Who
decided Brazil was cool?
By Megan Lane
BBC News Online Magazine
There's a bit of a run on all things Brazilian.
Its films, fashion, sports, music and people
are hot, hot, hot. Why the sudden taste for
all things Latin American? |
|
A
little bit of Rio de Janeiro has come to the UK.
A 14m-high replica of that city's Jesus the Redeemer
spreads his arms over a rain-washed city street
to mark Selfridges' month-long Brasil 40 festival
in London, Birmingham and Manchester.
And its not just those flocking to the department
stores which have let a bit of Latin spirit go to
their heads.
The
music of South America's biggest country features
in TV ads, in clubs, in shops; two acclaimed Brazilian
films, Carandiru and Bus 174, are playing in cinemas,
which distributors hope will echo the success of
City of God; and its designers are taking the fashion
and interiors world by storm.
Carnival
brights and vibrant prints are hot in home decoration,
and humble Brazilian flip-flops - the rubber sandals
worn by the country's president, supermodels and
street kids alike - are set to be this summer's
hottest shoes. Havaianas have already taken the
US and Australia by storm, and now the UK importer
is selling 50,000 pairs a week.
"Brazil
was, is, and will be in fashion," says Gilberto
Gil, the musician and 1960s radical who is now its
culture minister.
Not
only is the world looking to Brazil for inspiration,
Brazil itself is growing in confidence to break
free of its stereotype of football, carnivals and
samba.
Boosting this confidence is the growing admiration
at home and abroad for its cultural movers and shakers,
and for its president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva,
who was named by Time magazine as one of 2004's
most influential people, calling the former shoeshine
boy "the developing world's new spokesman".
Place
in the sun
Little
wonder then, that Brazil has become one of the top
long-haul destinations for 25- to 44-year-olds.
"Just
try and get a flight to Brazil in summer - theirs,
not ours; it's virtually impossible," says
Gity Monself, the creative director of the Fashion
and Textile Museum in London, who visits each year
with her Brazilian partner.
She puts Brazil's new-found influence down to its
people's attitude to life - relaxed, sensual, up
for a party - a mix very appealing to sun-starved
Britons. Among the adverts which seek to capture
this mood are campaigns for Nissan, Sunsilk, Always
and Habitat.
But
the ubiquity of all things Brazilian has not come
out of the blue. We've been watching its footballers
(and exuberant fans), drinking caipirinha cocktails,
going to samba and capoeira classes, and seeing
Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen for several
years now. This cumulative exposure which has propelled
its influence into the mainstream.
Mood
is right
Nicky
Owen, of brand consultancy Dragon, says the backing
of a major retailer has undoubtedly kick-started
moves to make Brazil cool.
"Selfridges
always picks a strong cultural reference for their
May festival, such as Bollywood or Japan, which
people will recognise. They will have noticed Brazil's
increasing profile - boosted by football, the drinks
companies and the increase in exports from Brazil
- and decided to go with that."
She
says Brazil's influence is a much-needed contrast
to both all things Asian, which have been popular
for about 15 years, and to the mood of doom and
gloom which world events have thrust upon us.
"To find a new source of cultural influence,
we have to look somewhere big, and the only other
option is Africa. It has an amazing culture, but
it's so beset with problems it seems less upbeat."
The
UK's weather has - surprisingly - played its part.
"Last
year's amazing summer got everyone in the right
mood. It showed us that we could relax outdoors
with our friends, that outdoor festivals didn't
mean cowering in a tent with a damp sandwich."
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Story
from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/magazine/3689911.stm
Published: 2004/05/07
12:23:00 GMT
© BBC MMIV
