Rio de Janeiro

The fashion of electrical tape bikinis has reached a new level this summer, with the advent of neon colors to replace the once-reigning black. The tape, the same ones used by electricians, now comes in hot pink, orange, green and purple. There is still blue and red, but they don't even glow in the dark like the neon ones.

More than that, the stands of Piscinão de Ramos, in the north of Rio, also began to make men's swim trunks. Acceptance is still low: "I do one a week in men. For women, it's about 40 a day," says Rayane Teixeira, a partner with Daniele Dantas at Danny Bronze Tent, who has been bonding for five years at the site.

The electrical tape bikinis began to appear in 2013 (Foto: Raul Spinassé/Folhapress, COTIDIANO) - Folhapress

The electrical tape bikinis began to appear in 2013, in Realengo, and also Rio de Janeiro's north zone. There, Erika Bronze was famous for lining up local women on loungers who had no access to nearby beaches. Then their employers began to frequent the business. In 2017, Anitta finished popularizing the invention by showing off the tape in her clip "Vai, Malandra."

But the fashion has not yet reached the beaches of the south, such as Copacabana and Ipanema, or the west, such as Barra da Tijuca. To appropriate this culture, one must travel deep into Rio.

The search is for a perfect mark as if it were drawn with a ruler. Most play with the danger: A moisturizing product called paraffin cream is used as a suntan. Black women stand for an hour facing the sun and another on their backs and are already leaving with the ribbon mark. "The whitest ones can only be twenty minutes or half an hour," Danny Bronze said.

Needless to remember, but needless to say, no dermatologist recommends the use of electrical tape on the body as it can cause allergy or even melt under the intense sun, causing sores when taking off. Paraffin cream manufacturers advise against prolonged sun exposure.

Translated by Kiratiana Freelon

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