WE SIT WITH LETHICIA BRONSTEIN A SOON TO BE HUGE BRAZILIAN DESIGNER ABOUT HER PROCESS, THE WAY SHE DRESSES WOMEN, AND WHERE HER BRAND IS GOING

BY HUNT ETHRIDGE

Lethicia Bronstein, a well known stylist and designer in her native Brazil, is about to go global. Operating out of her studio in São Paulo, she creates looks for actresses, models, singers, and other “it” girls in the contemporary scene (including, on these shores, Jennifer Lopez, Kelly Rowland, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Jasmine Tookes), as well as for brides and women who simply have good taste and wish to showcase their personality. The design goal is to, as she explained, “value the pro le of the modern woman who desires a striking style that is exclusive and worthy of the red carpet.”

INDUSTRY:
Your designs are already famous in Brazil. What challenges were involved in crossing over to the U.S.? How do the markets differ?

Lethicia Bronstein:
I think the biggest challenge was me believing that I could make it without a big investment plan that the clothes would speak for themselves. I wanted people to understand what I have to offer and what makes a Lethicia dress so special. The biggest difference is that what happens in the U.S. has a global repercussion.

INDUSTRY:
Is there anything you want to bring to the American market that you feel Brazil does better?

LB:
We have a different way in which we shape the female body. It’s both sexy and chic at the same time.

INDUSTRY:
In our age of fast fashion (a term used to indicate designs that move quickly from runway to racks), is it hard to continue creating atelier pieces?

LB:
I actually love fast fashion, have already created a collection for one of Brazil’s biggest fast fashion retailers, and it was a great success. I think couture is the desire and fast fashion is what’s affordable, so I would say that one needs the other. I will never stop designing couture because it’s my passion and it moves me. However, the average customer who comes to the maison, they’re looking for pieces with my DNA, so we also offer jeans, jackets, blouses, and other pieces that are easy to wear.

INDUSTRY:
Your life seems to strike a good balance of hard work and leisure one many in creative industries strive for. What’s a piece of advice you have for creatives to reach a healthy balance?

LB:
Enjoy every moment. If you are working, at a party, or just relaxing, be there completely and get the best of it. Don’t ever think that you could be somewhere else.

Lethicia Bronstein
lethicia.com.br