High Life

52 品 因此，七年前 Bárbara 创立了自 己的时装品牌 CocoBerry Eight，起 初是一个全套女装品牌，之后逐渐演变 为主打海滩和度假服饰，包括罩衫和比 基尼。 她回忆道：“我于2011年前后开 始经营 CocoBerry Eight，正是我女 儿出生的时候。但我发现中国消费者喜 欢追逐大牌，小众设计师并不受欢迎。 作为一个企业来说难以为继，迫于经济 压力，我不得不做出改变。 “于是我转而想迎合本地消费者。 但有一点需要谨记，当你违心去做某件 事时，会不知从何入手。因此，我重新 开始设计泳装。” 尽管 Bárbara 已经形成了自己 的风格和特性，但仍需利用当下“潮 流”，因为流行趋势始终是时尚行业的 风向标。 身为两个孩子的母亲，Bárbara 利用周末在她的小工作室授课，同时在 业余时间为明星做时装设计且十分紧 俏。 Bárbara 补充道：“很快我将推 出新款内衣系列，以方便人们网上购买 并且可于家中进行 DIY。” 寻求独特方式将流行趋势融入个人 风格且不固步自封，一向颇具挑战。 但拥有学识、自信以及代表她一段 人生时光的纹身的 Bárbara，不仅仅 是一位时装设计师。今后，她也将乘势 而上，随波逐浪。 Bárbara is a citizen of the world. As a young adult she left Macau for Portugal and then Barbados to continue her studies in fashion while also earning a degree in journalism. With a foundation in arts and design from Kingston College in London, she went to London College of Fashion at the University of the Arts London. “I’m a big fan of pop culture which helped how I saw the fashion world,” Bárbara explains. “I remember when I saw Gisele Bündchen wear a black and white polka dot bikini, that was when I knew I wanted to do fashion design.” And so, seven years ago, Bárbara started her fashion brand CocoBerry Eight, originally as a full clothing brand for women before gradually evolving to beach and resort wear, including cover ups and bikinis. “I started CocoBerry Eight around 2011,when I hadmydaughter, but found that Chinese consumers like big brands and small designers aren’t invested. It wasn’t sustainable as a business. Financially, I couldn’t sustain it as it was,” she recalls.