Brazil’s Avenida Paulista in São Paulo is not only the inspiration behind this look—it’s the setting.
The French have the Champs-Élysées, Americans have Wall Street, and Brazilians have Avenida Paulista. This busiest and most well-known thoroughfare in the city of São Paulo is home to worldwide financial institutions, fine art and first-rate shopping. “Brazil is not all about Rio, beaches, Carnival and soccer,” smiles Fabiana Allegro, Director of Marketing and Education at Inoar Professional, explaining that São Paulo, whose denizens are known as Paulistas, is the third-largest city in the world and home to top stylists and hair shows. “This image’s exotic look, combined with a modern and conservative background, reflects the image Avenida Paulista tries to uphold,” Allegro explains. “It embodies the sensuality and conservativeness of Paulista businesswomen, while its exquisite styling mirrors the diversity found in the city.”
What do you hope stylists take away from the image?
I hope they are able to get inspired by the natural artistic beauty found in this photo and incorporate their own sense of style to create another breath-taking piece of art.
How were Inoar products used in styling the shoot?
INOAR's philosophy is to help people maintain their hair at its healthiest state. We could not have succeeded in this shooting if the hair wasn't wonderfully maintained prior to. After protecting the hair with a Keratin Treatment, we were able to LOAD the hair up with INOAR Hairspray without worries of damaging her natural hair in the process.
What do you think people associate with Brazil, and what does Brazil mean to you?
Like I said before, Brazil is not all about Rio, beaches, carnival and soccer like most people think. Behind these "important" items, there is a giant country full of very talented, smart and ambitious people that are converting a BIG third world country to a top super power. The beauty industry is blooming in Brazil due to the growth in the economy and increase of the middle class. About 40 million people have joined the middle class in the past decade in Latin America. Consumers have increased purchasing power and are open to buying different kinds of products. Brazil now accounts for 10 percent of the global beauty products market, putting it in third place behind USA and Japan.
According to the Brazilian Association of Beauty, the growth of the industry attributes to several factors, including the increasing number of women in the workplace and the seemingly constant launches of new products (example: Keratin treatments that was such an explosion worldwide). I see that women are working more, have more money and are having fewer children, which allows them to have even more money and time to take care of themselves. My grandmother had 10 kids, did not work and did not have time for herself…. We don't see that it in Brazil anymore. Beauty is VERY important in Brazil now days. “Vaidade” (or vanity), doesn't have a negative connotation in "Brazilian" Portuguese. I guess that's why the country is seen as a symbol of “tropical sensuality” in the foreign imagination.
I will say that the mentality of the Brazilian women have changed a lot in the past few years. They have become very career oriented and taken over the business world, but for sure they have not given up on their style and appearance. Which explains very well the growth in the industry – their loyalty to making the most of their looks is contributing big time. The pursuit of beauty is so high on the agenda for the Brazilian women that new research shows they spend 11 times more of their annual income on beauty products than UK women – which is a huge investment.
For the past 12 years, INOAR has grown together with the industry, always innovating and launching very exclusive and high-end products that helped change the trends worldwide (such as pioneering the Keratin Treatment in the country).
About Sao Paulo:
Sao Paulo is the world’s 3rd largest city in population - it is a very busy, crowded and most importantly, advanced city. It is really a first world city! The best Brazilian hair stylists are in Sao Paulo. Two of the most important Beauty Shows in the world are hosted in the city, where the main brands of cosmetics, beauty and hair-dressing of Latin America, Europe and USA are present, together with top professionals of this industry. That said, Brazil is a super power, a huge country with over 193 million people 26 states, but Sao Paulo is still the heart of the country.
And what languages do you speak?
I speak Portuguese, Spanish and English. And I DO use all 3 languages daily (at home and at work). :-)
Image: Edward Teitel, created for Inoar Professional
