The first day of shows, on Wednesday, March 16, was dedicated exclusively to the Bloom project, under which young Portuguese talent and new African designers presented their creations. The next day, the 17th, in the early afternoon, former bloomer Carolina Sobral revealed the talent and potential that motivated her rise from the Bloom platform to the main runway, in the last edition of the event.
That same afternoon, there was the debut of NOPIN, an industrial project born in 2006, in Gondomar. It is a brand with its own atelier and confection, which follows the principles of sustainable and inclusive fashion (it works with a network of local seamstresses) and focuses on manual work with quality fabrics. The design is the responsibility of the young designer Catarina Pinto, graduated from ESAD , finalist in the Denim Young Contest (Troficolor) and New Creators PFN (Selectiva Moda) and one of the winners of the project CREADOR ESAD@THE.
The program of the second day of shows continued with the irreverent menswear by Estelita Mendonça, the always elegant proposals by Katty Xiomara and the urban sophistication of David Catalán. The new collection from the Luso-Venezuelan designer is called “Lokura”, a pun with the Spanish “Locura” (madness in Portuguese) and “lo cura” (what heals and restores). It is, says Katty Xiomara, «a collection painted with incoherence, describing all the universes that the mind encloses.» In the colours, raw, white, lilac, and brown predominate, while the shapes are more or less lucid, more or less wide, more or less pitted or padded, built with laces, ties and fringes, and expressing confused and scribbled patterns.
After participating in the official Milan Men’s Fashion Week calendar last January, with the support of Portugal Fashion, David Catalán returned to the catwalk to present a collection inspired by «British school uniforms of the 60s and 70s» and the «versatility and comfort of the English dress code». For the upcoming cold season, the Spanish designer based in Porto bet on the deconstruction of the beautiful, creating more utilitarian clothes and bringing a bit of roughness with the use of denim.
The third day of shows kicked off with another case of transition from the Bloom platform to the main runway. The slow-fashion brand UNFLOWER, created in 2018 by the young designers Ana Sousa and Joana Braga, was back on the main calendar of Portugal Fashion, after the debut in the last edition of the event. This time, the collection “Melting in flower” was presented, in which «sober layers in color, overlaid on the body – fur, mélton, heavy denims -, reveal little by little the fragilities and transparencies – silks, rib knit, cottons – often enhanced by strong color».
Just back from Paris – where she was, in early March, participating in the Tranoi showroom (partner of the Paris Fashion Week), with the support of Portugal Fashion – Susana Bettencourt brought to the Alfândega runway her Autumn-Winter’23 line, where once again she revealed the particularly innovative way she works with knitwear. This was followed by the DAVII brand, which stands out for its creations in fluid fabrics and silk, designed by the Brazilian Davi, currently with an atelier in Porto.
After the luxurious winter collection of Sophia Kah, a brand signed by Ana Teixeira de Sousa, Pedro Pedro returned to the event’s runway. The connection of this designer to Portugal Fashion dates back to the early 2000s, with the brand Pedro Waterland, which he created with Júlio Waterland. With this label, he even participated in the Paris Fashion Week in 2006 and 2007, with the support of Portugal Fashion. Ten years later, in September 2016, he made his individual international solo debut at Milan Women’s Fashion Week, also as part of Portugal Fashion’s internationalization project.
The line-up for the 18th also included sustainable fashion proposals by the designer Pé de Chumbo and an ode to black by Miguel Vieira. The designer from S. João da Madeira presented the collection “Black Dinner”, after a passage, last January, at the Milan Men’s Fashion Week, with the support of Portugal Fashion. In this return to his fetish color, black, Miguel Vieira revealed a set of “classic tailoring pieces that combine with skirts; graphic or more organic patterns on shirts, ties and accessories; and fabrics rich in textures or with technical treatments.
Sleek, geometric silhouettes contrast in layers, while the lines are pure and stylized and the tailoring structured. Highlight to the prints developed in atelier and to the custom lining. All this in medieval blue, cloud grey and caviar black, applied to materials such as wool, cashmere, alpaca, fur, fabrics with lurex and jersey fabrics. Accessories include leather boots, scarves, headbands, and gold rings.
Fashion in the vintage environment of Ateneu
The last day of the 50th Portugal Fashion started at Ateneu Comercial do Porto, a 150-year-old building that transports us to the vintage atmosphere of the old bourgeoisie of Porto. Still in the morning, Diogo Miranda recreated «the lightness, the uniqueness and the romanticism of the 70s». The silhouette were long, layered and sculptural, the colors were vibrant and the draperies and delicate movements stood out. It was with this collection – which «is not about being sexy or avant-garde» but rather «about dressing well and feeling brave and confident» – that Diogo Miranda marked the 15th anniversary of his brand.
This was followed, also at Ateneu Comercial do Porto, by a happening in charge of Ernest W. Baker, a men’s fashion brand created by American Reid Baker and Portuguese Inês Amorim. The vintage refinement of the Oporto building served as the setting for an installation-video, in which 21 sophisticated tailoring looks were presented, with reworked classic cuts, attention to detail, quality materials and timeless colors, such as beige, brown and camel, punctuated with red and black. Inspired by the electronic music of Soviet composer Eduard Artemyev, this video-installation «aims to explore and emphasize the idea of time», explained the Portuguese-American duo, who guaranteed that in this new collection they are “refining” their aesthetic language.
Back to Alfândega, and after the presentation of the social inclusion project Re(veste), the 50th Portugal Fashion catwalk welcomed the collective show of eight footwear and accessories brands: Ambitious, esc, Felmini, Fly London, J. Reinaldo, Leather Goods by Belcinto, Nobrand and Rufel. Next, Nuno Miguel Ramos presented a womenswear collection in dark tones, in which different materials and textures are mixed, referring to the aesthetic patterns of the early 2000s. Then, one of the highlights of any Portugal Fashion: the menswear show by Hugo Costa, a designer with a consolidated national and international career who always seems willing to break boundaries and exceed limits with his collections.
Another eagerly awaited moment was Alexandra Moura’s show, who recently participated in Milan Women’s Fashion Week, as part of Portugal Fashion’s internationalization project. The designer revealed, in Porto, the collection “Lar Doce Lar”, which seeks to reflect on the meaning of “home” for each of us. In this sense, the patterns, prints and fabrics of this autumn-winter collection invoke the domestic imaginary, alluding to the various elements that form the memorabilia of a home, be they blankets, rugs, capitoné sofas, curtains, pillows or even duvets. Once again the designer explored the contrasts between classic and urban, with the streetwear aesthetic being accentuated by the use of denim.
The 50th Portugal Fashion ended on a high note, with the shows of one of the greatest footwear designers in the world, Luís Onofre, and the doyens of national fashion, Manuel Alves and José Manuel Gonçalves. Luxury, refinement and exclusivity in women’s shoes and leather goods, in the case of Luís Onofre’s collection; sophistication, streetwear and experimentalism at the service of women’s fashion, in the case of the Alves/Gonçalves collection. In both cases, creations that enhance and exalt women.
