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It is interesting to see how a subject that is usually considered frivolous (fashion) can gain such notoriety as a social thermometer of our times around this time of the year.

Yes, award season highlights this aspect of fashion much more than the fashion weeks, runaway shows and premieres combined. After many celebrities and Hollywood bigwigs have walked the many red carpets (leading to the culminating event, the Academy Awards that took place this past weekend), we all have analysis on why the looks were the way they were, either via a social-economic related blurb or a self-indulgent “best and worst” list.

Want a better comparison? A simple search on Google Insights for Search (a free Google tool used to gauge volume any search term) shows that the search for “oscar red carpet” is higher than search for “fashion week” or even “new york fashion week” (which is actually a longer event that the Oscars).

But even more interesting is the fact that the collective way people dressed on the red carpet actually means something! Here is the part when overnight, fashion itself becomes the thermometer of our times as I mentioned above. So, if the colors were somber, and the looks seemed to be so alike it may indicate a concern in avoiding too much glamour at such (possible end-of-the-word scenario?) times.  Well, perhaps.

If we consider that the stars are dressed for such occasions by a handful of stylists that are paid by the movie studios, the implication may be that these celebrity stylists are indeed these oracles, who use fashion as a way to represent our current global society. And that is not because they are the ones who actually create the clothes and support an entire industry, but because they are perceived as so as Google Insights search volumes have showned. So, the Oscar really goes to them.

  Since most of you have shown preference for my Brazilian nail polish info, here is one of the spring collections release down here. On these nail fashion related posts, I will be mentioning mainly 3 Brazilian brands: Colorama, Risqué and Impala. These are the oldest and more traditional brands.

Here is a spring collection for Colorama called Respeitável Público (something like Respectable Public) which is somehow circus themed. I think some of the colors seems a bit winter-y (too dark) but you can see coral and bright dark pinks as well, which are much more spring-y.

For full disclosure purpose, the wide range of nail polish colors is a relatively new phenomenon in Brazil, about 5-10 years ago it would be near impossible to find such range among Brazilian brands (some analytists blame Channel´s release of Blue Satin mail polish as the culprit for such change here.

The Brazilian nail polish market has also grown exponentially in the past 5-10 years, which I will explain in my next post…stay tuned.

Here is a look from the Colorama nail polish Summer 2010 – 2011 collection (this is a Brazilian brand that was purchased by Mabeline).

Needless to say, I am no hand model…This is a military trend inspired green hue that is very up-to-date with the global military fashion trend. Accirding to fellow bloggers (and fellow Brazilian from Loucas por Esmalte – or Crazy For Nail Polish- blog), the Militar maybe inspired  by Chanel’s Khaki Vert (which is not yet available in the Brazilian market).

Image courtesy of Loucas por Esmalte

Colorama is a Brazilian born nail polish company that has been around since I was little. They were recently bought by Us based cosmetic giant Mabelline, although I could not find more info on this online.

Colorama has great market share in Brazil, both on beauty salons as well as on retail. Their nail polish collections are hits amongst Brazilian women, so the Summer 2010/2011 collection is posed for success as well.

The collection brings 7 new colors that closely follow fashion international trend. It also has a more varied palette when compared to other nail polish collection from other major competitors, which are very much based on pinks and red hues.

Colors:
Militar (Military) – green hue based on the military trend on international runaways;
Jeans – deep blue hue that borrows from the denim
Hippie Chic – light blue hue
Tapete Vermelho (Red Carpet) – deep red hue
Clubber – vibrant pink hue
Rock – black with slight glittery effect
Clássico (Classic) – smooth and minimalistic whitish hue

Colorama also has a low retail price (like most of its large competitors like Risque): R$ 2,15 or U$1,15.

Recently the weekly magazine Veja (a Brazilian Time Magazine wannabe that belongs to the largest local publishing company), had and article explaining a new measure of economic growth for the country: the Louis Vuitton bag indicator (I kid you not!).

This is howthe mag did it: they measured the steep growth of LV bag being sold and and looked closely at who is buying them now. The magazine claims that this is a sign not only of Brazil’s economic prosperity but also of its economic stability. Most buyers are middle class, working women that until very recently in Brazilian history would not be able to afford such purchases.

Similar to what Dana Thomas reported about chinese working women in her book “Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster“, Brazilians LV bag owners are all about showing off that they are moving on up, the most coveted bags are the ones covered with monograms, so its owners can easily show them off.

Another important reason for the growth in LV bag sales is that they allow its Brazilian buyers to pay in installments (which is very common here). It works like a lay-away of sorts but customers do take the bags with them immediately and pay the monthly installments via their credit cards. One of the women mentioned is the owner of a beauty salon in the countryside of Sao Paulo state, who has purchased no less than 7 LV bags in the last 2 years (chances are she spent 24 months paying for all of them).  Also, interestingly enough, these women mentioned that they had already purchased cheaper knock-offs before being able to afford the real thing.

Also curious is that LV has been the brand of choice for these emerging customers, while of ther logo-covered options lag behind (Gucci, for instance). It either means that LVMH has been doing an amazing branding job on these markets, or the other companies are doing a rather poor one.