BEFW 2017 Cotton in dialogue with silk and lace patchwork

Natural Cotton Color was the main highlight of the first edition of the sustainable fashion week Brasil Eco Fashion Week – BEFW held from November 21st to 24th, 2017 at Unibes Cultural – Creative Economy space, in São Paulo.

The event aims to inspire and encourage ethical and conscious fashion produced in the country. In addition to presenting the organic colored cotton from Paraíba to an audience engaged in environmental causes – it demonstrated looks with complex and creative processes, handcrafted details — one of the strong traits of the brand.

The sustainable cotton collection was created by Francisca Vieira, CEO of Natural Cotton Color, in partnership with Rafael Lemos, designer and stylist who consulted for the brand with support from Senai-PB. The collection was launched before, in July 2020, at Pure London, in the British capital.

For the BEFW fashion show, the creators inserted new pieces using silk and trims dyed with natural dyes made from fruit peels, leaves and flowers.
In addition to presenting the ready-to-wear collection, the brand was in other BEFW spaces such as a showroom, Espaço Lab (with cotton plumes and threads) and with Francisca Vieira participating in a round table on the theme of organic cotton.

Inspirations for the fashion show: lace upcycle

The entire creation of the brand is based on organic colored cotton that is born in beige and brown tones. For the show, the brand bet on dialogue with other fabrics, such as silk. It also invested in dyeing with natural dyes extracted from fruit peels, leaves and flowers.

In addition to pieces developed in Renaissance lace and filet, the collection was largely oriented by the upcycle concept – with the use of leftovers of lace from the clothing itself. “There are dresses, skirts and coats made in Renaissance lace patchwork dyed naturally and joined together by crochet. These ‘wastes’ are treasures of local handicrafts, and have given life and color to the collection”, she said.

 

Photos: Fotosite agency / Natural Cotton Color on show at Brasil Eco Fashion Week 2017 – Sustainable fashion

The soundtrack of the parade had Bolero de Isabel, from Paraíba, Jessié Quirino, interpreted by Xangai, from Bahia; and Showroom Dummies, by the German band Kraftwerk.

Bolero de Isabel is a poetry about the Paraíba hinterland (with a hot, dry climate) where the organic colored cotton from Paraíba is born. And Dummies showroom talks about the awakening against mass industrialization that ended up turning fashion into the second industry with the greatest environmental impact.

Francisca explains that the songs chosen for the fashion show at the first sustainable fashion event in the country were chosen with care. “Music raises awareness and makes an impact. It is an ally to transmit information, mainly because of us, ”she says. Colored cotton is cultivated to generate wealth from the farmer and the entire fashion production chain without causing risks to the health of the worker, the consumer or the environment. “Our fashion is a revolution”, she concludes.

All photos of the Natural Cotton Color show on this link