History of Rosa Chá
In 1989 Amir Slama first created the Brazilian Rosa Chá as a brand of gymnastics clothing and sold his designs directly to customers in gyms. Just 4 short years later the first store carrying a full line of art embellished Rosa Chá bikinis and beach wear opened in its home country of Brazil, followed by mall outlet store openings there in ’94, ’95 and ’97. The company presented its 1997 collection in their first full fashion show and went on to establish an impressive nine franchises between ’97 and 2004, all in the home of the earth’s most fun and fashionable carnival: Brazil.
1997 was a true adventure in growth for Rosa Chá, as the same year also saw the company go international, appearing at Barney’s in New York; the exclusive Theodore boutique on Beverly Hills famous Rodeo Drive in L.A.; and last but not least, in the pages of the internationally acclaimed Harper’s Bazaar magazine. Pretty cool stuff for a guy who started off making gym-wear!
Rosa Chá then went on to make its European début in London in 1999 and celebrated another first – their first international show - in the year 2000 at the American Fashion Week in New York. This was followed by participation in the prestigious event again in ’02, which was attended by such fashion icons as Ivana Trump and those cool Hilton girls – Paris and Nicky. While it may be in Paris Hilton’s nature to be known for her money making endeavors, Nicky Hilton is also a natural at making profit. At the time of the show she was already designing handbags for a Japanese line and within a few years had launched her own clothing line.
The opening of Rosa Chá’s first foreign franchise, in Lisbon, Portugal, also occurred in ’02. But 2003 was an even bigger year for Rosa Chá as European sales began in Paris and the line was shown for the 3rd year at Fashion Week in New York. Music industry celebrities Toni Braxton, Beyoncé Knowles and rapper Jay-Z were all in attendance during this show. Before year-end a second international store was opened, this time in Miami, Florida.
In 2004 the American “Ocean Drive” magazine crowned Amir Slama as “Sun King” while the company returned to New York Fashion Week for a 4th year. Paris, France hosted its first Rosa Chá fashion show in ’05. Since then there has been no stopping this formidable company as it has developed different brands and continues its spectacular rise among high-end fashion lines. In 2007 WalkGood Jamaica was ecstatic to earn the exclusive distribution rights to the prestigious Rosa Chá brand and know that you beach-lovers everywhere will be as excited as we are about this line, which can be viewed here.
