Oliveira met Clarissa Santiago the owner of the clothing brand called Clichê Urban Wear, during a stage in her life when she was undergoing treatment for cancer. Oliveira is not a professional model but something about her made the brand owner want to ask her to promote her clothes.
She accepted the invitation and was photographed by photographer Hugo Barreto in Flona Floresta Nacional forest. The photographs have taken internet by storm.
In an interview with Sputnik Brazil, Oliveira said, “I'm not a professional model. Clarissa just invited me to advertise her new collection and I found it interesting that she wanted to show the beauty of a woman [suffering from cancer] and let the advertisement talk about it.”
In September 2016, while swimming, she felt a lump in her breast. The doctor advised her to immediately begin chemotherapy, during which she lost all her hair.
In the photo shoot, Oliveira posed for the photos without hiding her hair loss.
This opportunity has inspired her to pursue an interest in fashion. After finishing her education in psychology, Oliveira plans to study fashion.
“I've always liked this type of audience that Clarissa Santiago works with. It's pretty cool and in a way this work is not new to me because my family owns a business which sells clothes and I want to do it also and start by studying fashion,” the model said.
In a comment for Sputnik Brazil, the owner of the fashion brand, Clarissa Santiago said that when she met Gabrielly in a shop they talked and discussed how cancer has been very testing for Gabrielly and how being a young woman who has lost her hair has affected her self-esteem.
“She told me all of this and I was very touched. She is very beautiful and nice, and at the same time very sensitive to this issue, but despite that entire situation she is also a very strong person and I had an idea to invite her to do the photo shoot,” Santiago said.
The designer said that these photos were not about cancer, but about different sides of beauty.
“We wanted to draw attention of the public and help raise her self-esteem in this difficult time for her,” Santiago said.
