Portugal Fashion revealed the trends for the next warm season in Lisbon (October 14th) and in Porto (October 19th, 20th and 21st), with more than 30 shows in four days, distributed per six different spaces. Designer fashion, creations by young designers, ready-to-wear, haute couture, tailoring and footwear were the elements of this Portuguese fashion celebration, where about 25 thousand people joined in.
In Lisbon, with a reinforced calendar
It was with this calendar of fashion shows, reinforced both in quantity and in quality, that Portugal Fashion held its usual opening event in Lisbon last Saturday, 14 October. There was a clear intention to add value to the calendar of fashion shows in Lisbon in this 41st Portugal Fashion and to shine more light on the event opening.
“For us, Lisbon is more than just one stop on the event calendar. In fact, Portugal Fashion is interested in and willing and happy to present collections by designers and labels in the capital of the country”, pointed out Adelino Costa Matos, the president of ANJE – National Association of Young Entrepreneurs. “Portugal Fashion’s fashion show circuit includes the big fashion capitals, such as London, Paris, Milan and New York. So, it wouldn’t make much sense if the event didn’t make itself felt both in Porto and in Lisbon, a city with major fashion dynamics and one that is increasingly cosmopolitan”, he added. “Lisbon is a strategic phase on our fashion itinerary and, as such, we decided to hold the fashion shows on a Saturday and to include important names”.
The 41st Portugal Fashion opened with Storytailors, who revealed their new collection, “Palindrome”. The Rive Rouge bar in the Ribeira market was the setting for the presentation by the duo João Branco and Luís Sanchez, in fashion show format.
Later, Armazém 16, in the Lisbon riverside area, Braço de Prata, was the stage for five fashion shows which will certainly help define the trends for Spring-Summer 2018: Pedro Pedro, TM Collection by Teresa Martins, Carlos Gil, Luís Onofre and Alves/Gonçalves.
From international fashion weeks to Oporto, not to forget Bloom
As always, Portugal Fashion’s official calendar reflected the huge variety of its designers. The event’s first day was intirely dedicated to the Bloom platform. The Tram Museum was the young talents’ stage, such as Inês Torcato, David Catalán, Olimpia Davide and Beatriz Bettencourt, that always contribute to the freshness and variety of the fashion industry.
“This Portugal Fashion had a wide variety of proposals, from designer fashion to the more commercial lines from the clothing industry, not forgetting the irreverence of the young designers. This diversity in the fashion shows reflects the dynamics, versatility and modernity of Portuguese fashion and the textiles sector, which are continuing to make their mark internationally, both on the catwalk and in exports”, highlighted Adelino Costa Matos.
In this 41st edition, also shined prestigious designers that were recently in the most imporant international fashion weeks with Portugal Fashion and ANJE’s support, reinforcing the event’s notoriety. “This Portugal Fashion has the additional attraction of presenting, first in Lisbon and now in Porto, the fashion shows by designers who were present in the big fashion capitals at the beginning of the season: London, Milan, New York and Paris. The next three days will, in fact, provide an unparalleled opportunity to see the fashion shows by Alexandra Moura, Hugo Costa, Katty Xiomara and Miguel Vieira, after their success on the big international catwalks”, the president added.
After a day devoted exclusively to young designers and fashion students, Portugal Fashion began a marathon of fashion shows at the Porto Customs House where eight collections for the warm season were presented. On this 3rd day of the event, we had the fashion shows by the emerging designers Carla Pontes, Estelita Mendonça, Hugo Costa and Susana Bettencourt.
Carla Pontes explores volumes, colours and details in a collection with ethnic influences. And Estelita Mendonça was to surprise with his bold, markedly urban proposals, while in Susana Bettencourt’s new collection, the references to 1970s aviation uniforms stand out. Hugo Costa took his inspiration from the nomadic Moken tribe (Mergui Archipelago), creating a minimalist line in showy colours.
On the 3rd day of Portugal Fashion, the catwalk opened to established designers. With his “Mobil(ize) II” collection, Júlio Torcato mixes classic tailoring cuts with materials from the world of sports. Using silk taffeta, Diogo Miranda has created exaggerated sleeves, ruffles, voluminous bows and necklines for the warm season. Entitled “7 women plus 1”, Anabela Baldaque’s most recent collection stands out from its prints, unexpected cuts and long silhouettes. Celebrating 30 years in the business, Miguel Vieira explores plays on volume between slim and oversized clothing, with a sporty touch.
On the last day of fashion shows, first thing in the morning, Katty Xiomara surprised with a fashion show that combines fashion with street art. And the venue for the fashion show was also unexpected: the old industrial slaughterhouse in Porto, which is going to be converted into a Museum of Industry, with a part devoted to contemporary art. It is in this austere, decrepit setting that the Portuguese-Venezuelan designer presented a collection inspired by a strange journey: carried by the Caribbean breeze, a parachute lands in the art déco revivalism of Miami Beach in the 1960s. Loose shapes, simple and devoid of sixties aesthetic therefore marked Katty Xiomara’s fashion show.
Elsewhere, another first for Portugal Fashion, at Cais Novo, in Ribeira, Luís Buchinho revealed a collection strongly influenced by sport. For the designer,the summer is light, with expressive prints forming long, loose silhouettes. Light colours abound (pastel shades of aqua green, flesh pink and watery blues), with some touches of bright, warm colours (strawberry and coral). There are also graphic touches of black, white and fluorescent yellow. The decorative patterns of the 1960s and 1970s, freely reinterpreted, are strong elements in the collection.
Back at the Porto Customs House, Nuno Baltazar certainly made an impression with the extreme elegance of his new collection. Subtle romantic details in a high-tech define the proposals from Alexandra Moura, the secon designer on the Saturday fashion show calendar. Inspired by the deterioration in the interiors of 18th century Portuguese palaces, as well as the clothes worn at that time, the collection, “Within the time within” has striking shapes, sometimes oversized, sometimes not, which create opposites in the silhouette and are combined with fastenings and pockets to create statement looks with strong, iconic notes of bygone times.
On the finishing stretch of the 41st Portugal Fashion, Pé de Chumbo presented a collection where the label’s casual, relaxed look reigns supreme, but with a classic aura. Six footwear brands showed the dynamics of the traditional economic sector, followed by Lion of Porches with a sportswear line rich in colours, elegant patterns and fine materials. Vibrant colours, luxurious fabrics and embroidered silks characterise Micaela Oliveira’s new haute couture collection. Ready-to-wear and footwear brands also stood out. Pé de Chumbo, Lion of Porches and Ana Sousa showed the vitality, modernity e international dimension of the “made in Portugal” production. Dielmar also exhibited the excellence of our clothes, with the particularity of dedicating itself to high tailoring. In a show with the support of the sector’s business association, APICCAPS, the brand Ambitios, Dkode, Fly London, J. Reinaldo, Nobrand and Rufel translated to their collections the quality and sophistication of the Portuguese footwear.
50 brands promoted at Brand Up
There were 50 exhibitors at the Brand Up showroom, held in parallel with and as a complement to the fashion shows of the 41st Portugal Fashion. This time, the event has taken on a broader fashion concept, embracing not only designer fashion and ready-to-wear, but also footwear, jewellery and lifestyle products. Open to the public at the Porto Customs House on 20 October (from 3 pm to midnight) and on 21 October (from 2 pm to midnight), Brand Up was aimed mainly at national and international buyers, in order to publicise, add value to and market Made in Portugal.
“We wanted Brand Up to be a means of promoting Made in Portugal, rather than just a conventional fashion showroom”, revealed the President of ANJE, Adelino Costa Matos. “Nowadays, fashion has a multidimensional character and a multifaceted nature, and its concept includes a wide variety of products. Many of these products have attained excellence in Portugal and are competitive internationally. That’s why it makes perfect sense, in conjunction with and under the Made in Portugal label, to promote clothing and perfume, footwear and wine, jewellery and leather goods, for example”, he went on to say.
Among the 50 exhibitors, there were 15 jewellery designers and brands, 10 footwear brands and four lifestyle product brands (bags, wine, glasses and perfume), as well as 12 clothing labels and creations from established designers, six from young designers of the Bloom project and three from students of fashion schools (MODATEX, ESAD – Matosinhos Higher Institute of Art and Design, and the Castelo Branco Polytechnic Institute’s Higher Institute of Applied Arts). Collection items presented at fashion shows during Portugal Fashion can be seen up close in the showroom. At this Brand Up there were items by Anabela Baldaque, Carla Pontes, Estelita Mendonça, Micaela Oliveira, Katty Xiomara and Susana Bettencourt, as well as designs from young Bloom designers such as Beatriz Bettencourt, David Catalán, Olimpia Davide, Joana Braga and Nycole.
Next Step 2016-2017 (a project of ANJE – National Association of Young Entrepreneurs) and Portugal Fashion 2015-2017 (a project of ANJE – National Association of Young Entrepreneurs, developed in partnership with ATP – Textile and Apparel Association of Portugal) are funded by Portugal 2020, under the scope of Compete 2020 – Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation, with funding from the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund.