In São Paulo, the style spotlight is fixed on Daslu, the luxurious multibrand store selling everything from Louis Vuitton bags to millionaire motorboats. But it’s on the side streets off the main fashion promenade, Oscar Freire Street, where new designer names are found. Multilabel stores like Pelu and Gokko-Simone Nunes-British Colony are gaining attention for spaces devoted to hip Brazilian designers and, in the case of Pelu, investing in a unique store concept.

Created by Claudia Tannous and Helena Linhares — a former Trip magazine commercial manager and an Ungaro marketing executive, respectively — Pelu occupies two floors of a ’30s modernist house in a hidden alleyway near Oscar Freire Street. Behind a high and narrow doorway, Pelu — a name derived from peluqueira, the Spanish word for hairdresser — is a triple threat, combining a beauty salon, lounge bar, and a retail store showcasing emerging designers. The duo’s aim was to unite three different kinds of services in one place in order to attract their target audience: edgy cosmopolitan women who don’t have time to lose and are always looking for the new. “Pelu works an alternative schedule, Monday to Saturday from 11am to 10pm, and with a hair salon, fashion store and bar, our clients can optimize their time,” says Tannous. The upstairs salon is decorated with vintage barber chairs and retro acrylic shelves. “We decided to invest in antique furniture to warm up the house’s modern architecture and mix it with kitsch items to make it a fun environment,” explains Tannous. Downstairs is for new designer collections such as Neon, Cecilia Echenique, Juliana Jabour and Fabia Bercseck, and a mix of 22 other labels selected by the owners. Of the strategy, Tannous says, “We want to invest in new names that we believe have growth potential.” Next plans for the store? “We are launching Pelu’s womenswear line, bringing new names into the store, and creating new drinks for the summer.”

Newly opened, Gokko-Simone Nunes-British Colony got loads of attention from international buyers and journalists during the recent São Paulo Fashion Week. The store brings three distinct brands — Simone Nunes, Gokko, and British Colony — together under one roof. Simone Nunes’ signature collection; Gokko, a younger line she designs; and Maxime Perelmutter of British Colony urban wear co-exist in this sprawling store with a steady clientele. Rising star Nunes — who sells at Patricia Field in New York and Lobby in Japan — is included in Phaidon‘s recent book Sample as one of the 100 contemporary designers to watch on the world stage. For her own summer ’06 collection, Nunes took inspiration from women’s posture to inform her quirky designs which are heavy on appliqués. “I don’t have any specific theme, I was inspired by the way certain women posture themselves while reading and working,” she explains. “For me, Gokko is my clients’ daughter,” says Nunes. Gokko mixes Mod inspirations and Hawaiian hibiscus prints and avant-garde knotting details in a contemporary spirit.

For Maxime Perelmutter, designer of British Colony, the union of the three labels was an opportunity to get greater attention in the São Paulo market and be more accessible to national and international buyers. “I’ve been selling my designs in other multilabel stores in São Paulo, but now I have an exclusive larger spot reserved for my clothes,” says Perelmutter. Already selling at Opening Ceremony in New York, British Colony is known for urban menswear with strong surf-wear influences. “I try to put together the beach references in an urban collection,” explained the designer while showing some pieces bought by the buyers from Japan and US. “They like more conceptual shapes, like my twinset of polo shirt with hooded coat and the sarong line.”
- Flavia Mendonça

Photos:
Fabia Bercsek s/s ’06
Gokko s/s ’06
Simone Nunes s/s ’06
Fabia Bercsek s/s ’06

5-6 Neon s/s ’06