Portugal Fashion Spring Summer 2015 ─ The particular Portuguese fashion week made to promote the country’s image is the topic of the Daily Couture’s latest contribution to the Huffington Post France here.  For the English version of the Daily Couture, sharing about the event I really enjoyed and found interesting is what I want to do here with some of my favorite pics below.

In Lisbon and Porto, 33 fashion shows took place in four days for the presentation of spring summer 2015 collections, last october. However Portugal Fashion, supported by the European Union, isn’t a fashion show taking place in the country only, it supports Portuguese designers commercially by organizing shows in fashion cities and during international fashion fairs as well. This is what makes it unique indeed.

Solidarity among the fashion designers

What was striking was the opportunity given to visitors to discover both renowned and unknown designers as well as fashion students during the same fashion event.  And the great thing is: I discovered that all of them were friends and were helping each other.  Mind-boggling, isn’t it?  As a fashion teacher in one of the four fashion schools in Porto, Modatex, designer Luis Buchinho was enjoying the great talents among the new designers he once had as students and who were showcasing at the same fashion week as him last October. No snobbish touch whatsoever here, but a joyful and genuine as much as a professional event.

Coming from a small country where designers know each other, the first generation of fashion designers that emerged in the late 80’s like Luís Buchinho or Fatima Lopes is willing to help younger ones like Susana Bettencourt ou Hugo Costa. The solidarity among the designers and the commercial support by Portugal Fashion inspires many aspiring designers in the country where the word crisis is on everyone’s lips. Becoming a designer would be the way out of it in the country already renowned for the made in Portugal used by fast fashion brands as H&M or luxury brands as Armani.  Portugal Fashion aims to have the local fashion designers internationally renowned as well now on.

The fashion community grows in Porto

A fashion community has emerged, especially in Porto. Internationally renowned Portuguese textile and shoe factories are located in the North East of Porto where another kind of fashion ecosystem has been developing for the last five years with an increasing number of fashion teachers, make-up and hair artists and designers in the region.

Last but not least, the fashion feast in Porto goes hand in hand with the rebirth of the city itself that bets on Portuguese fashion designers for Porto branding internationally. The brand new identity of Porto was revealed with its revisited logo by White Studio, an award winning multidisciplinary design studio. Its blue design hints at the traditional crafts of blue earthenware spread all across the city still relying on its heritage as a UNESCO World Heritage city. But not only, the President of the Municipal Assembly of Porto, Miguel Pereira Leite, explains : « we have more to offer and rely on the fashion community and designers to bring visions of the city as well. Many more stories still remained to be told ». The new logo is one key step in doing so by revisiting iconic symbols such as heritage monuments or what makes Porto daily life specific like the Portuguese sandwich, the Francesinha. All of what makes the identity of the city has been visually revisited and conveyed by all connected graphic lines.

The city of Porto opens an era up in a big way and designers are expected to be part of the adventure!

For the Daily Couture, I post my favorite pics of the fashion shows showcased at Portugal Fashion. Below are photos from the collections of Luis Buchinho, Susana Bettencourt and Joao Melo Costa. Each of them happen to refer to the first three generations of Portuguese fashion designers who are able to gain international acclaim on the fashion scene.

Luís Buchinho

Luís Buchinho explained what he refers to as the “intelligence of feminity”, meaning for him : knowing how to suggest one’s body rather than revealing it out of the blue. His knitting pieces were terrific with the soft and pastel color palette. Best of all,  in the project of enhancing Porto branding by the municipality, we were given the opportunity to discover and enjoy for the first time some heritage sites used as fashion venues. Luís Buchinho ‘s collection was showcased at the Conservatory of Music…!

Joao Melo Costa

Hardly has João Melo Costa graduated from his fashion school than he created his own brand that got noticed by Japanese and American buyers. His textile research went beyond the artistic gesture of a haute couture collection, meaning a one shot. His printed textile made of real leaves has been turned into a wearable, washable and adorable outfit. No wonder that the symbiosis with Nature here would seduce a high-end fashion market.

Susana Bettencourt

Last, Susana Bettencourt showed a perfectly mastery in exploring her graphic prints and both sculptural and soft lines with sophisticated master craftsmanship. No matter what the silhouette is, it’s always beautiful, isn’t it?

Portugal Fashion is this one special event that exudes creativity, vision and solidarity among the talents, and it feels good!

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