Ronaldo Fraga shows his brand new collection with leather, and São Paulo is presented to Design na Pele

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Brazilian leather was one of the highlights of the 2014 edition of São Paulo Fashion Week (SPFW), one of the world’s most important fashion events. With support from the Centre for the Brazilian Tanning Industry (CICB), the renowned fashion designer Ronaldo Fraga presented a collection where leather is the centrepiece for innovative clothes and accessories, based on his work on the project Design na Pele. During SPFW, journalists and designers were also presented to Design na Pele, with the release of a book of the initiative, which brings a large set of images of the special leathers and products developed by the 13 tanneries that took part in the
project, conceived and supported by CICB in collaboration with the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil).

Ronaldo’s innovation on the catwalk generated a string of positive comments and major repercussion within the country’s most important communication outlets. Titled Carne Seca ou um Turista Aprendiz em Terra Áspera (Dried Meat or an Apprentice Tourist on Rough Territory) the collection was inspired by the Brazilian semi-arid (around 900 thousand square kilometres of the national territory), a context of great cultural richness that resulted in pieces of a highly distinguished aesthetic sense. The starting point for Ronaldo’s voyage into the world of leather, however, was Design na Pele, an initiative of CICB for the creation of special articles having leather as the raw material, and in which the designer played a key role.

It was also during SPFW, and amongst Salão +B, organized by The Brazilian Association of Fashion Designers (Abest), that Design na Pele was presented in São Paulo, with a special event that took place at the Brazilian Museum of Sculpture (MuBe).

Officially presented with a brunch for designers, specialized press and trendsetters, the event had a debate with Ronaldo Fraga and proved the profound aesthetic refinement and the great innovative capacity of the 13 Brazilian tanneries that took part in the project. Also in the event, it was released both the official Design na Pele book and the films that show in detail the creative process conducted by Ronaldo and artist Heloísa Crocco along with the tanneries.

Design na pele has the support of the Brazilian Leather project and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil).



Design na Pele: About the project

Having started in April of 2013, Design na Pele was conceived in order to bring the Brazilian tanning industry closer to the culture of design, in an initiative of the Centre for the Brazilian Tanning Industry (CICB) in collaboration with the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil). To make it possible and more productive, the designers – artist Heloísa Crocco and fashion designer Ronaldo Fraga – were divided into two cells, with a total of 13 tanneries in its first edition.

Ronaldo worked with tanneries of large-scale production, while Heloísa carried out creative workshops in tanneries dedicated to special leather, therefore producing articles from ostrich, snake, fish and frog skin.

José Fernando Bello, executive president of CICB, emphasizes the potential of the Brazilian tanning industry. “Brazil has the world’s largest commercial cattle herd, besides being one of the major exporters.” Bello also explains how both creatives worked with the tanneries. “Heloísa and Ronaldo had creative workshops with their respective tanneries, as well as individual consulting where they could evaluate in loco the work and the possibilities of each company. The intention was to observe the reality of the industry and make it work for the project, extracting to full extent the talent and creativity of each tannery.”

According to Mauricio Medeiros, Design na Pele’s coordinator, leather has the capacity to be way more present than it is today. “Leather manages to permeate people’s lives in practically every application. We want to stimulate its use in segments where leather is not as present as it could be, like decor, furniture, design and utilities. In industries such as automotive, upholstery or fashion, it has already become a strong player.”

“Leather as a noble material expresses itself in many more attributes than the technological, natural and aesthetic”, says José Fernando Bello.

Participating Tanneries:

Aplic Colour

Arte da Pele

Coming

Couros Bom Retiro

Courovale

Indústria de Peles Minuano

JBS Couros

Moderno

Natur

Romeu Couros

Schmechel Peles Exóticas

Soubach Special Leathers

Tre Anytry Marine & Exotic Leathers