In New York, Scvirer interned at Diane Von Furstenberg Studio, developing original prints and illustrating fashion figures for the famous designer known for her matte-jersey wrap dresses.
''It was amazing,'' she says. ''There were two designers, DVF, a freelancer, and me,'' all working out of the West Village space that served as office, home, and showroom. It was there that Scvirer was sucked into the creative pull of prints, a medium with endless possibilities in a world of fashion where there are only so many ways to reinvent the shirt. There she designed prints by hand rather than using a computer program that can easily reproduce a pattern. ''I like the hand aspect,'' she says. ''The human hand makes mistakes. They're good mistakes.''
Scvirer was tempted to accept a job offer from Von Furstenberg but decided to finish college, which she did in 1999.
In the interim, she also worked at Federated Merchandising Group, where she was an assistant designer for the retailer's house brands. That job included market research, also known as ''Sohoshopping. '' ''There I learned to deal with overseas and how big stores work.''
She then did a stint at Armani Exchange, where she marveled at the streetwear line's trendiness. ''It was very strong conceptually. Giorgio Armani would send down pages from Italian fashion magazines, and we'd have to come up with ideas based on that concept,'' she says. ''We were doing utility clothes. They had pockets everywhere, zippers all over the place.''
Next came Garan Inc. - remember Garanimals? - where she worked on a line that sold in Wal-Mart.
Then came a visa crisis that put her employment status in limbo. During that downtime more than a year ago came a marriage proposal, a green card, a move to Boston where her fiance had a job offer as a financial analyst, her job with Hajjar, and the wedding.
Her own collection, some of which she stitched herself, seems like just that: a collection of everything she's learned - the matte jersey and prints a la DVF, the trendiness of Armani Exchange, the moderate prices of Garan and Federated, and the hands-on touches of Hajjar Couture.
But prints are the foundation. They're the colors of the beach, sandy-pebble dots and swishes of turquoise, such as those on the top that Scvirer wore recently with a silk skirt that was the color of tropical water.
''People stop in the bathroom and say, `I want it. How much?''' Scvirer says. Giggling, she answers them, ''Priceless. '' The outfit is for her fashion show. The truth is, pants and dresses will sell direct from her for about $100, tops for about $80.
With her clothes hanging on a rolling rack in her living room, Scvirer shows none of the angst that builds in the days before a collection is unveiled. Instead she sips coffee and wears no makeup.
''I want to give the natural Brazilian look,'' she says, touching her face.
This story ran on page F1 of the Boston Globe on 5/4/2002.
© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.