Rosa Cha at Claro Rio Summer 2008 Fashion Event

Brazil is not just one of the hottest travel destinations, but it is known for its hot fashion as well. For Claro Rio Summer 2008 fashion event, Amir Slama certainly spiced up the runway with his newest Rosa Cha collection in Forte de Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The collection features flowy beach cover ups, bandeau tops and a rich tempting color palette of pink, deep blue and exotic prints as well as shimmering silver. The runway was absolutely stunning as the models walked on water with their heels for a splashing hot runway show. You can watch the video of the runway show after the photos below.

Cha Claro Rio Summer 2008, Brazil

World’s Most Expensive Bra by Victoria’s Secret

This exclusive bra made by Victoria’s Secret, and presented by Brazil’s own Adriana Lima costs a sparkling $5 million making it the world’s most expensive bra! The exquisite bra, which looks more like a jewellery piece than lingerie, is adorned with 3,575 black diamonds, 34 rubies, 117 certified one-carat round diamonds, and over 3,900 stunning gems. With all these precious beauties and diamonds, this is no ordinary lingerie. In case, $5 million is just a tad too much for you to spend on lingerie, you can always settle down for the $1,355,000 diamond bra, which comes second on the pricey bra list.

Power Catamarans: New, Hot and Fast

Power catamarans may be a recent addition to the popular yacht market but they have been in existance for a very long time. The catamaran was first discovered to be used in a small fishing community in the southern coast of Tamil Nadu, India in the 5th century AD. The development of the power catamaran incorporates the best features of the motor yacht combined with the multihull characteristic. Nathanael Herreshoff designed a racing catamaran in 1876, which was banned by the New York Yacht Club because it was actually too fast.

In fact, power catamarans or power cats, are known for their increased speed, more space, and less expensive engines. Another attractive feature of these power cats is their stability. Because of their double hulls and greater beam, the catamarans offer a steadiness that single-hull yachts cannot offer. However, the larger beam is one of its disadvantages since many marinas simply cannot fit you.

The catamaran design remains relatively young and so, there is a great future for experimentation compared to the monohull yachts. There are already  power cats with hydrofoils, power cats that rely on solar energy and even power cats that look like single hulls above the water because of its faux bows feature. The market for power cats is still in its early stages but we see a growing trend and popular interest is on the definite increase.

The faster speed and increased space combined with the attractive lower costs attract many yacht lovers, but as for any other new market, make sure you do your research and examine your options carefully, talk to power cat owners, and most importantly take you time and find what best suits you!

As for my opinion, I can definitely state that I love these power cats! Ever since sailing in the Caribbean in one of these beauties, I fell in love. It offers great space and the speed is unbelievable! Yes, it can be harder for single-hull yacht owners to adjust since it is much larger and it sure feels different when you sail it; both because of its better steadiness and quicker loping motion compared to single-hulls. One thing is for certain, power cats are truly attractive and their design offers that little extra adventurous visage that is so appealing.

Some of the Current Power Cats: Aeroyacht are French builders that offer many sailing cats, but the Blubay TC 45 is a high performance hydrofoil power cat. Fountaine Pajot are a well known French company that offer power cats from 35 feet to 55 feet, including the Summerland 40 motoryacht. The Brazilian builders Sunboats offer mega hot luxurious catamarans from 83 feet to 155 feet, with features such as helipads and the ability to beach the yacht, the two pictures you see here show the Sunboats with these two hot features. With a slogan of “These are the yachts Da Vinci would have designed,” the Italian builders BRB yachts offer great layouts such as the three cabin layout with the master suite filling one entire hull and the four stateroom version of the 62 feet power cat.

Gisele Goes Green to Support the Atlantic Forest with Ipanema Sandals

Supermodel Gisele Bundchen has launched an Ipanema 2009 Sandal Collection in support of the Atlantic forest. The Brazilian beauty with an even more beautiful heart has teamed up with Grendene, which is the mother company of Ipanema, to develop a special project with SOS Mata Atlântica. SOS Mata Atlântica is a program that supports the gallery forest which is the vegetation surrounding the rivers and streams and which also helps in the protection of water. Each Ipanema sandal sold will help to plant 25, 500 saplings from the 100 different species of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

Sadly, only 10 percent of the Atlantic Forest remains as more than two dozen Critically Endangered vertebrate species are barely surviving. The Atlantic Forest or Mata Atlântica stretches along Brazil’s Atlantic coast, from Rio Grande do Norte to Rio Grande do Sul. It has an extremely diverse and unique mix of vegetation, forest types and bird and animal species, including the red-billed curassow, the Brazilian merganser, and the southern muriqui (pictured left) which is one of the most threatened primates in the region. You can visit here for more detail on the unique biodiversity which is greatly endangered.

Below are some of the photos of Gisele and the video for the ad campaign.

Gisele Bundchen - Sementes

Gisele Bundchen: “Sometimes I Ask, “Why Me?”

The new face of Max Factor and one of the most famous and desirable faces in the fashion world, Gisele Bundchen still feels humble about her position as the most wanted and highest paid model in the world.

“I think I had the timing and the hard work,” Gisele says of her rise to fame. “People had been tired of the supermodels, the things you hear about the models not coming to work. I came along right from Brazil. I was having a good time, excited to have a job - it was refreshing. It’s what people thought they needed at the time.”

“Sometimes I ask, ‘Why me?’ I’m from a village of 10,000 people in the south of Brazil. I’m very grateful for my opportunities.”

Although, the Brazilian Supermodel has walked on more runways than we can mention, Gisele does not fall into the high fashion addiction. “I’ve never been one of those girls who was a fashion girl. I didn’t have to have the bag or belt of the season. I like fashion, I like clothes, I enjoy when I look nice, but my main concern is how comfortable I’m going to be all day.”

Fashion Destination: Hot Brazilian Exports

Although Brazil is known all over the world for its amazing beaches, lively and colourful carnivals and parties, the South American jewel has contributed greatly to fashion and beauty as well. From golden skin top models and exotic colourful mini bikinis to delicious natural Amazonian cosmetics; we are sure thankful for these hot Brazilian exports.

Top Models: We see them all the time; Alessandra Ambrosia, Adriana Lima, Izabel Goulard and the top of top, Gisele Bundchen. Bringing vibrant, exotic, and curvaceous into the world of modeling, Brazil is hot and rich of top models. In the recent years they have been dominating the runways and many of them are known for their Victoria’s Secret Angels Status.

But with no doubt, one of them stands on top and it is no other than Gisele Bundchen. Her first name has become a brand of its own; just say Gisele and pretty much every person on this planet will know you are talking about that Gisele. The Brazilian beauty is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s richest supermodel, has been the face of more than 20 brands internationally, and has appeared on more than 500 magazine covers. Not just a beauty face, Gisele lends her support and image to many charitable organizations and humanitarian causes, such as awareness for HIV African victims, raising money for cancer treatments, and protecting the Amazonian Rainforest water sources. What would the fashion world be without Gisele? I certainly cannot imagine it.

Sexy Bikinis: Oh yeah, you know I am talking about Rosa Cha. The chic, sensual, and eye-catching designs of Amir Slama definitely elevate swimwear into high fashion. The bikinis are always in bright colors, splashy patterns, soft materials, and extremely tiny cuts to bring out exotic appeal and beach playfulness. If you have ever tried one of them on, you know that you will feel so sexy that you may even walk around in that suit all the time in your house (like I do.) Amir was a history professor before staring Rosa Cha with his wife. His talent is widely recognized with Rosa Cha constantly featured in Vogue, Elle, Sports Illustrated and many more.

Natural Beauty Cosmetics: Surya Brasil is an all-natural high end Brazilian cosmetics brand. Its Amazonia Preciosa line includes shampoos, conditioners, shower gels, massage oils and many lotions for the body and face. Surya Brasil has been successfully operating in Brazil for the past 25 years and it believes that we should learn how to live in harmony with our bodies using products that do not harm the nature. Each of its products is produced with oils extracted from the Preciosa Tree in the Amazonian native and combined with other specialty selected 100% natural ingredients like delicious fruits, plants and herbs. Furthermore, each of the ingredients used is ethically harvested to support the local population and economy while protecting the animal and plant kingdoms. In the past couple of years Surya products have been largely exported all over the world and gaining extensive recognition as in 2007, the premium brand received Organic Certification from Ecocert. You can find these exotic products online at www.suryacosmetics.com and indulge in the smells of coconut, oranges, guarana, melon and many other Amazonian heavens.

Naomi Campbell to Settle Down in Brazil?

Naomi Campbell just signed up to launch a clothing line through 284 which is a new label from the Sao Paolo-based posh retailer Daslu. Campbell describes her collection as one for “strong women” and is hoping that “everybody will like it.” But is she going to settle down in Brazil? Apparently, her Russian billionaire boyfriend Vladimir Doronin has bought the supermodel an $18.5 million penthouse apartment in Sao Paolo. It is said that Vladimir bought Naomi the apartment after she told him that she wanted to settle down in Brazil as it is “her favourite country.” Wow, he must be really smitten!

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