Meninos Rei takes colorful Salvador suburban fashion to the world

By Fernando Barros

What do the look of singer Iza at “The Voice Brasil” semi-final last December and the prints of Mangueira‘s Baianas wing at Rio Carnival this year have in common?

Both carry the signature of Meninos Rei, a brand created by the siblings from Bahia, Junior Rocha (42) and Céu Rocha (41).

With exclusive productions for celebrities and participation since 2021 in São Paulo Fashion Week, the brand is one of the highlights of the new generation of fashion.

Today, emerging on the national scene, everything began as a form of experimentation eight years ago in the railroad suburb of Salvador.

At the time, the brothers made a few pieces for personal use and at the request of friends.

Betting on vibrant colors, eye-catching prints, afro fabrics combined in patchwork, wide models and pieces that range from shirts and jackets to pants and overalls, Junior and Céu want to value our African ancestry and reconnect fashion with the style that emanates from the streets.

THE BEGINNING

The brothers’ relationship with fashion has been present since childhood.

“Already at the age of 10, 11, we liked to dress differently from our friends, and we had a lot of freedom at home to express ourselves,” says Céu Rocha.

“Our mother used to take us to fabric stores to choose what we wanted, my father was a technical designer, and our grandmothers and aunts used to sew, so it was always around us,” Junior Rocha completes and recalls that they both worked in clothing stores, and this involvement with fashion intensified while working in retail.

“I also worked with Margareth Menezes for 20 years, first as a stylist and then doing her production”, he recalls.

The brand was created in the railroad suburb of Salvador with a small production for friends, and initially, it was just shirts.

“Then we realized that we could unfold our product and make other pieces to complement the look,” they say.

THE TURNING POINT

For the brothers, everything changed when the brand arrived at São Paulo Fashion Week in 2021.

“Everyone who works with fashion wants to get to that place. We know that brands like ours, outside the Rio-SP axis, have difficulty getting their work recognized”, says Céu.

Today, eight years after the creation of the brand, the biggest challenge for the duo is to stay in the market.

“Many times, it is difficult to break through certain barriers and make our work reach big companies, media, and institutions here,” says Céu.

“We are from Salvador, live here, and want to be recognized within our city. However, we have already been to the Southeast, to the biggest fashion show in Latin America, which is São Paulo Fashion Week, we have already taken Bahia out of the country, and we can’t get sponsorship from anyone here,” laments Junior.

A DIVERSE CATWALK

In the Meninos Rei fashion shows, there has always been an eye for diversity in fashion. And on purpose.

“For many years, fashion fed a Eurocentric standard: white, thin, tall, but nowadays, you can’t pretend that diversity isn’t there. Black, fat, and disabled bodies exist and are not minorities as they would have us believe one day,” says Céu.

“Meninos Rei’s fashion does not feed this system that sickens and kills people; it is inclusive and respectful and works to rescue self-esteem and personal valuation.”

“The brands unaware of this are on the wrong track and will be left behind,” he says.

ON FAMOUS BODIES

Margareth Menezes was the first celebrity to wear Meninos Rei.

The list is extensive: Iza, Carlinhos Brown, Ivete, Gilberto Gil, Larissa Luz, Deborah Secco, Jojo Todynho, and Tia Má.

“Rihanna and Beyoncé may also join it,” jokes Céu.

In 2022, Meninos Rei made its first international incursion at Milan Fashion Week at the invitation of Kel Ferey, a designer who has a project where she takes Brazilian brands to parade in Milan.

“Europeans are not used to wearing prints, and the receptivity to our mix was very good: they gave us a standing ovation, which was very gratifying. It pushes us to keep doing what we do,” they say.

FORWARD, A REVOLUTION

In an exercise of futurology, ten years from now, Céu envisions making history within the fashion market.

“I see Meninos Rei recognized as synonymous with transformation,” he says.

For 2023, the plans include having their own physical space for customer service.

Today the brand has a studio in Salvador, in Itapuã, where the brothers work with four sewists in a small production chain.

“We also want to invest in the brand’s expansion and internationalization. Let’s do it,” Céu is excited.

If you ask, in a few words, how the brothers define the brand, the answers are equally great.

“Meninos Rei is love, respect, ancestry, and resistance.”

With information from UOL