Portugal Fashion and the Freeport Lisboa Fashion Outlet and Vila do Conde Porto Fashion Outlets have announced a partnership for the March and October 2023 editions. “Imagine-a-Bag Challenge” is a competition entirely dedicated to young designers on the BLOOM platform, for the design of a multifunctional bag, made from sustainable materials. The winning designer will receive a prize of 3 thousand euros, for development and production monitoring, and will see the bag on sale in the Vila do Conde and Alcochete centers, as well as in a pop-up store at Portugal Fashion (October 2023 edition).
The challenge launched arises with the aim of supporting the production of a versatile bag and intended for the most diverse uses and, therefore, sustainable. It is also intended to bring designer fashion closer to shopping centers and, finally, to promote local talent and young creativity.
The contest “Imagine-a-Bag Challenge” will gather applications from young designers invited by the Bloom Platform, professionals that integrate the platform in a parade format and others who are in collaboration with the project and are working on their own brands. The action allows Portugal Fashion to involve its internal community of young designers, associating to the project the irreverence, creativity, youth and modernity of the young designers. This initiative is part of the social responsibility strategy of the Vila do Conde Porto Fashion Outlet and Freeport Lisboa Fashion Outlet centers.
Applications for the first phase of the challenge are already underway, until April 14, with the winner announced on the 21st of the same month. The winning bag will be presented at the October 2023 edition of Portugal Fashion, and subsequently sold at the Freeport Lisboa Fashion Outlet, Vila do Conde Porto Fashion Outlet and Portugal Fashion, in October, for a symbolic value corresponding to the production of the piece.
The jury will also award an additional Innovation prize and this honorable mention will be distinguished with a 1,500 euro prize.
All the projects in the competition go through a rigorous evaluation and analysis process by the jury, composed of professionals connected to the fashion and business areas.
The initiative was presented during the March 2023 edition of Portugal Fashion, with a dinner at B’Artist, bar of The Editory Artist Hotel in downtown Porto.
ABOUT VIA OUTLETS
VIA Outlets, owned by the Dutch pension fund asset manager APG, was created in 2014 to acquire and manage existing outlet centers across Europe. Its portfolio currently includes 11 centers with more than 1,100 stores in nine European countries. In Portugal, the VIA Outlets group includes the Freeport Lisboa Fashion Outlet, in Alcochete, and the Vila do Conde Porto Fashion Outlet, in Vila do Conde.
