“Gift of the Periphery”, São Paulo
ICP Award winner Turkish - Dutch photographer Ahmet Polat, a fusion of East and West, has a multicultural background that made him a questioner never satisfied with the superficial. He uses his work to document the ways in which peopleseek their identity through the daily rituals, traditions and interaction.
In 2006 Ahmet Polat photographed the story of four young designers who lived on the outskirts of the slum of Campo Limpo, in São Paulo, accompanying them in their daily routine to get a place in the fashion industry. Six years later, the artist goes back to Sao Paulo to rediscover the four designers - Mariana, Leandro, Bruna and João Carlos - to work together and present their stories in the exhibition “Gift of the Periphery” which was curated by the photographer Ahmet Polat.
IED and Ofício da Moda
In 2005 the first headquarters outside Europe from the Istituto Europeo di Design was inaugurated in Maranhão street in Higienópolis (central São Paulo). Founded thirty-eight years ago in Milan (city in north of Italy), the Institute is a leading training center in industrial design and fashion in Europe. They offer courses in design, visual arts, communication and fashion. Still in 2005 the school held a partnership with the NGO New Star of Campo Limpo (on the South of São Paulo city), in collaboration with the Project Ofício da Moda, held by the entity. The programme offered professional courses in fashion for young people aged between 16 and 25 years old. In 2006 the top four students of the course, assessed by a panel of members of the Institute, won a scholarship to the fashion course at IED.
Between June 27 and July 31, 2013, The DOC Gallery in Sao Paulo hosted Ahmet Polat's exhibition (curated by artist himself) "Gift of the Periphery," which brings his photographs and the four designers' latest works together. This project was supported by the Municipality of Amsterdam, and the Mondriaan Foundation.
Leandro Benites
After leaving his grandfather and father´s small farm in Rio Grande do Sul (the southernmost Brazilian state) as a child, Leandro Benites (aged 26) grew up in the neighborhood of Campo Limpo, in a family of nine siblings. Leandro did classical ballet and at the age of 13, he discovered he liked designing theater costumes, which he used to do with the help of his mother. Seven years ago he found out about the course Ofício da Moda at the NGO Estrela Nova and signed up. He then won a scholarship to the school Istituto Europeo di Design and casted himself in the fashion world as a designer for major brands, but still creating his own pieces.
“Memories collector”. That is how the young designer is described. When creating his pieces, Leandro Benites seeks inspiration in his affective memory when remembering his grandfather and father´s small farm in Rio Grande do Sul.
Horses, skeletons of butterflies and beetles: abstract patterns that refer to the functioning of our brains, where our memories are interspersed with emptiness.
João Carlos Monteiro
The entry of João Carlos Monteiro (aged 31) at the Istituto Europeo di Design six years ago was sudden. The designer says that he was 'born for fashion'. As a boy, living in the neighborhood of Campo Limpo, he was amazed to see on TV brands such as Christian Dior and Prada. He didn´t have any fashion magazine, but he dreamed of traveling to Italy to study. The entry in IED opened his world. It showed the contrasts between the rich world and the harsh reality of the neighborhood where he lived. João Carlos nearly finished the school but got stuck with work in the end of the course. He is now trying to return to the course again. He designs and produces costumes for the theater of Clube Paulistano and lectured at Ofício Moda. He thanks his current boss Daniela Deysi Mello and teachers Edna Marques and Divanda Mazaia from Ofício Moda for their support on his participation in the project "Gift of the Periphery".
The transfer of the masculine to the feminine and the contrasts between right and wrong, defined by society in Dante's Inferno, where love is often condemned, inspire João Carlos Monteiro on pieces that have a strong theatrical character. The jacket shown here, almost military, symbolizes the masculine unfinished.
Bruna Medeiros
Bruna Medeiros (aged 28) grew up in the midst her mother´s fabrics and sewing machines. The fashion world and clothing industry was in her roots. She took the course Ofício da Moda and was among the finalists for a scholarship at IED, but didn´t succeed, 'it was a thud'. But Bruna didn´t stop there. She took a foundation course on modeling and sewing at Senai (technical courses sponsored by the Association of Industries) and several additional courses while working as a stylist for a clothing workshop in Bom Retiro neighborhood. Recently she launched her own brand “By Bruna Medeiros” and provides clothes for various fashion stores. She also develops pieces for big Brazilian brands like Chris Barros and Daslu.
"By Bruna Medeiros" is an unpretentious brand. Bruna works for human beings who need to dress with elegance in their everyday life. For this she uses fabrics like silk, giving a happy lightness to the sweaters superimposed on leather pants.
Mariana Machado
Mariana Machado (aged 25) always sought his own style, using belts and 'pretty crazy clothes'??, in her own words. The daughter of artisans who work with leather and sell their art (among other places) at the Republic Square Fair (Praça da República, central São Paulo), from a young age she was taken to the fashion. At Ofício da Moda she stood out as a talented student and got a scholarship to the IED. She decided to launch her own brand of street wear to achieve autonomy in the market.
Mariana develops her pieces for her brand of street wear Calvario, thinking of people as 'good soldiers'. Calvario is the name of the hill where the cross of Christ was erected. With skulls printed on t-shirts, caps and skateboards, she seeks a young audience, which is expressed by their bodies, very often tattooed.
www.ahmetpolat.nl
Production: Stijntje Blankendaal
Hair & Make Up: Shelley Lashley
Support: Amsterdam City Hall & Mondrian Foundation