Íris Santos Design

Fashion with grit

“To her, fashion has always been more than making clothes or accessories. There is a long process of work that substantiates the conception of the product.”

“Life opens doors for us and we have to know how to take advantage of them.” It was this way that Íris Santos explained the leap her life took when she decided to create her namesake brand. The year was 2011 and Íris was in the middle of a Masters in History, after a degree in Archeology. At that time, it was common to create your own dresses based on capulana, so the process turned out to be natural.

At the time, she recalls, “women in the city didn’t wear capulana dresses. This was seen as something traditional, which the cosmopolitan woman did not want to be associated with.” That was, then, the challenge that Íris embraced, in order to change this perception and show the beauty of this fabric through her eyes. To her, fashion has always been more than making clothes or accessories. There is a long process of work that substantiates the conception of the product.

The richness of capulana, its beauty, soul and look, captivated her from the beginning. It was the fusion of the patterns of this fabric with others from different cultures that gave Íris Santos Design a unique identity. That and the fact that the brand has a capulana with its own pattern and a philosophy “to seek perfection for customers.”

As a pragmatic person, Íris saw in the creation of portfolios and purses the natural evolution of her business. “I thought, ‘how can I make customers’ lives easier?’ and the answer was: ‘creating bags that match the clothing, that can be used for work or casually’.”

But the designer is not limited to creation. A strong supporter of women’s empowerment, Íris created the “Mulheres de Garra” (“Women with Grit”) lives, to teach young women ways to be successful, bringing topics such as entrepreneurship to the conversation. “As a fashion designer, my creative work consumes only 5% of the time, the rest is dedicated to management, problem solving, logistics and accounting = plain entrepreneurship. I believe that we can learn from others and avoid mistakes, that’s why Mulheres de Garra exists.”

Paying attention to the pulse of the economy, Íris guarantees that her brand is successfully going through this stage of the pandemic, thanks to her capacity for reinvention. On the one hand, they have the online store, which allows them to remain active and, on the other hand, the SOLARA collection, inspired by her daughter, a way of dressing babies “fashionably” and making mothers comfortable.

Íris created the “Mulheres de Garra” (“Women with Grit”) lives to convey to young women ways to be successful.

Issue 66 Mar/Apr | Download.