ABAPPUR: The Real Side Of Luxury

“Fashion belongs to France and Italy, my darling. Don’t change reality!”

The Fashion World is a symbol of creativity and evolution. It was the protagonist of scandals, revolutions and rights. For years synonymous with social emancipation and creativity, the sector has developed an important role inside society.

“Fashion brings about the evolution of Art, culture and also politics.”

The beginning of a real identity of Style was born in Europe. Europeans share their ancient tradition, adapting it with cutting edge technologies. For Fashion creatives, it’s really important to set the public at the top. They all are the inspirations of Maisons, by attracting both the market and the clients. As you know, there are quite a few brands, some of them are appreciated by one kind of public, or another one. Conquering the public is the new aim of Fashion. We all develop fashion through what we buy. If people buy Mini Bags, the majority of Maison will realize mini bag models to satisfy the public. The success depends upon the Brand and what it offers to us.

“Have you ever desired a bag or a cloth of a favourite brand?”

Inside the Fashion sector, each person shares its own vision of style, through a personalized outfit or an exclusive combination. Some of them prefer to choose only one Brand total outfit.

“All Brands narrate a personal vision of wearing people, captivating these creativity and story at the same time. If you love Loewe, Michael Kors, Celine or COACH, you’ll be the storyteller of your aesthetic vibes!”

Each Brand was born with an exclusive logo, a strategic production, a personal technique.

“Hermes is well known for the Birkin, well known as a pearl of luxury. Talking about Valentino Garavani, it promotes the old and famous Dolce Vita Aesthetic. And Versace?

Captivating the ancient Greek Aesthetic canons.”

In a manner of speaking, this situation is better known as Branding.

The aims of all maisons consists of respecting the following features, which some of them are really easy to understand:

• A personal Logo, symbol of identity and style

• A Story to narrate ( through quality, materials, collections, creatives and more)

• A Great number of fan.

• A well structured client target (some Brands prefer to captivate rich people, like Hermes, whereas Michael Kors promote the prototype of Available Luxury, Where all kinds of clients can enjoy high quality products.)

Talking about the last feature, it’s really important to explain better the relationship between a client's target and the quality of a product.

“As a Fashion Lover, I Analyze all dynamics of the sector. The role of the client is a strong topic, because it promotes the richness of a Brand. The more they buy Marc Jacobs products, the more the Maison earns, but there is more to know.

The client prefers to buy the Brand, rather than quality. An example?

Do you know that the majority of Louis Vuitton bags are not made with real leather? Why is the cost so high?

It’s easy. That’s because you pay for the Brand, or rather, a Brand is a guarantee. Some people think that Louis Vuitton is more high quality than COACH, for example. Let me deny it. COACH uses only high quality products, like real cotton and leather. COACH is considered the leader of leather production, but some people prefer to buy 2000$ Canvas LV bags, rather than a real leather COACH bag at 300-400$. The reason?

It’s the business of branding, darling.”

When you buy a 2000$ product, you pay the logo for more, or rather, the identity of a Brand, but that’s not enough, because it’s not a proper strategy, especially for the maisons investing in only high quality materials. That’s an outrage!

“Brands like Versace, Dolce and Gabbana, Balmain, also use materials such as polyester, but the cost is still high.

Polyester is the cheapest material in the world to realize bags, clothes and accessories. The polyester you find in Versace is as similar as Zara. What’s the difference?

The Brand produced it. Have you understood the process?”

Before thinking about the Brand, choose the quality first.

If you want to buy a product with a strong relationship between quality and cost, I’ll advise you:

• Jacquemus.

• COACH.

• Michael Kors Collection (MK is a commercial Brand, whereas it’s a real maison).

• Atelier Victoria’s Secret.

• Loewe.

But, wait a moment!

That’s not the end!

Do you know that there are brands that are not victims of branding?

“For the Young Generation, the Logo Brand is no longer worthwhile. They only want quality, quality and more quality.

For them, Maisons like Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Balenciaga are considered commercial, not professional”

In the last few years, models, magazines, agencies and photographers have lost the enthusiasm to collaborate with these Brands. More and more people stand up to this situation by creating independent and new Brands, capable of showing what the iconic Brands no longer show:

• A human story, where the founders are common people, capable of understanding the real exigencies of the public.

• Real Quality, without Branding.

• Strong motivation to recruit only creative people, without the requirement of a Degree or a long experience.

• An Abandon from the classic European and USA rules and identity. We need to see authenticity!

Among the quite a few innovative Brands respecting these features, I found out a real Pearl of Fashion.

A little information, the Brand is neither European, nor American!

Let’s talk about ABAPPUR, a Brazilian Brand.

Before starting, you’d think, "Why did I talk about a long topic and connect it with ABAPPUR. The reason is the following:

“I think that solace is an important feature to do during a storytelling, as to offer a dualism between the common sense and a different vision. When we talk about Gucci and Louis Vuitton, the audience grows, whereas an unknown Brand has no fame. Through this solace, I hope the situation can change.”

We all give importance to brands just having a long career and eternal fame, but, let’s change it. We all must let the new Brands be known to the public. That’s the reason why I wanted to analyze ABAPPUR 100%, from the name to the story.

ABAPPUR is the hope and creation of two sisters, Samara and Raíza. They are not the classic icons. They have a strong story to share with the public.

As Samara tells on interview:

"The story of ABAPPUR begins with my sister, Raíza, and me, long before we even knew we wanted to have a brand. We have always created together—first in fashion school, where we shared ideas and projects. Later, in the industry, we spent years working for other brands, always side by side, but carrying a common dream: to have something of our own, where we could infuse our essence into every detail. We love creating together, and this complicity is what moves us and everything we do.

ABAPPUR began to take shape through a college project—a collection of leather handbags that I entered into a competition. At the time, I had no idea that work would be the starting point for something much bigger. By a twist of fate, and in order to manually craft those bags, we met Anderson Borba, an incredible visual artist who was teaching leather accessory techniques in Brazil. He agreed to teach us the art of molded leather, and it led to months of intense learning—discovering how boiling water could transform leather into three-dimensional shapes, almost like sculptures.

But life went on, and that technique remained tucked away for a while. Years later, while working in the industry, Raíza and I felt something was missing. We wanted to create something of our own, with our identity, that was more than just clothing: an expression of art. That’s when we brought back the molded leather and spent two years perfecting the technique until we reached a finish that was luxurious yet retained its handcrafted essence.

I remember the day I saw our first 3D corset finished. It was magical—the leather held its shape as if it were preserving the story of every gesture we had put into it. Today, based on our research, we are the only ones in Brazil working with this level of detail and finish.

In late 2023, we took the leap and launched our e-commerce. Since then, ABAPPUR has become a blend of atelier and laboratory: we experiment with leather, fabric, and metal. And then there are the 'faces,' right? They were born from a desire to give the brand a personality, as if ABAPPUR itself were a persona—we even joke that she is the third creator of our collections.

Our first collection, 'Suspira' (Sigh), was our first breath in the world. The second, 'Encontros' (Encounters), speaks of the connections that move us, such as our partnership with Moncos (@_moncos_). And so we continue to write the history of ABAPPUR: with leather, hands-on work, and a lot of boldness to turn raw materials into something beautiful.

That’s it—a brand that carries our way of seeing the world and that, deep down, was born from a passion that refused to be forgotten.”

• Tell me what fashion means to you.

  
  

For us, beyond seeing fashion as a form of both collective and individual expression, it also represents the way we live.

• What’s the best strategy to become a successful brand in the global market?

  
  

In our view, a globally successful brand is one that remains true to its DNA and origins, staying alert to both market and social changes without ever setting aside its essence. Therefore, the best strategy is to stay faithful to the brand’s beliefs and mission, rather than being swept away by ephemeral trends.

• Is there another brand you take inspiration from? Tell me why.

One of our greatest inspirations is Bottega Veneta. Since one of Abappur’s core pillars is the constant search for manual techniques and finishes, Bottega masterfully translates both the tradition of craftsmanship and the excellence of technique applied to leather.

• Is quality more important than branding (the identity/logo)?

What we are building with Abappur answers this question. While we believe that branding can bring notoriety and results more quickly, we also believe that without quality, it is impossible to sustain a brand in the long term. That is why we choose to focus more on the quality of both our products and the service we offer; we know that while it may take longer to reach certain milestones, once we achieve them, we will be able to maintain them consistently.

• What kind of products does the brand create?

Abappur offers a range of products spanning clothing, lifestyle, and home. However, our main focus is on handcrafted leather goods, specifically those using the cuir bouilli (boiled leather) technique.

• Have you ever had the opportunity to take part in fashion events?

Not yet, but it’s one of our goals.

• Is this your first interview?

We have had interviews in Brazil before, but this is our first time speaking with an international interviewer.

• What is your vision for the future of the brand?

We believe Abappur has great potential to grow both nationally and internationally. We have a clear point of difference through our purpose as a brand, our aesthetics, our Brazilian origins, and the quality we deliver.

• What do you expect from the brand?

We expect Abappur to grow and for its DNA to become so recognizable that our pieces become timeless references, identifiable anywhere at any time, without losing our essence in the process.

• As a creative/brand, how would you motivate young fashion talents to take over the sector and gain a strong role in the industry?

“We would give the same advice we followed when we started Abappur and continue to follow every day: find something that truly moves you and do it your own way. Don’t just listen to what everyone else is doing or follow the same steps just because "that’s how it’s always been done." Do what you believe in, the way you believe in it. Be brave and be authentic.”

The story of Samara and Raíza shows the courage to dare out of common sense. As Samara teaches us, authenticity is the strongest feature to get success in life. I truly hope that her story can motivate the new promises of Fashion.

I’d like to tell the world a personal opinion about ABAPPUR:

“The Brand has successfully overcome BOTTEGA VENETA in the leather aesthetic and quality!”

Article By Pellecchia Giovanni

Photography @ylwpov and @jukneipp