‘You can be cool and beautiful with affordable clothes’, says Luísa Sonza, Asian e-commerce partner

“Is it xên or xeín?” asks Luísa Sonza, whispering, seconds before going live to launch her collection at Shein. The pronunciation of the name of the Chinese brand remains a mystery even to employees at the company’s office in Brazil, which occupies an entire floor of a building in Faria Lima.

Accompanied by a team of ten people and a dog, Luísa entered the live show wearing a long slip dress with a slit, one of the 112 pieces that make up her collection. The line that bears the singer’s name also includes her famous headscarves, faux leather jackets, schoolgirl-style pleated miniskirts, lots of lace and floral prints. The mix, Luísa assures, has her face and personality.

“I’ve already turned down many invitations from brands that didn’t want to adapt to my style,” says the singer, with an emphasis on “many.” “Many brands want you to conform to them. But then it doesn’t make sense to hire a personality, an artist,” says Sonza to F5.

“What I do most is refuse. And it’s not arrogance, it’s because I can’t advertise something I have no connection with,” he explains. “If it doesn’t have my face, my fans won’t buy it.”

AFFORDABLE FASHION

At the launch, Luísa approved, for example, the R$50 blouses identical to the ones she wears on stage. “My fans are not far from me. I love seeing people wearing the scarf on their heads, being inspired by me,” she says.

When asked how she defines her own aesthetic, she resorts to English: “I’m very cool,” she sums up. Her wardrobe includes thrift store items and fast fashion pieces, all mixed together with luxury brands.

“It’s not the price of clothes that determines style. We can be cool and beautiful with affordable clothes,” she says. “This whole thing of wearing designer clothes from head to toe is not cool,” she says. “It looks too ‘wannabe’, it doesn’t look natural.”

If she is democratic in terms of aesthetics, when it comes to her personal life, the singer is full of reservations. Minutes before the interview, Luísa vetoed, through her press office, half of the questions that the reporter intended to ask. The subjects that were barred involved the artist’s current relationship with doctor Luís Ribeirinho and the controversies surrounding her life, such as the racism trial.

In two weeks, she will perform on the Mundo stage at Rock in Rio, alongside international artists such as Shawn Mendes, Akon and Ne-Yo. She preferred not to give any spoilers about the show, but she did say: “It’s a sample of what’s to come in the future, of the evolution of my aesthetic.”