Straight Out Of SãO Paulo With Ale Brito

Fizzy got at it with Ale: the young designer whose street smart collections would be just as comfortable in Shoreditch, as they are in São Paulo. Bin your bad ideas about Brazil being all flip flops and football, and set your sights on the south of the equator.

Fizzy wants to know the Origins of Ale! What’s your story?

I started drawing clothes and outfits at 7 years old. It is popular in Brazil, especially in residential neighbourhoods, to have a local seamstress and I would ask my aunts to take me with them; I was really fascinated to see how they put an item of clothing together. My first ever collection was inspired by the Punk and Post-Punk world. I always loved Nina Hagen, Siouxsie and The Banshees and how they dressed, so I used them as references; all perfect jackets and leather skinny jeans. After that, I thankfully got to showcase pieces in different magazine editorials: Vogue, Elle, and a few covers too. So really, from making my first item of clothing at 9 years old, I’ve never stopped making clothes!

You started working as a Fashion Assistant, aged 14. Can you tell us how that came about?

I would skip school to hang out at a sort of small shopping mall for underground fashion, music and art, called ‘Ouro Fino’.
While hanging out there, I met Carol and Isadora Krieger, who owned a fashion label (“Gemeas” ) and a store. I would assist them with their creative processes, and that was really my break into the fashion scene, in São Paulo.

Looking back through your collections, you’ve built up a really strong, sexy visual identity. Do you have an idea of who you want to wear your clothes? What does an Ale Brito man / woman look and act like?

Women with a strong personality, who are secure in themselves, not afraid of voicing their own opinions, or afraid of being who they really are. The Ale Brito man is the guy you turn your head to look at when passing down the street. He is attractive and confident but also has this intriguing ‘dangerous’ air about him.

The perception of Brazilian Fashion being all bikinis and Havaianas is finally being trashed in Europe. How do you think the fashion scene is evolving in Brazil? What is “Brazilian Style” right now?

I think Brazilian designers like Alexandre Herchcovich and Oskar Metsavaht have helped the world to see there is something beyond “beach fashion” in Brazil; Osklen as a brand, being a huge example. But unfortunately Brazil, like most parts of the world, is in the grip of ‘fast fashion’ : cheapening the final product, disgracefully using slave labour, and making it very difficult for independent designers and small businesses to compete.

Tell us a bit more about your SS16 collection and what’s next for you?

The collection is inspired by the ‘chavs and lads’ culture: slang used to describe the English / Australian comfortably dressed, lower income and unemployed youth from the suburbs, in the 90s. The kind of lads that would get into fights and petty crime. I want to continue to mix the comfortable and sporty, with tailored clothes, that take you from day to night. I believe in making clothes and outfits that are versatile, that won’t go out of fashion.

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