As part of Porto’s biggest fashion week, the NorteShopping Galleria joined Portugal Fashion to host an exhibition with the collections of the latest Bloom Competition winners, powered by Zeitreel Sonae, between March 18 and 27.
Focused on fulfilling the mission of providing differentiating and quality experiences to its customers, the Galleria was the stage for the collections of Maria Carlos Baptista, Marcelo Almiscarado and Huarte, the three names distinguished by the contest promoted by Portugal Fashion in partnership with Zeitreel Sonae. The competition is open to young fashion designers, bearing in mind their professional training, public promotion and integration into the labor market.
The reference shopping center in the city of Porto brought new audiences to the emerging national design, while reinforcing the importance of Made in Portugal creativity and young talent.
The three young designers also presented their collections in the 50th edition of Portugal Fashion, being part of the Bloom platform. Created in 2010, this platform moves away from the traditional concept of the runway, in order to provide new creators shows in a more informal, urban and multi-artistic environment.
Applications for the new Bloom pwd by Zeitreel Sonae competition are open until July 15, 2022, and are aimed at young finalist designers or recent graduates of Portuguese fashion courses.
The winners of the BLOOM Portugal Fashion pwd by Zeitreel Competition
She was born in Coimbra and grew up with the dream of being a dancer. She attended a degree in Dance at the School of Dance (Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon), but dance was replaced by another passion – Fashion – with the Fashion Design course at Modatex Lisbon. The collection “Archetype”, winner of the BLOOM pwd by Zeitreel Sonae Competition, is the valorization of masculine articles worn by the feminine sex. It is the redefinition of new essentials in a closet, the accumulation of layers associated with encapsulation, a balance of the male universe, reinvigorating classic articles. The proportions are altered, creating exaggerated dimensions that contrast with tight and sticky layers; and the hyperbolization of all these factors is done through the palette and the materials used.
From his career, stands out the presentation of the end of course collection (ESAD) in the 45th Portugal Fashion, the internship with the designer David Catalán, the 3rd place in the PFN contest, the creation of McDonald’s uniforms and the 1st place in the MODAPORTUGAL competition. “Pasmo”, winning collection of the BLOOM pwd by Zeitreel Sonae Competition, starts from his grandmother, who by decorating the house with country flowers, ends up alienating them from their natural environment. From this de-contextualization, manual production techniques emerge: handmade weaving, knitting, crochet. In parallel, he explores the futuristic retro and the unknown: aliens. Religious references also appear: the robes of Francis of Assisi and St. Clare. “Pasmo” refers to the poem “O meu olhar é nítido como um girassol” by Alberto Caeiro.
From Logroño, northern Spain, Víctor Huarte studied Business and Marketing in Madrid, London and Brazil. He started his degree in Fashion Design at ESDIR school and moved to Porto in 2017, having finished his training at ESAD. Honorable mention of the BLOOM pwd by Zeitreel Sonae Competition, the collection “Afterlove” gives name to a dark place in the city center, decadent in appearance, little ornamented and with a lot of smoke in the air. An atmosphere of nostalgia is breathed and amusingly, people from previous centuries interact with each other, while dancing to the rhythm of the DJ’s music at the end of the room.
The BLOOM Powered by Zeitreel Sonae competition, a Portugal Fashion competition aimed at young finalist designers or recent graduates of Portuguese fashion courses, is open for new applications until July 15 of this year. The initiative continues to benefit from the support of the group’s fashion unit that used to be called Sonae Fashion.
The contest keeps essentially the same rules and prizes, but among the novelties is the possibility given to the winner to attend the post-graduation in Fashion Management at the Católica Porto Business School and to benefit from six months of press consultancy and showroom service by the communication agency SHOWPRESS – Press and PR Office.
The BLOOM powered by Zeitreel competition is open to young designers living in Portugal, aged between 18 and 35, who are finalists in fashion schools or who have already finished their courses but are still starting their careers. With these premises, the contest aims at specialized training, professional integration, and public promotion of young fashion talents.
In the first phase of the competition, 12 projects are selected by a jury made up of professionals connected to various areas of fashion. Then, in a 2nd phase, the authors of the projects have to produce a coordinator for the jury’s new appreciation, which will determine the eight finalists of the contest. In the 3rd phase of the competition, these finalists will present their work in a collective fashion show integrated in the BLOOM platform calendar of the 51st edition of Portugal Fashion, in October 2022.
Winner receives €3,000 to develop collections
From the shortlist of eight finalists, and according to the quality presented in the runway show but also in the backstage work, the winner of the competition will be chosen, and an honorable mention will also be given. The winning contestant receives 3,000 euros to develop two collections (1,500 euros each): one for fall/winter and one for spring/summer. These collections will be presented in March and October 2023, in the BLOOM runway of Portugal Fashion, with technical support of the event and monitoring and guidance by the coordinator of the platform.
The winner of the Bloom Competition will also be able to complete a nine-month paid internship at Zeitreel (worth approximately 7 thousand euros), with the possibility of training work in its portfolio brands (Salsa, Zippy and MO). Added to this training is the already mentioned post-graduation in Fashion Management at the Católica Porto Business School, subject to pre-enrollment requirements and the opening of the course.
The honorable mention corresponds to a cash prize of 1,500 euros for the development of two collections, fall/winter and spring/summer, to be presented in March and October 2023, on the BLOOM runway at Portugal Fashion, with technical support from the event. The contestant awarded with the honorable mention will also benefit from a nine-month paid internship at Zeitreel, with the possibility of training work in its portfolio brands (Salsa, Zippy and MO). «Zeitreel Sonae is one of the main players in the Portuguese fashion industry, so supporting Bloom is unequivocally a bet on the future, on talent and training. It is also a challenging project: both for the young designers, who have privileged access to the reality of our brands – Salsa Jeans, Zippy and Mo – and for us, who are committed to making them grow within the market», says the CEO of Zeitreel Sonae, Luís Reis.
Note that both winners will have business mentoring sessions and legal support and information services from ANJE – National Association of Young Entrepreneurs, organizer of Portugal Fashion. This support for the winners is aimed at facilitating the start of their commercial/entrepreneurial activity in the fashion industry, namely the conclusion of the brand registration process.
«It is undoubtedly a very enriching formative and professional experience for the young finalists. The BLOOM competition gives them access to a major fashion event, where they not only gain public visibility but also get to know all the dynamics of the backstage and runway production», said Portugal Fashion director Mónica Neto. «The experience is even more enriching for the winners, who are given resources to develop new collections and present them on the runway in future editions of Portugal Fashion», she adds.
«But the BLOOM Competition is not only an instrument for discovering new talent, which would already be extraordinary. Thanks to Zeitreel’s support, the competition is also a pathway for the professional integration of young designers. Portugal Fashion’s partnership with Zeitreel facilitates the access of the competing designers to the labour market, through the retail brands that the Sonae group has in the national clothing sector», Mónica Neto also highlights.
MORE INFORMATION AND APPLICATIONS HERE
