The fashion world is constantly looking for the next big thing, sometimes in the most unlikely of places. But it seems like its newest rising star just so happened to be born into the family of the world’s most successful supermodel-Gisele Bundchen. Bundchen’s 5-year-old niece, Duda Bundchen, is following in the footsteps of her famous aunt (whose own signature collection produced by Belgium-based C&A has become an international hit) and is about to launch a clothing line, in partnership with the Brazilian kids-wear brand, Brandili Mundi.
The young Bundchen got her start when she was chosen as Brandili Mundi’s spokesmodel last year. Thanks to the success of the campaign, the company offered to extend her contract until 2013, while also giving the mini-model the chance to design her first solo collection, ‘Duda Bundchen For Brandili Mundi,’ which is expected to hit stores in July.
The collection was designed and produced with eco-friendly materials, which must have pleased aunt Gisele, a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and recently named the world’s greenest celebrity. As for the creative part, the youngster’s opinions were always taken into account.
“She told us about her preferences on prints, cuts and details, and based on the briefing we received from her we came up with a collaborative collection. The pieces were all approved by Duda, whose romantic inspiration will no doubt catch girls’ eyes,” says Germano Costa, the commercial and marketing director of Brandili Textil, the parent company to Brandili Mundi.
The campaign was shot in Duda’s hometown of Porto Alegre, in the south of Brazil, under the supervision of an army of some 30 professionals, including fashion producers, hairstylists, make-up artists, photographers and assistants. Duda’s parents, Raquel Bundchen (Gisele’s sister) and Paulo Borges, were also present at the shooting. You can watch the making-off video of the campaign here.
It’s a good moment to invest in the kids-wear segment in Brazil. According to ABIT, the Brazilian national association of textile industries, it’s a $4.5 billion market that is growing by 6% annually, representing at least 15% of the country’s clothing industry. And in spite of only 7.79% of Brazil’s population being between ages 5-9-as reported by IBGE, the government statistics agency-a research commissioned by ABRASCE, Brazil’s association of shopping centers, has recently found that 38% of parents acknowledged that kids have the last word on choosing what to buy and how they’ll dress.
The research has also shown that 44% of the parents who go to shopping malls in Brazil spend considerably more when accompanied by their children.
It’s uncertain if Duda, who’ll get a percentage of wholesale revenues from Brandili Mundi, is aware of those numbers. But she’s certainly one to watch.
Via Forbes
