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Snapshot: Fernanda Carneiro |
| Written by Mary Welch |
| February 01, 2010 |
Style Tips from Brazilian Fashion Designer Fernanda Carneiro was born in the southern Brazilian town of Porto Alegre. From an early age, she showed a love of fashion and design. Her paternal grandmother encouraged her creativity and taught her the importance of impeccable construction and refined taste for fashion design. Carneiro came to the United States and lived in Miami and Los Angeles. She graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in marketing and then graduated from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles. After graduation, she worked with many fashion labels including BCBC Max Azria. In 2008, she launched her namesake line, Fernanda Carneiro, featuring vividly colored silks and separates. She received the 2010 Fashion Angel Award for Emerging Designers from the city of Los Angeles. Womenetics: We hear so much about Brazilian women and how they possess something special and different. What is it? Fernanda Carneiro: I think it’s just the Brazilian culture that we share. In a general sense, we are happy, outgoing people who are moved by music, art, and the beauty of nature. We appreciate our families and friends and are very loyal to them. We don’t let life just pass idly by. I think these are qualities people can easily see and are attracted to. Womenetics: You have captured the attention of the media and the design community. What does it take to break in and get noticed? Carneiro: Hard work! I think as a designer you have to be true to yourself and uphold the quality of your product. If you bring something new and different, but still beautiful and wearable, to the table, you will be noticed. Womenetics: What do you think of Project Runway? Carneiro: I really enjoy watching Project Runway, but would not want to participate in it. Certainly there are many deadlines to keep up with in the real world, but the few hours the contestants are given to make their garments from start to finish seems more stressful than fun to me. I do however like the idea of taking a challenge that makes you look at your fabrics and designs in a different way. The potential of getting a final product that you love, and that you might not have thought of otherwise, is fantastic. Womenetics: What’s the key to personal style? Carneiro: Knowing who you are and how you want to present yourself to the world. It’s surely not just following trends. It’s knowing what looks good on you and most importantly, what makes you feel good about yourself. Womenetics: What are the top three mistakes women commonly make when putting outfits together? Carneiro: One is over-accessorizing. You shouldn’t overwhelm your look by adding too much glitz or accessories that are too large and end up detracting from your outfit. Another is matching too much. Mixing colors, adding prints, if done in the right way, looks so much more interesting and shows off a better sense of style than just wearing pieces that exactly match each other. Matching is too old-fashioned. Lastly, and most importantly, make sure what you are wearing fits. The only way you’ll feel and look good is to wear clothes that fit your current body (not the body you used to have or will have). It’s very difficult to buy clothes off the rack that fit perfectly. The fit for my collection is not the industry standard because I don’t believe that works well enough. I have given my designs a little extra room in the hips and have adjusted the fit in almost all areas. Still, no two women have the exact same body so adjustments will almost always have to be made. A great tailor can be a girl’s best friend. Womenetics: How would you describe your line, and who is the perfect woman for this line? Carneiro: I describe my aesthetic as modernized retro. I love the feminine looks of the ´50s, ´60s, and ´70s, but I also love what is current, and think it’s important to look toward the future. The majority of my pieces are simple silhouettes but have details like seaming and color-blocking done in unexpected ways. I also like to give my customer options so I design reversible garments or garments with removable details. The perfect woman for my line is a smart, classy woman that likes to have fun without compromising sophistication. Womenetics: When a woman is just having a bad day and is feeling awful, what should she put on to cheer her up? Carneiro: Color. I love to work with bright, upbeat colors, and I think that is the easiest way for anyone to feel better instantly. I think color can affect mood and so wearing all black vs. wearing bright yellow or green can really make a big difference in how you feel. Womenetics: Each year designers come up with different inspirations for their lines. How do you come up with yours? What inspires you that you put into your designs? Carneiro: Inspiration for me is all around. It’s difficult sometimes to pinpoint exactly what the inspiration was for a particular design, but it’s definitely a work in observation. Looking at things in a different way, seeing something others don’t. I’ve been inspired by travel, nature, films, art, music, books, among other things. Womenetics: Whose fashion career would you like to emulate? Carneiro: I would love to emulate Carolina Herrera. Not only is her work gorgeous, but she herself is so beautiful and elegant as well. Her collections are always chic but with elements of fun and that’s what I like to bring to my designs. Womenetics: Who would be your dream celebrity to dress? Carneiro: It’s hard to pick just one celebrity because there are so many that I think would look great in my designs. Above all, I would love to dress celebrities whose work I admire. I’ll name a few ‒ Penelope Cruz, Natalie Portman, Reese Witherspoon, America Ferrera, Sandra Oh, Zoe Saldana. Special for Womenetics readers: For a limited time, Fernanda Carneiro will give Womenetics readers 15 percent off products from her online store. The coupon code is women15.  Mary Welch is Atlanta city editor of Womenetics: and a freelance writer for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Dawson Times, Plan Your Meeting magazine, and Atlanta Business magazine. She was editor-in-chief of Atlanta Woman magazine and editor of Business to Business and Catalyst magazines.
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