Are we awake?
Words: Cláudia Pinto
Photos: Tomás Monteiro
Awake coined the phrase. “The future is in our hands! Are we awake?” From 5 to 8 March the Oficinas Gerais de Fardamento e Equipamento do Exército once again welcomed the confident footsteps of Portuguese fashion at an event that received 23,000 visitors. “To be AWAKE is to act. To build, create, solidify. To be AWAKE is to change when necessary and, at the same time, to retain what is close to our heart. To be AWAKE is to make the difference. ModaLisboa made the difference — makes the difference.”
An extended event that welcomed United Fashion Lisboa which, in addition to 15 European designers and representatives from six countries, also welcomed seven prestigious speakers from the national fashion industry to assist with training and networking activities. Wonder Room, Check Point, Zona Industrial took control of the rest of the event, discussing and reflecting on the future of national and international fashion. The main catwalk was, clearly, the focus for the presentations. From the ideas of the young designers at Sangue Novo, to the designers at LAB, to the ideas of the designers on the main catwalk, 39 designers showed off their designs for the coming autumn/winter season.
The catwalk calendar started, as normal, with Sangue Novo, the platform for presenting new creative talents. The 5 finalists presented their ideas for the 2020/21 autumn/winter season. This was followed by a presentation by Carolina Machado, with the words “longevity and naturalness: a wardrobe for every occasion”.
Duarte then took to the catwalk with Third Pole. The collection, using the name given to the Himalayas because after the North and South Poles it is the place on Earth with most fresh water, was inspired by the first expedition to Mount Everest in the 1950s. Next up was Valentim Quaresma with his new autumn/winter collection. With no starting point, this was a collection inspired by the designer’s own tastes, in a fusion of the books, travels and conversations he has enjoyed.
Carlos Gil brought the evening to a close with Mind Games. The creator introduced a determined, sensual and elegant woman with a selection of abstract patterns that result in an encounter with ‘new paths and emotions’.
The following day, João Magalhães did the honours with a return to the essence of design through the manipulation of colours, materials and proportions in a reinterpretation of some pieces from previous collections. The it was the turn of Buzina, on the LAB platform, with a weighty debut introducing the Input collection.
Luís Buchinho then filled the catwalk with a parade in partnership with Portugal Fashion. This collection celebrated 30 years of his label, with this season’s items reflecting some of the more striking codes of his style. He was followed by Ricardo Preto with his collection “Grey Gardens”, which was inspired by a documentary of the life of Big and Little Edie. Then came Luís Carvalho with Colourgraphic.
An explosion of colours, shapes and graphic lines invaded the catwalk.
The day ended with a golden trio. After Kolovrat presented the story of “immigrants of the future” observing the world with a new interpretation, Gonçalo Peixoto stole hearts with Rebellion. The coming autumn/winter season has appropriated the miniskirt, newly interpreted by the young creator. Nuno Gama closed with a golden key with the uniquely presented See Now Buy Now. This collection celebrates the 500th anniversary of Ferdinand Magellan’s circumnavigation.
The last day of Lisbon Fashion Week began with Constança Entrudo’s multimedia installation which, in a sensory way, focuses its presentation on the human body in relation to painting, sculpture, sound and fashion. The creative’s performance involved painted models inhabiting the space and becoming living paintings, displaying a hybrid collection marked by photographic prints and items with unfinished effects.
Hibu were next to take to the catwalk with a contemporary genderless collection with deconstructed details and oversized silhouettes that emphasised comfort, durability and utility. The label had an exclusive selection of environmentally-friendly materials, like organic denim, upcycled bombazine, nylons, knitwear and 100% cotton jerseys.
After Awaytomars presented “a trip to the centre of a black hole, the moment everything we know on earth begins to lose its shape and colour”, playing with asymmetries and mixtures of materials, it was the turn of Ricardo Andrez.
Andrez took the spotlight with oversized designs where comfort and sustainability were the watchwords.
After Aleksandar Protic’s collection of sensual and fluid lines, Ninamounah arrived from Amsterdam with “Complete Metamorphosis”, a collection that fuses a forgotten past with future realities. Sustainability was also the key word with this collection.
The event closed with Dino Alves. The designer’s life and memories were the starting point for his autumn/winter collection. From the provinces to Lisbon to the smell of the countryside, visits to galleries, the cinema, the theatre. All this resulted in pieces inspired by the wardrobe of the period, mixed with items with an almost punk aesthetic.
Focus on footwear
Portuguese footwear was once more present with its Happily Ever After exhibit.
This exhibition was inspired by the intrinsic quality of Portuguese footwear. “The good news is that the Portuguese footwear industry has also survived the test of time and continues to manufacture lifetime and timeless pieces, made for grown-ups who still like to play in the street, to kick up some dust and to go out for a meal straight after. Made for grown-ups who have never forgotten that there’s as much magic in a pair of shoes as there is in a fairy tale. And that there is even more magic when they are both the same thing.”
It also featured its partnership with Sanjo. During the event, all ModaLisboa staff and employees wore Portuguese footwear designed by Sanjo.
But there’s more. Everything makes more sense when you share a similar vision in which creativity leads to a unique, intense and stimulating creative process. This is what happened when the creator Duarte teamed up with Exceed Shoe Thinkers to present the results of this process during the creator’s show on the Lab catwalk at ModaLisboa. Two labels took to the catwalk while combining their authenticity and originality in a natural and disconcertingly harmonious manner.
For the gender-neutral Exceed Shoe Thinkers it was important to reconcile its creations with those who shared an identical way of feeling and making fashion. So, and in a very natural way, the name Ana Duarte emerged. The young and talented fashion designer very soon captured the attention of the founders and managers of Exceed Shoe Thinkers, Agostinho Marques and Pedro Caria. “The concept underlying the label and the aesthetic it attaches to each collection, coincides with the lifestyle we seek, which in a general way reflects a relaxed consumer and a ‘cool’ attitude towards life,” claims Pedro Caria. For his part, Agostinho Marques states that “there are coincidental aspects in the genesis of each of the labels. In addition to sharing an identical type of consumer, the innovative and experimental character of each collection also stands out. The mixture of materials and textures that has always identified us is a clear example of the creative alignment of both labels.”
