The 50th Portugal Fashion had once again a large and diversified showroom, although in a slightly different format to previous editions. The event’s commercial area was, this time, reserved only for designers and brands included in the show programme, with a view to presenting their creations to professional audiences: buyers, importers/exporters, investors, fashion promoters, clients, specialised journalists, etc. It was intended, therefore, that the showroom had a more professional nature and, therefore, more focused on business, investment, business partnerships and internationalisation.
«It seemed to us that, in the current context of post-pandemic economic recovery, it made sense to emphasise the professional character and commercial vocation of the Portugal Fashion showroom. With this in mind, we have reformulated the showroom in order to give better conditions to our designers and brands, not only to exhibit their collections, but also to establish contacts with buyers and investors», explains the director of Portugal Fashion, Mónica Neto, adding that «it is necessary to make every effort to revive the fashion sector, encouraging new businesses and attracting partners and capital».
Coordinated by Carla Reis, co-founder and partner of Brandin.pt, a company specialised in fashion promotion, Portugal Fashion’s new showroom was designed and organised to foster business contacts and create business networking, and there is even a lounge for one-to-one meetings. In addition, a permanent team ensured the daily functioning of the showroom, namely the presentation of the designers, brands and respective collections to the entourage of professionals invited by Portugal Fashion.
It should be noted that the invitations to professionals were articulated with various associations in the fashion sector, which usually collaborate with Portugal Fashion in its more sectorial and commercial aspect. Thanks to these partnerships with the industry, the Portugal Fashion showroom will receive a visit from important buyers, importers/exporters, investors, brand managers and national and international fashion promoters, thus creating business opportunities for designers and brands.
The dynamics of the new showroom also made it possible, in line with one of the main principles of Portugal Fashion, to promote the rapprochement between designers and industry, in order to put Portuguese industrial production capacity at the service of our creative talent, and vice versa.
Promotional and networking events
The showroom took place, as usual, at Alfândega do Porto, from 2pm to 8pm, from 16 to 19 March. 48 designers and brands of both national and African origin were expected to participate, the latter with the support of the CANEX programme. At the same time, and in line with the aforementioned commercial purposes, the showroom hosted several promotional and networking actions, including the Portugal Fashion Networking Cocktail Showroom (18th at 4pm).
Another highlight waas the Showroom Talks, which took place in the auditorium of Alfândega do Porto, on 17 March, in a hybrid format: webinar on Zoom and limited on-site attendance. As the name suggests, these are thematic conversations on subjects related to the fashion industry, with the participation of different players in
the industry. At 3pm, the first talk was entitled “Scaling designer brands: challenges and opportunities”, with the participation of Alexander Giantsis, a specialist in branding strategies for the fashion industry, and Romain Casella, founder and director of MAY Concepts, a London-based communication agency.
At 5pm started the second talk, on the theme “Digital transformation of the fashion industry”, whose speakers are Abdullah Abo Milhim, director of Istituto Marangoni London (fashion, art and design courses), Lui Iarocheski, expert in digital transformation of the clothing industry, and Sara Teixeira, marketing director of Exclusible, a platform of digital assets in the luxury segment. Both talks will be moderated by Ana Roncha, an expert in Strategic Marketing of Fashion.
