Sustainable and authorial fashion represents an innovative and conscious approach to the fashion industry, which focuses on creating unique or small-scale pieces, produced ethically and with minimal environmental impact. The Mãos à Moda Project in Almenara – MG is an example of this approach. This initiative, conceived by Sebrae Minas, and with a methodology co-created by Raízes SD, aims to give visibility to designer fashion in the state and promote a vision of the identity diversity of this productive chain, which is so expressive and full of creative businesses.
The project has already been through three stages (if you want to know more about the previous phases, read our article How to generate social innovation through the fashion and handicraft production chain). It is currently in its 4th stage: Product and Solution Development – Creative Laboratory. This phase consists of creative laboratories, which are spaces for experimentation and prototyping of capsule collections, in which the beneficiaries begin to develop their own collections.
There are five thematic laboratories: home fashion, women’s fashion, children’s fashion, upcycling, and accessories, and the results will be presented at the launch of the collections at the beginning of August.
“Taking part in this more practical stage of Mãos à Moda is being very constructive, in the sense that sometimes we work, even though I already work with collection development, but in a more commercial, more automatic way, and this more practical part of Mãos à Moda is also a more in-depth way of seeing our traditions, our techniques, which we have here in our region, and which can contribute to forming a richer collection. So it’s been a great learning experience”, says Gabriela Ducor, one of the beneficiaries.
Minas Gerais — Pernambuco Connection
How about being inspired by the best there is? In order to help with this, a representative from each thematic group, together with the project’s management team and the mayor of Almenara, Ademir Gobira, traveled to Pernambuco to get to know the state’s Authorial Fashion Hub. The excursion was divided into two hubs: Recife and Caruaru.
“I’d never been to Pernambuco. It was a wonderful trip, because it’s a city like this, in the Polo da Moda Autoral (Authorial Fashion Hub), the people are creative, they give us the initiative to put into practice what we saw there, which is something that is always very important in the segment. Very nice,” said Elania Barros, another beneficiary who took part in the initiative.
For Maria Loya: “It was great knowledge that I brought back to my city, the love they have for their culture, the way they show it. It was a great trip, very fruitful: their knowledge, their techniques, the way they put each thing together, enriched our learning”.
This technical mission was carried out by Sebrae Minas with the support of Sebrae Pernambuco, and it aimed to get to know the institutions and entrepreneurs involved in designer fashion in this northeastern state, which is a benchmark for sustainable fashion in the country.
The group visited some tourist attractions – such as some museums in Recife Antigo (Old Recife), located in the city’s historic center – and fashion institutions, to get inspiration for the beneficiaries – such as the Armazém da Criatividade, an innovation hub of Porto Digital in Caruaru, and the Marco Pernambucano da Moda, in Recife.
Sustainable fashion: Raizes at Fashion Revolution Week
Fashion is a cultural phenomenon that transcends simply clothing. It reflects a society’s social, economic, and political values. And fashion revolution is a global movement working to ensure that fashion conserves and restores the environment, valuing people above growth and profit. In Brazil, it seeks to transform the textile and clothing industry towards more sustainable and ethical practices.
Fashion Revolution Week, an annual milestone in global sustainable fashion activism, turned 10 years old in 2024. It took place from April 15 to 24, with the aim of raising awareness about the social and environmental impacts of the fashion industry, as well as encouraging the mobilization of various social actors in favor of positive changes in the sector.
In this year’s edition, Jussara Rocha, partner and project director here at Raízes, together with Raquel Canaan, from Sebrae Minas, took part in the event’s official program with a Talk Sebrae lecture at the Fashion Museum in Belo Horizonte. The talk was on “Fashion and sustainability for small businesses: trend or urgency?”
The talk, which was very enriching for the sector and especially for small entrepreneurs, took place on the last day of the event.
“We are at a time when there is a rethinking of fashion, author brands are organizing themselves into collectives, and the Northeast holds a very pioneering role in this regard. So young designers are transforming themselves, not just into brands, but into successful young entrepreneurs, showing fashion and the way we dress by representing what we are, our roots, and our identity. So that’s what we’re looking for in the Jequitinhonha Valley too,” comments Jussara.
Keep following the Mãos à Moda Project – Almenara (MG) on social media and here on the Raízes website! More news will be coming soon.
