Rio de Janeiro—known for Carnivals, samba, natural charm, beaches like the Copacabana, and Rio Fashion Week, which sponsors the Rio Moda Hype Award for new talent. This year, one of the recipients was 22-year-old Silvio Halleck.Born 1986 in Rio de Janeiro of Lebanese and United Arab Emirate parents, Silvio Halleck is one of the youngest, most talented designers around.
Having studied technology and fashion design at Rio’s University Veiga de Almeida, Silvio approaches menswear through the eyes of an engineer, strategically constructing silhouettes in a mathematical model for futuristic couture styling.
Compared to Raf Simons by Garçon Magazine, Silvio designed his first collection entitled "Metallurgic Engineering," which restores industrial colors to contemporary fashion, forging silver into jewelry and merging fabrics with heat, all of which idealize the artistic drippings of abstract impressionist, Jackson Pollock.
Silvio was kind enough to accept an exclusive interview with Men’s Fashion by Francesco; so, now, I would like to introduce you this fast emerging designer from Rio, Silvio Halleck of Halleck Fashion Engineering.
Besides your background in technology and fashion, what inspires your creations?
I like to develop clothes thinking about a unique style: avant-garde and futuristic. I am inspired by things that surprise me—new things that have a very strong style. I also look for new designers, especially Belgians, who are not afraid to show their full potential, and other great designers like John Galliano, Hussein Chalayan, Hedi Slimane, Raf Simons, Jill Sander, and Gareth Pugh.
Could you comment on the fashion scene in Brazil?
Brazilian men's fashion is currently growing well and is revealing quite a big potential.
Some designers like Alexandre Herchcovitch, Mario Queiroz, and Ivan Aguilar are some examples of this.
How do you see your role within Brazilian fashion?
Halleck's goal is not deconstruction but rather reconstruction. Our style laboratory researches creating new ways of draping with an engineer’s eyes. Halleck's labels lean towards a more exclusive fashion, not only for Brazilians but also for people with great styles.
Slide show 2009 a/w collection Copyright by Halleck Fashion Engineering.
