The carioca designer Gilson Martins was born in the Port Zone in the Center of Rio de Janeiro and had his childhood punctuated by the most representative images of the Carioca landscape. Graduated in Scenography at the School of Fine Arts of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, he presented the use of non-conventional materials in the creation of bags, proposing a new concept and look at recycling and a new aesthetic for fashion and design.


He was the first designer to use the Brazilian flag in fashion, promoting a moment of self-esteem and pride in Brazilian society. This work was supported by the Federal Government, which recognized in its work the "Brazil brand", promoting it in the international scenario. The ?Brazil bags? were exhibited in several cities that hosted the World Cup, such as Paris, Berlin, New York and Tokyo.


The designer also develops a work of sustainability, using leftovers from the manufacture of the bags through upcycling, creating new products and generating income for his former seamstresses, who form small groups of artisans in the communities near his factory.


His work had a strong impact during the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016,. The designer created products for the International Olympic Committee, Coca-Cola, L'Oréal, for the Japanese Olympic Committee and other multinational companies.


His two shops in Ipanema and Copacabana receive customers from all over the world, and are references of Brazilian design with humor and quality. French, Italian, Germans, Japanese and American people are among those who are great lovers of Gilson Martins products and are his main potential shoppers.







FIRST BACKPACK

The first backpack was produced with beach chair canvas, a leftover material from his father's work upholsterer. From the model that insisted on tearing, the then student recreated the piece with a more resistant fabric and a more functional design. The first clients were his classmates and teachers at the university.






THE UNCONVENTIONAL MATERIALS


The designer began a research of materials with other functions, inserting them in the creation of the bags. Decoration, automotive and clothing materials propose a new reading in the segment of this product.




 

THE SCULPTURE BAGS


A new conceptual work, where art prevails functionally. The sculpture bags were created from a research of materials observed in the artist´s daily life. Industrial springs, hoses, drawer pulls, pipes help build these new parts.








THE BRAZIL BAGS

First designer ever to use the Brazilian flag in bags and accessories, Gilson launched the Brazil line at the Rio de Janeiro´s Fashion Week and became internationally acclaimed. He had the support of the federal government in the creation of his new Brazil brand, that happened to be the reference of its work worldwide.




    

THE RIO BAGS


They represent Rio de Janeiro´s culture bags with images of the Sugar Loaf, the Christ on the mountain, and iconic neighborhoods such as Copacabana and Lapa. Transmitting the colors, humor and lightness of the city.






BEFORE THE BAG


He presented himself as an artist and proposes screens and installations observed in his factory, reinterpreting raw materials and production processes as works of art.







NOBLE TRASH


The designer discovered in the flaps of his production a new craft technique, taking advantage of cutting leftovers from the bags to create mosaics with scenes from the city of Rio de Janeiro. Through the upcycling technique, trash is transformed into new high-quality bags and, as social responsibility, generates work to its former seamstresses of the poor communities of Rio.








Gilson Martins

From Rio to the world