Fernanda Yamamoto’s Summer 2011 collection is sweet to both mind and eye. Her debut at São Paulo Fashion Week earlier this month is an interpretation of aerial photos of the city. “I was inspired by the city of São Paulo but looked at it from a different point of view. The clouds played an important role in the inspiration, specifically because I looked at some images of clouds reflected in buildings.”

Fernanda Yamamoto Summer 2011

Sidewalk textures, building shapes, street patterns and cloud reflections are all recreated in Yamamoto’s collection. For this, silk gauze plays a large role. It is felted, sanded and embroidered to achieve the desired colors, textures and patterns.

Jewelry by Rosely Kasumi

Volumes created by “tunnel-shaped folds”

Collection details include leather bias tape

Shoes by Ciao Mao

Hair by Marcos Costa

Felting detail

Yamamoto’s educational background is impressive. Before attending Parsons she was already equipped with a degree in Business Administration. Regardless, she feels that, “…there is no better school than everyday challenges and reality.” Yamamoto opened her store last November in São Paulo’s Vila Madalena neighborhood, inviting other designers to share the space through “FY Convida“, or Fernanda Yamamoto Invites. “[It] means that at the store I invite other designers to sell and show their work. They are all young Brazilians with fresh and design-oriented work. The Brazilian market, unfortunately, is ruled a lot by copy-oriented brands with very high prices. Sometimes I feel the consumer does not see the the cost-benefit of a product and take into consideration the relationship between price/design/quality/innovation. They are guided by brands, and the higher the price, the better. Luxury itself is defined by how much an article costs.”

The Fernanda Yamamoto store in São Paulo’s Vila Madalena neighborhood

Please be sure to view the “Making of SPFW” blog post. It gives an idea of the level of sophistication in Yamamoto’s clothes.

Cloud panels on the Fernanda Yamamoto Summer 2011 catwalk