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 Liz, a Brazilian producer of lingerie, developed a line of underwear and bras inspired on belly dancing. The products were released in May and can already be found in the Arab countries. "The dance is an icon of femininity," says Lígia Buonamici Costa, the company operations director and product's creator.
"The dance is an icon of femininity," stated Lígia Buonamici Costa, the company operations director and creator of the product.
According to Lígia, this is the second time that the company develops a theme collection, to stay on the market for one year. In 2004, the products were inspired on Japan. The inspiration to create the new line, baptized "Raks Sharki", which means "belly dance" in Arabic, came from a study she did at the "Museum of the Arab World", in Paris.
"I started researching the origin of belly dancing and found it wonderful," she said. "It is the dance of fertility," she added.
The collection has 12 products, among them panties, thongs, mini boxers, bras and tops. The products are all designed in jacard, a type of fabric that permits the mixture of colours as production.
According to Lígia, the designs on the products were extracted from illustrated Arabic books. Apart form the drawings, research was also done on the clothes used in the dance, which, according to Lígia, always uses sophisticated items.
"After the research we translated everything to the current technology. The products are in fashion, they have technology and are comfortable," she said.
Some of the products in the Raks Sharki are accompanied by an ankle bracelet with little gold plated plates with Arabic writing on them. Another differential is that all the products are packed in tulle, which brings to mind the veils used in the dance.
According to Lígia, all the promotional material, like packages, product tags and point of sale equipment has images that recall the Arab culture, such as dancers and the architecture.
According to Lígia, all the underwear is made without seams, making the product more comfortable. The colours of the collection vary from the most basic like white, black and beige to the brighter red, turquoise and coral.
In May this year, Lígia travelled to Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, to present her new collection to the Lebanese. "I went to meet our customers and it was a marvellous sensation to see the Liz products in shop windows," she said.
The company has an exclusive representative in Lebanon, and he has over 100 clients. The same representative is responsible for the sale of Brazilian lingerie in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Exports to Lebanon began in September 2003.
According to Lígia, the products shipped to the Arab countries are the same as those sold in Brazil. The only demand they make is regarding the size of the bras, which must follow international size standards.
"I felt that in Lebanon there is a great appreciation for breasts. Women like a lot of padding in their bras," she stated.
Other products that are popular on the foreign market are thongs. "The product does not mark the clothes. We sell much more outside Brazil than here," she said.
"During the year we exported three large loads to Lebanon," stated Lígia, who does not state quantities due to company norms. The Arab countries are among the 15 greatest markets for Liz.
However, the main clients are Chile and Mexico. Apart from Lebanon, the new collection is already being exported to England, the United States, Chile, Peru, Spain, Argentina and Japan.
Profile
Located in the city of Jundiaí, in the interior of the state of São Paulo, Liz is one of the brands of CMR Indústria e Comércio Ltda., established in 1989.
Turned to the female public between 25 and 50 years, the brand counts on 6 lines of products. Apart from Liz, the company also produces In. Joy, turned to the adolescent public.
The group currently exports to 53 countries and 20% of revenues come from foreign sales. The factory is located in an area of 35,000 square meters and has 920 employees.
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