Honoring the fashion workers

Artisans from the Criola Art project are honored for the work they developed in the backstage of the fashion market.

By Karla Bernardo Montenegro

Through the Fashion Rio event, the FIRJAN system honored twelve artisan women that work in what we would call the backstage of the fashion market. Out of these twelve we have the Rio de Janeiro native, Érica de Oliveira Xavier, that makes crochet clothes, and Luciene Fortuna, from Bahia that specializes in African stamping articles. Érica and Luciene had their pictures and stories presented in the fashion worker (Operárias da moda) exhibition, that took place in the Museum of Modern Art (MAM Museu de arte moderna) during the fashion business event.

This honoring represented recognition for heavy work that is produced on a daily basis by artisans all over the country, searching for exclusive products for the fashion runaways and the Brazilian fashion market.

In the presentation text of the exhibition's catalogue, the FIRJAN system's president, Eduardo Eugênio Gouvêa Vieira, mentioned the social-economic importance of the fashion workers: “This honoring is an opportunity to think and reflect about the reality in which this industrial segment of our population has to live in. This sector has a very specific differential that is 70 percent of the labor is women”.

Luciene Fortuna was the chosen one to talk for the honored women that were all invited to a lunch at the Museum of Modern Art restaurant. (MAM). They were photographed by Murilo Meireles and were gave interviews to tv shows.

“It was a surprise to receive this honor. Usually we artisans only live the real fashion world when we are dealing with production, in the backstage area. On this day we were constantly in a place of notability and we were even congratulated by the president of FIRJAN.” Says Luciene Fortuna.

For Érica Xavier, the thrill of being honored also means that all this comes with great responsibility: “I felt a great responsibility at the moment of the honoring, because I was representing my mother, that is a retired craftswoman, my grandmother, that was a seamstress, my great grandmother that introduced all of this work in my family and so many other women that have always battled in the backstage of fashion”. She said.

Érica, which is 26 years old, has produced many clothing pieces with crochet, since childhood, just like her great grandmother. Even though Érica is not sure of how many pieces she has made, since she started practicing, she says she is just beginning. “My plans are to continue producing more and better each time, conquering new clients and being able to make a big ambition of mine come true: Being a recognized, successful black, business woman in the fashion industry”. She says.

Art-Industry and Criola

For the January 2006 edition, the Art- Industry project has the participation of Criola social organizations, Communitarian action of Brazil and the social economic group Fuxiarte. The collections developed by the institutions will be created under the orientation of the following stylists: Daniella Martins, Kátia Wille, Luiza Marcier e Verônica d'Orey. The project is coordinated by FIRJAN and has the financial help of SESI-RJ and SENAI-RJ.

The Art industry came about in meetings between the FIRJAN Social Responsibility Consulting and social organizations that develop work with artisans. The task is to create means in which the social and formal enterprises could become alternatives in income and the reduction of inequality.

With the project the institutions were able to develop quality products, starting with the refinement of craftsmanship techniques. This can be noted through the acceptance of the fashion industry and the faithful clients. In the 2005, January edition of fashion business, the sales went up 37 percent and Art industry maintained its main objective, income for the artisans.