Youth, parties, vibrant colours and Brazil - these were the pillars for the designer, fashion designer, journalist and art director, Alceu Penna to create the illustrations that reflected Brazilian fashion and lifestyle. Do you want to know a little more about this multi-artist? So continue here, to know some facts about Alceu Penna:
1. Birth: Alceu Penna was born in 1915, in the city of Curvelo, in Minas Gerais. During his childhood, he was already drawing;
2. He gained prominence as an illustrator after winning the contest of the Rio de Janeiro Carnival ball, Corso. His sketches were approved to be part of that year's carnival costume (1937);
3. In 1938, he created his series of drawings titled as "Girls" for the newspaper O Cruzeiro, bringing new fashion trends and lifestyle of carioca girls, all in a very colourful and creative layout. The period was inspired by the famous "Gibson's Girls" characters that represented the aristocratic American youth and that inspired the creation of pin-ups, another reference of Alceu Penna;
4. Penna made a lot of costumes for casino performances. Some of the shows were: "Zigaresca", "Pátria", at Cassino Atlântico, in 1942, and also "Ça c'est Paris" and "Vem, Bahia te espera", at Cassino da Urca, in 1945;
5. He dressed Bibi Ferreira in the Magazine Theatre "Escândalo 1950" for a play written by Hélio Ribeiro and directed by Chianca de Garcia.
6. He produced the costumes of the show starring Grande Othello, at Copacabana Palace - "Frenesi". He also created plays for the show "This should be banned" in 1968.
7. Throughout the 1960s, Alceu had an extensive partnership with the Rhodia brand: in 1960 it was part of the Café Collection, promoted by the brand in partnership with Cruzeiro da Moda. The pieces were inspired by the exportation of coffee from Brazil, as a way to publicise Brazilian fashion;
8. The partnership was so successful that the illustrator became director of Rhodia's creative team. His most striking work in the company was the Op-Art dress exhibited in the 1966 "Collection Brazilian Fashion Team", and which, in 2015, had its replica exhibited at MASP in "The Art of Fashion: Creative Stories";
9. One of his works at the company was the costumes of the show "Build Up" with singer Rita Lee, in 1971;
10. Alceu Penna only stopped working in 1975, when he had a stroke. He died five years later, on January 13, 1980, at the age of 65.
If you want to dive deeper into the trajectory of this great Brazilian artist, who gave a personality and liveliness to Brazilian fashion, follow the official profile of the artist on the networks. His Instagram is @alceu_penna.
If you want to get to know his works up close, much of his collection is in Rio de Janeiro, in the Casa da Marquesa and Ingá museums, in addition to being digitised.
See Citrus 3 models that match the illustrations of "Girls"
1. The Girls and Beauty X Citrus Black Blue
2. Girls and Swimsuits X Citrus Floral Butterfly Roses
3. Girls and the Royal Guard X Red Mermaid
