Brazil’s first lady makes fashion a patriotic and sustainable cause

Since walking up the ramp of the presidential palace in January for the inauguration of her husband, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s first lady, Janja Lula da Silva, has become an activist in national fashion, with a wardrobe linked to various social causes.

“Janja,” as the 56-year-old sociologist Rosângela da Silva is known, has exchanged the casual style of “jeans” and sneakers she kept during the campaign with the leftist leader, 77, for a more elegant one, with designs made from regional raw materials, such as cotton or silk fibers, with colorful symbolism.

Among them, a red star, the symbol of Lula’s Workers’ Party, on the sole of a leather sandal; the print of Maria Bonita, Northeastern feminist icon, on a silk blouse; women’s cooperative embroidery on a blazer; and a sustainable skirt made of patchwork.

Janja, who married Lula in 2022, “has used various elements of political marketing to build her political figure as progressive, feminist, and connected to social issues,” says Benjamin Rosenthal, a personal “marketing” expert at the Getulio Vargas Foundation.

Her choices are aligned to resignify the role of the first lady, whose term she dismisses as “patriarchal” and asked not to be used.

In parallel, she intends to “take Brazilian designers wherever she goes”, as she said in January in an interview with Vogue magazine.

THE FIRST ONE WITH PANTS

From the Brazilian brand Reptilia, she wore models made with reused materials, with fabrics from old closed stores and others made with cotton peel.

“She brings practicality to the role of first lady, of a very hands-on person,” analyzes Heloisa Strobel, 36, founder of Reptilia, which gained special prominence with a red skirt worn by Janja in Argentina.

“She is not that first lady who will wear a tight dress below the knee and will barely be able to walk,” she adds.

On the other hand, this is an everyday outfit of former President Jair Bolsonaro’s (2019-2022) wife, Michelle, who used to wear pastel colors in contrast to Janja’s strong tones.

Stylists Helo Rocha and Camila Pedrosa drew attention when they dressed her for Lula’s wedding and inauguration, on January 1, in Brasilia, a ceremony in which she didn’t wear a dress, breaking the Brazilian first ladies’ customs.

On occasion, Janja wore silk pants dyed with cashew nuts and rhubarb – which grow in Brazil – with straw embroidery of indigenous tradition made by artisans from the Northeast.

“The pants are a symbol of female emancipation. In Brasília, until about 20 years ago, women could not wear it to enter Congress or the Supreme Court,” Rocha explains.

Janja’s modernity contrasted with the classic style of her husband, Lula, who wore a dark suit and tie.

DEEPER

At Misci, a prominent brand at São Paulo Fashion Week, the sociologist bought blazers, skirts, and shirts, such as the one that pays tribute to northeastern Brazilian Maria Bonita.

“Fashion materializes the sociopolitical moment. Janja took tools from the brand to speak through what she wears,” says Airon Martin, 31, creator of Misci.

“Abroad, Brazil is known for Carnival. But Brazil is deeper than that. We also have a powerful luxury industry, with incredible silk and cotton,” Martin argues.

Janja “wants to show what is best in Brazilian fashion, different from the obvious represented by a coconut tree print or the Copacabana sidewalk,” summarizes Heloisa Strobel.

In Brazil, the textile and apparel industry will move R$153 billion in 2022, according to industry estimates.

With information from AFP