August has gone, and so has the silly season, and it’s high time to start travelling to these European capitals. Portugal Fashion’s first international stop is in London on 14 and 15 September, with Marques’Almeida and Sophia Kah, respectively. Brexit notwithstanding.
For the former, it’s a return to their roots. After two events at Paris Fashion Week, the Marques’Almeida duo are now returning to London Fashion Week, for a fashion show that’s generating a positive wave and high expectations.
These designers who have dressed Beyoncé, Rihanna, FKA Twigs and Solange return to the city where they grew into fashion, with the same artistic format that gave them international acclaim. The M’A Girls, “girl models”, will join them, adding realism and bringing to the fashion show what could easily be seen on the street.
On 15 September, Sophia Kah, a well-known name among the London élite, returns to event format and presentation, inspired by the very Portuguese Comporta. The designer of delicate, luxurious dresses, who founded the label in Portugal and launched it in the English capital in 2011, making it the alter ego of Ana Teixeira de Sousa, has seen her dresses worn by Florence Welch, Kerry Washington and Beyoncé – the American singer wore a Sophia Kah dress for her mother’s wedding in 2015.
The second international stop takes Alexandra Moura back to the official calendar of fashion shows in Milan, on 23 September. After the huge success of the previous event, Alexandra’s first in Italy, the Portuguese designer once again takes the name of Portugal and Portuguese fashion to one of the biggest stages for international fashion.
Alexandra Moura maintains the essence of Portugal in herself and the clothes she designs. Attempting to go back to the roots of the people and arts that helped, and help, to shape Portugal (and the world) as we now know it, but very often do not recall, the designer, who is passionate about all things cultural, promises to bring contemporaneity to the Italian catwalk.
Portugal Fashion’s third and last stop abroad is in Paris, on 26 September, where it will be joined by ModaLisboa for the first time. This represents the launch of a new strategy for promoting Portuguese fashion for the 2019/2021 period.
After the first joint campaign, this strategy is aimed at reinforcing the logic of cooperation, as well as serving as a reference, marking the beginning of a broader and more cooperative sector alignment between the different players.
Katty Xiomara, Luís Buchinho and Luís Carvalho, powered by ModaLisboa, will be the stars of an event aimed at bringing three of the best national designers together, serving as a theme for the celebration of Portuguese design and Made in Portugal.
Portugal Fashion – a project run by ANJE – National Association of Young Entrepreneurs, developed in partnership with ATP – Textile and Apparel Association of Portugal – is co-financed by Portugal 2020, under the scope of the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation – Compete.
* The title was taken from the film by journalist Ana Sofia Fonseca, “Setembro a Vida Inteira”
