from light fabrics such as chiffon and silk. Ruffles and different volants create interesting pieces; the color pallette ranged from an intense orange to light skin tones, rose, yellow and turquoise. The silhouettes created by the pieces were mainly feminine X silhouettes; enforcing the statement that became visible during the collection: Celebrate femininity.

What really stood out during the label’s presentation was the choice of music: The models in the incredibly feminine, soft dresses and skirts walked the runway to ‘Because The Night’ by the Patti Smith Group, creating an atmosphere of opposites becoming one. The core message of this particular mixture could be the free choice of women to dress however feminine the please, while still being a feminist, as our modern society seems to undermine women who support this slogan. While the feminist movement trend has promoted natural women who don’t confirm to society gender roles anymore, Fatima Scofield sends a message that women can do both – stand up for themselves and make the choices they please, while remaining feminine and dressing in clothes that remind of a warm summer in the 1980’s.