Text by Juliana Vasconcelos, Advertising student ECOM/IDP
With nearly 5 followers, Rachel has shown that fashion journalism has only grown in recent years and isn't going to stop there. Her posts cover fashion history, the week's most important news, and plenty of runway analysis. In addition, what makes her profile very popular are the almost weekly interviews with very special guests, such as mother and daughter Costanza Pascolato and Consuelo Blocker.
We interviewed the communicator, and she shared her stories and various tips for those who want to learn more about fashion and also become a professional in the field.
Juliana from ECOM: Tell us a little about yourself and what you've been up to lately.
I graduated in Journalism from UnB (2019), but I've been working in fashion communication for 5 years now, which is what I've always wanted. I entered journalism already knowing what I wanted to do, since adolescence. I chose the course because I've always been communicative and enjoyed writing, and I ended up finding myself in fashion communication. I spent 2 years at Correio Braziliense while still studying, but I had a lot of freedom to write about Beauty, Lifestyle, Behavior, and Fashion. After that, I went to a brand, where I had the opportunity to be a content creator. So I was able to work with two different types of writing: at the newspaper, which is more informative, and at the brand, from the advertising side, because a fashion show, for example, isn't just about watching; it's about knowing how it will be sold, how it will be converted, and it's related to what's happening around you, in the world. After graduating, I was hired by the brand, continuing what I was already doing. When I decided to leave my traditional job and start freelancing, it was a very spontaneous decision, taking advantage of opportunities. I started with GPS and then joined the "Fashion Talks" segment at Brasília Shopping. That's where I started getting more clients, through content marketing and my Instagram page @rachelsabino_. Through a friend, I joined the JABOT Agency (@jabot.agency) in January 2021, which recently opened its physical location. There I work as a Content Director and write client copy, but I'm also involved in various agency processes, such as styling and whatever else is needed. This month I'm going to London to do my Master's degree, but I'll still be with the agency, although for now my professional life will focus more on academia.
Juliana from ECOM: And where did this love for fashion come from?
I've always had a very artistic side, unlike my family who are more into medicine and law. Since I was little, I was very extroverted, I liked to grab the microphone and dreamed of working in communication and the arts. I even dreamed of being an actress! When I was little, I would go to the salon with my mother and always read CARAS magazine, which had a fashion column, and in a special edition dedicated solely to fashion, I bought it and fell in love. I would cut out the clothes of the models from the magazine and make sketches. I even became interested in clothing design, taking a drawing course. I realized I wanted to be a fashion journalist the first time I wrote about a fashion show. From there, I found my place in the profession as I went along. My parents have always been very supportive, even though they are public servants and live completely different lives. What journalism offers today is mainly this rotation, diversity of roles, especially with brands looking for journalists to communicate something to their audience without needing a specific media outlet.
Juliana from ECOM: On your Instagram profile, you've mentioned that being editor-in-chief of Vogue was a dream, but you recently also said that it's not everything, why?
What sticks in the minds of fashion professionals is the stereotype of "The Devil Wears Prada," which may exist, yes, but it's not all there is to it—being transformed overnight, living in a glamorous world, working for a magazine, wearing designer clothes, etc. That world exists, of course, but the fashion world is 99% sweat and 1% glamour. Ten years ago, magazines were still popular because the focus wasn't yet on social media, until around 2012. However, when you analyze magazines from 2014 onwards, they started migrating to digital, which began to grow significantly, and they started getting rid of overly specialized professionals. A brand today won't just post about fashion clothes anymore. So, it's no longer enough to just have a social media manager; you need a whole team. They [the brands] started investing in content production, opening doors for journalists. Digital has opened and expanded the market a lot. So Vogue is no longer the only option. If the opportunity arises, great, but it's not all there is anymore; it can serve as inspiration, precisely because of the opportunities that digital technology is providing for the profession. It's also interesting that knowledge has changed. Unlike before, journalists need to know about metrics, understand if the content is reaching and engaging people. This includes scriptwriting, because the visual aspect is very demanding. It's about shedding the stereotype of print magazines and seeing the options available in the market. Examples of professions include social media management, scriptwriting, reporting, and so on. There are many possibilities through social networks. Vogue's perspective hasn't changed; it's still a dream, a possibility, but it's a type of magazine whose quality has declined significantly, so it's our generation that will change that to rebuild the empire that once existed.
Juliana from ECOM: And how did you start building your incredible, ascending career?
I, personally, matured very early; I couldn't act like an intern because I needed to seize opportunities, and when I was at Correio Braziliense, I carried the name of a newspaper, so I threw myself into the opportunities that came my way. It's necessary create There were opportunities too. Rachel tried to get involved in every press trip she could find. I went to São Paulo for a course and asked to participate in SPFW (São Paulo Fashion Week) with 3 posts a day, 8 pages of content, and also coverage on Instagram to make whatever posts I wanted. I took advantage of the fact that Instagram was somewhat abandoned to create content. And it was crazy walking around São Paulo for a whole week, because the shows are in several different locations. The moment you sit down for the show, the room goes dark and you have no idea what's going to happen, and in a few seconds you have to grasp what message is being conveyed. There's no way to end physical fashion shows, because it's a unique experience that completely transcends the virtual experience.The stereotype of the person who shows up at a fashion show to criticize everything is outdated; it doesn't really exist in real life because it's more than that; it's about deciphering trends. It goes far beyond revealing an outfit. It's about trends, culture, a whole meaning that the show carries. Understanding the message is very important. In Brazil, the fashion market is a melting pot; you need a very good network to get into places because you can't go it alone. I went to every event I could to create connections. The fashion industry in Brazil is an INVESTMENT; you have to spend your own money to create opportunities.
One of the opportunities I had was to go to Manaus and cover the Parintins festival, which is like a Sapucaí in the Amazon. I even stayed on a boat. It was a chance to open my mind outside my bubble. It was really cool to observe that the city is completely divided between Garantido and Caprichoso, where the culture is so strong that brands adapt completely to be part of the festival. This ended up becoming a story about behavior, and no longer just a fashion story. Through this trip, I even met someone who is part of the Teçume Project, and we did volunteer training to gain an understanding of how the digital world works. To be able to cover a parade, a story, you need a repertoire of reality shocks that go far beyond what's in your bubble. A profile of taking risks, accepting challenges, setting goals, and putting yourself out there to make things happen. On the magazine cover, along with Teçume, there were two other projects, including one about another volunteer project I covered inside a prison, where we published interviews with handcuffed female inmates. All of this while still an intern, opportunities that greatly helped me mature. EXPANDING MY REPERTOIRE. Experiences that were NECESSARY to cover FASHION better, because covering fashion is much more than going to Paris; you need to have a global perspective. Fashion doesn't exist without people, because you need people to make fashion happen, because it's an industry linked to time, to a specific era, and because it involves people. Everything involves fashion, even if people say they don't care about fashion, because it's present in people's lives all the time. Covering it involves being able to read people, what they're feeling, what the world is experiencing. Understanding what happened in the past to try to discover what will happen in the future (trends). Fashion is an interpretation of what's happening in the world; it's not just about beauty, it's about being willing to go to the interior of the Amazon, for example, to understand what people, the culture, are saying, living, and to understand the mindset of these people.
Even though she's so young, Rachel still has a lot of stories to tell, so be sure to follow our column, because next Thursday there's much more!
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