Anita Costa, Mariana Machado and Mariana Castro Moreira are from Porto and inspire others through their social networks. Looks, trips, meals or personal routines are part of their daily contents, with the city as backdrop and starting point.
Text: Maria Martinho
Anita Costa, 31 years old @anitadacosta
In 2014, while at law school in Coimbra, Anita decided to create a blog to feed her more creative side, sharing trips, photos of looks and some of her daily routines. From then on opportunities started to arise, brands started investing in influencer marketing and noticing her classic/chic style, full of personality. “Today it’s more than a business, it’s a way of life,” she says.
Whether on trips or at mealtimes, Anita Costa is passionate about photography, loves storytelling and ensures she is able to mix work and leisure. “I’m never in a beautiful place without managing to capture something. There’s always the inextricable pleasure of living and the moment for documenting it.” On the other hand, the constant creation of content continuously demands new perspectives on the triviality of her everyday life, so the search for new corners of the city and new ways of communicating a certain message becomes a real necessity.
Working in her own city, Porto, doesn’t mean she has missed out on any collaboration. “Portugal is very small. It’s easy to take a train or plane and go 300 kilometres. I love Porto. I feel it’s not too big a city, nor too small. It’s a perfect middle ground.” Baixa and Foz are her favourite places, either to photograph or walk around, and her days are divided between training, photo sessions, recording, events or editing. In the future, Anita wants to remain faithful to her style, promising to continue telling stories, presenting and building bridges with brands she identifies with, always having Porto in her sights.
Mariana Machado, 33 years old @marianamachado____
She created the blog “Doutrouble” in 2016, with her long-time friend Eduarda Teixeira Gomes, and thus her taste for fashion photography was born. She left nursing to dedicate herself 100% to creating online content and the audience that followed her became increasingly larger and, at the same time, more demanding. Mariana Machado currently sees the digital universe as her home; she is inspired daily by people and communicating is really her great passion. “I like to think that the content I produce serves somehow as entertainment and that it might brighten someone’s day. We are often a companion, an escape from the routines of everyday life and if someone tells me that my work has inspired them, then I know my work is done.”
With her photographer husband, Pedro Gomes, always by her side, the influencer has been increasingly focused on making content internationally, and she believes she is able to create all kinds of messages quickly, creatively and with quality.
Despite the hours spent inside a plane and recognizing that most events take place in the capital where the echoes of the media are more evident, Mariana insists that she wouldn’t swap Porto for any other city. “I’m passionate about my city and I love seeing it being recognized more and more by Portuguese people and the foreigners who visit us. It’s undoubtedly a beautiful city, with wonderful people and outstanding cuisine. Honestly, the question should be: how come Porto hasn’t been fashionable for longer?”
Mariana Castro Moreira, 33 years old @marianacastromoreira
When Mariana Castro Moreira started sharing photos of her daily looks in 2015, the word ‘influencer’ was not yet part of the everyday dictionary. “People liked it and I started gaining a lot of followers who started following my daily life. It was all a gradual and natural process.” Over time, the hobby that started as a simple joke became a way to earn money and pay the bills.
Mariana is not the typical lifestyle influencer who shares style or beauty tips through beautiful and consensual videos or photos. She presents herself with a sense of humour, covered by tattoos, wearing baggy clothes, and she talks about topics such as dance or football. “I prefer to inspire others positively, making myself known in the most natural and truthful way possible.”
Her favourite spots to photograph are Foz, Galerias Paris, Avenida dos Aliados, Casa da Música and Jardim Botâncio and her days are usually divided between workouts, beauty treatments, meetings and content production. With her different style, Mariana Castro Moreira believes she could do well in another city outside Portugal, but it’s in Porto that she likes to explore fashion, experiment with combinations and try out new restaurants. “Lisbon still has more events, it’s true, but there’s a lot happening in Porto too. I live in the world’s most beautiful city and it inspires me, both at work and in my life.”
