Atlas of Fashion Designers

Fashion Identity, Diversity and Design Around the World

 e traditional demarcation line of fashion—London, Paris, New York and Milan—is

changing its original boundaries. Humanity is too rich, heterogeneous, multicultural and

dynamic to center its attention exclusively on these four cities. While we continue to view

these places as the neuralgic centers of fashion, we are increasingly paying attention to

designs coming out of diff erent parts of the world, ones that promise to explode the pan-

orama of international fashion in the years ahead.

 is is the idea on which Atlas of Fashion Designers is based: the importance of looking

beyond the epicenters of fashion, yet without losing sight of them. It represents a way

of evolving in a diverse, increasingly connected world, one in which a 180-degree turn is

expected in the new millennium.

In contrast to previous years, the most important international catwalks are beginning to

be dotted with the work of designers of diverse origins: Russians, Indians, Brazilians, Poles,

Chinese, Pakistanis, Israelis, Ghanaians, South Africans…  is shift is a refl ection of the

new millennium, one characterized by a melting pot of cultures that wish to express and

reassert their identity in an increasingly globalized world.

 e principal aim of this book is to demonstrate the heterogeneous nature of current fash-

ion, fashion that transcends frontiers as the only mode of growing and renovating itself in

order to avoid becoming obsolete, fashion that keeps in step with the signs and symbols

that defi ne our times. Identity, globalization, place, hybridization, sustainability, innova-

tion, research, luxury, and new systems of productions, all linked to craftsmanship and fair

trade, form the centerpiece of the work of designers who articulate this new conception of

identity in the twenty-fi rst century, one with local roots yet a global projection.

Such is the case of Brazilian designer Isabela Capeto, whose work is characterized by its

high level of social commitment and a warm, indigenous craftsmanship marketed success-

fully throughout the world.  is is also true of Indian designer Manish Arora, who has

ably transported his singular aesthetic to Western markets, ones fascinated by the exuber-

ant richness of his culture.  ese examples are no accident, as India and Brazil, along with

Russian and China (the so-called BRIC nations), are countries in full economic expansion

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Fashion Identity, Diversity and Design Around the World

Photography courtesy of Nina Donis

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Fashion Identity, Diversity and Design Around the World