THE FILM CONFRONTING FASHION STEREOTYPES WITH YOUNG MODELS FROM BRAZIL'S FAVELAS
As cultures across the globe become increasingly more connected through the internet, the push toward inclusion and diversity in fashion becomes even more urgent — and depressingly even more apparent when the mark is missed. As the old power guards begin to give way to new generations of creatives influenced by the things around them — including the streets they're from — giving due credit, attention and opportunities to the originators of different styles is a vital part of nourishing a cultural ecosystem that is healthy and thriving rather than exploitative or vulturous. Fashion should be a means of expression, not oppression.
Enter Jacaré Moda, a modeling agency and production company that's transforming the fashion industry by bringing young people on the periphery into the center of the conversation. Jacaré casts models from in and around some of Brazil's poorest neighborhoods, including Jacarezinho — one of the biggest favelas in Rio de Janeiro. Founded by Jacarezinho resident Júlio César Lima, the agency started out by holding competitions to find and showcase new talent. As the competitions grew locally, the company grabbed the attention of bigger and bigger brands. Jacaré books models who are not only beautiful in their own individual and unique ways, but who resist the idea that favelas are only a place of poverty and violence. Models participate in workshops and learn new skills to take their careers and their communities to new levels.
Recently Jacaré teamed up with Papel & Caneta, a nonprofit collective made up of young people from creative agencies all over the world, to create a short film about Jacaré, featuring three of its models: Caio, Natália and Camila. The film premieres for the first time below, and PAPER asked the film's director Geoff Levy, Papel & Caneta connector André Chavez and Jacaré Moda partner Clariza Rosa to tell us more about the process behind the film and about the models themselves.
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