The year of 2008 is a mark for Nippon-Brazilian diplomacy. This is because exactly 100 years ago, on June 18, 1908, the ship Kasato Maru arrived at the port of Santos (State of São Paulo), which brought 165 Japanese families in search of work opportunities on the Brazilian coffee ranches at the time. It was the beginning of Japanese immigration to Brazil.
Now Brazil prepares for a series of celebrations in honor of the relations between Brazil and Japan, and the textile and confection industry in the country could not be left out.
After all, the sector’s commerce between the two countries is significant: in 2007 the Brazilian textile chain exported 57.6 million dollars to Japan, and imported 15.5 million. The commercial balance between the two countries closed at 42.1 million.
This year, for the second consecutive time, Brazilian fashion will invade Tokyo, during Brazil Fashion Now 2008, which will take place from March 11 to 14.
The event, organized by the Brazilian Agency of Promotion of Exports and Investments (APEX-Brazil) in partnership with the Brazilian Embassy in Japan, counts on support from the Brazilian Association of Textile and Confection Industry (ABIT), through the Texbrasil Program, besides other associations such as Brazilian Association of the Shoe Industry (Abicalçados) and the Brazilian Association of Stylists (ABEST).
The event took place at Omotesando Hills Tokyo, a mall located in the downtown area of the most sophisticated neighborhood in the Japanese capital. Four brands will participate in the event through the Texbrasil Program: Apoena, Faven, GIG and Márcia Ganem.
“This initiative seeks to, mainly, strengthen the image of Brazil and its products in Japan, thus increasing the commercial relationship and cooperation between the two countries”, says Apex-Brasil president, Alessandro Teixeira.
As one of the 36 target countries of Texbrasil, Japan has also already been benefited with some promotion tools for the exporting of the Program in 2008. Some of them took place at Fashion Rio and at Fashion Business, with the coming of journalists and buyers from the country.
Kyoko Masunari, editor of Gap Japan magazine, was one of the participating journalists of Projeto Imagem, which invites the international journalists to see the textile chain in Brazil.
“I hope to continue contributing to the growth of Brazilian fashion, since I believe that the country’s fashion and textile sector has great international potential”, she said.
Buyer Mariko Komiyama, from United Arrows, was in the country in January, making purchases in Fashion Business. For the first time she was in Brazil, and highlighted the Buyer Project, responsible for the travel of international buyers, was essential for her to see the local confections: “Due to the distance between the two countries, coming to Brazil was only possible due to invitation from the Texbrasil Program, which covered my travel and accommodation cost.
The distance can make our contact with Brazilian companies harder. Now, after I saw these brands, I discovered a very special fashion, with innovating design pieces”, she says.
