THE FASHION/MUSIC ROMANCE WITH PAMELA COLPO

Fashion designer/stylist Pamela Colpo of Brazil creates outfits for Brazilian rapper Karol Conka.

  It’s very likely that you and every member of your family identifies a part of themselves based on the music that they enjoy. This factor also means that each of you recognize and assimilate a certain part of the fashion influence these artists have had on the public. You might wear flannel, skinny jeans, of even neon based on the music that you love. Whether you associate yourself with the Rat Pack, Madonna, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Beyoncé, or any number of past or current artists…they have likely led you to make a decision about the clothes that you wear or have worn. Music and fashion are eternally linked. They inspire each other and follow each other. It’s as natural a pairing as wine and cheese, beer and pizza, chocolate and strawberries. Brazilian Fashion Designer and Stylist Pamela Colpo both understands this facet of society and is a sought after artist in this regard. Most recently she served to create a striking outfit for Brazilian rapper Karol Conká. One of the most prominent female rappers in Brazil today, Conka’s music is a blend of modern hip-hop and rap with sounds from Brazilian pop and traditional music. This sonic design is augmented and complemented by Colpo’s design presenting confidence and playfulness simultaneously. The designer/stylist has often made her motto, “Fashion lets you explore you.”

  There’s no denying that music and fashion have always walked arm in arm. Both are in their own manner a form of art. Music icons often serve as facilitators or ambassadors of brands with which they identify themselves. As these artists have become more daring and extroverted so has their connection with the brands who correlate with their sensibilities. Whether it’s a Big Band of the 40s or a Hip Hop artist of the 2010s, it’s a mutually beneficial relationship. Many music icons have appropriated this connection and created collaborations or signature clothing lines with the brand. The creations and expressions of these musicians are more than fashion itself and, in some cases, these collaborations have helped many brands to reposition themselves. Those who buy the apparel which presents the same attitude and style as the artist do so because it makes the wearer by proxy closer to that artist, a fact which is not lost on both sides of the equation. Put succinctly, music and fashion bring people closer together.

  When Colpo was tasked with conjuring an outfit that presented the confidence, beauty, and playfulness of Conka, it was an opportunity for the fashion designer/stylist to be somewhat more daring. Karol Conka is powerful and bold onstage and Pamela felt it incumbent on her to match this presentation. Working with Mormaii, Colpo discussed the setting of the video and its overall vibe. Inspired by the setting of Japan for the video and Conka’s magnetic presence, Pamela melded state of the art modern materials with a decidedly artistic homage to the location. Inspired in her research by the traditional Japanese kimono, Colpo took this aesthetic and applied it to a modern textile. The first garment Mormaii created in the 1970’s was the wetsuit. Paying homage to this, the outfit was created with a new neoprene fabric, oversized as people embraced in Japan and communicating a feeling of athleisure. The outfit is made of a breathable neoprene to allow for greater comfort.

  The video Karol Conka - Farofei feat. “Boss in Drama” has garnered more than three million views to date. Its success has served to further Conka’s popularity, Moormaii’s brand, and increased Colpo’s notoriety in the fashion industry. Athleisure has become a major trend globally and the sense of style and creativity which Pamela applied has focused attention on her fashion forward outlook in this approach. She concedes that the attention she received for her work on this was not completely expected but has gained her more opportunities to explore the playful side of her creative personality in this vocation. Her work with such recognizable names as Chilli Beans, Coca Cola, and others vets her substantial contributions. There are many more risks that will be taken to propel the successive wave of new musicians and Pamela Colpo is poised and ready to enable them.