Clara Brito is a fashion designer, personal stylist, cultural curator and entrepreneur. Having studied equipment design in Lisbon and later fashion and textile design in Milan, she moved to Macau in 2004.
Since then she has been living in Macau and mainland China. During the years, she created her own brand, establishing a creative agency called LINES LAB. Clara chooses to maintain Macau as her base due to its proximity to a range of Asian countries. She finds the connection to mainland China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea is a definite advantage.
Clara gave her views on the challenges the industry faces. She says talent acquisition is less of an issue now the younger generation has had the opportunity to study outside Macau and they bring knowledge and experience from overseas.
The greatest challenge for the design industry in Macau is absorbing high overhead costs such as labour and rental. Clara says these have made design production in Macau less competitive.
Clara tells us, “The lack of supporting industries such as marketing, creative agencies, distribution and supply has made local designers work harder to promote their own work pieces, and not every designer has the skills to promote their designs.”
For these reasons, it is important for the design industry to diversify, such as entering the event business, gaining exposure and building connections with buyers and target audiences.
Other initiatives include in-depth study to understand the needs of local designers. For example, analysing case studies of successful designers to understand the key factors contributing to success. Conversely, Clara says it’s also important to study those who are struggling in the design industry. With the knowledge gained, the government can identify the key areas to invest resources into.
The design community in Macau is small, so collaboration among local designers will result in more positive outcomes than competing. Finally, Clara tells us that bringing in design from neighbouring countries offer tourists and local consumers more choices and raises the overall level of local design.
Clara’s next project involves raising awareness of traditional industries from Portuguese speaking countries by displaying collections of artwork and creative pieces. One of the exhibitions in the series will be opening on 15 November at the Taipa Village Art Space.
The exhibition is organized by Macau CSR strategic partner Taipa Village Cultural Association.
