We are about to enter the season of International Fashion Weeks. They will still be hybrid events, with a split between video and physical shows. But Portuguese fashion has returned once more to feature in Europe’s capitals.
Photo: Tomás Monteiro
Béhen premiers in London
Béhen premiered in London with “Amor com amor se paga” (Love is repaid with love). The ModaLisboa designer’s first show brought traditional embroidery, ancestral techniques and the tenderness of the trousseau to the fashion week that is renowned for supporting, encouraging and praising up-and-coming designers.
“AMOS COM AMOR SE PAGA begins with the tragic story of Rodrigo and Leonor, who go against their quarrelling parents only to come to the end of their lives, but not the end of their love. Passos de D. Leonor is a legend that lingers above the waves at Peniche, captured on video by the young director Miguel Cassiano, with support from Peniche town council, the Peniche Harbourmaster and the Portuguese Environment Agency. BÉHEN’s Resort 2022 is the final chapter of three collections exploring the concept of love, marriage and what it means to be a woman.”
Milan welcomes Catalán and Miguel Vieira
Milan was the next stop for Portuguese fashion, featuring David Catalán and Miguel Vieira with support from Portugal Fashion. David Catalán kicked it off. For the SS22 season, he presented “Madre” — an emotional and personal tribute to his mother. David Catalán’s latest fashion collection keeps its iconic denim-based looks, but this season it adds a series of shirts with small ties, inspired by his mother working as a carpenter, making and designing straw chairs, as well as new hoods as a tribute to the working class of the rural areas where he has been throughout his life.
Then it was the turn of “Cores do dia” (Colours of the day), the new spring-summer 2022 collection by Miguel Vieira. This collection starts from the idea of a full schedule in which the day is filled with numerous scenarios, each with its own colours and items. In the words of the designer: “the day reveals unique photographic postcards like a morning run by the river in loose trousers and a casual T-shirt, enjoying the oxygen released by the trees and plants and the colourful backdrop of the birds. In the workplace, patterns that mix colours like sea green, aubergine and orchid, creating the perfect balance between them. Then with friends at the end of the day, adding a scarf in shades of raspberry and moon blue, managing to give a fresh look.”
Ernest W. Baker in Paris
The honours in the French capital belong to the Ernest W. Baker duo, with the designers claiming: “We are no longer defining the codes that mark us personally as a brand: we are redefining them.” Their designs for the coming season comprise a statement of what their brand represents in terms of attitude, clothing and style.
“With one foot in the present and one in the future, the new collection is about going farther into that new aesthetic territory by following two guides. The first is William Shakespeare with his Midsummer Night’s Dream — a magical night in which the impossible becomes possible. The second is Satoshi Kon, whose films portray a place that exists between the world as we know it and fantasy, particularly in Perfect Blue, with the emotions raining down on the characters.”
Alexandra Moura, David Catalán, Ernest W. Baker, Marques’Almeida and Miguel Vieira took part in a special event in Milan to mark Portugal Fashion’s 25th anniversary.
