SAO PAULO, June 13, 2007 (AFP) - Sao Paulo's Fashion Week, Latin America's biggest couture event, got underway Wednesday June 13th featuring eye-catching confections and celebrating the theme of ecological awareness.

Catwalk Forum Tufi Duek of the Sao Paulo Fashion Week in Sao Paulo, Brazil - Photo : Victor R. Cainavo/AFP

Nearly 50 designers incorporated environmental themes into their collections for this year's edition of the event, which highlights such issues as water conservation, recycling and alternative energy.

Creation by Santa Efigenia during the Spring/Summer 2008 Rio Fashion Week - Photo : Antonio Scorza/AFP

"We've been talking for a long time about a Brazilian identity for the Sao Paulo Fashion week," said event organizer Paulo Borges, adding that weaving an ecological theme into the event allows Brazil to celebrate "the question of biodiversity -- natural and cultural."

Creation by Alexandre Herchcovitch during the 2008 Spring-Summer collections of the Sao Paulo Fashion Week - Photo : Mauricio Lima/AFP

Organizers will also plant 7.800 trees to compensate for carbon dioxide emissions resulting from fashion week activities.