Model, booker, businesswoman. Luísa Beirão has many roles, and now she is launching a new label: HIA (Here I Am). The label is a hymn to liberty and simplicity.
Luísa, you recently launched your HIA project. How did it come about?
I first thought about creating my own label about three years ago, at a time when I needed a very simple, yet specific, dress — a simple and basic slip dress — and I couldn’t find it. I had to go to a foreign website to find one, and then I came up with the idea of creating a label. I spent years researching materials, getting the right combinations, then I thought selling only slip dresses would not be enough, so I also started selling sweaters, since this is one of the items of clothing I wear most often. After a few more months of research, I managed to find the right partners to take the label forward.
I felt there was nothing similar in Portugal, that there was no other label that wanted to interact like HIA wanted to interact with the population in general. HERE I AM is a manifesto of power, of comfort, of who we are and who we want to be here and now and in the future.
How does this project differentiate itself in the market?
The simplicity of the items combined with their quality. They are timeless items of clothing that will not go out of fashion.
The label came about to distinguish itself from the basic items of clothing that have been around for years. Sweaters and slip dresses are among my favourite clothes. And what I realised through my extensive research is that these things are almost absent in Portugal. And that is how Here I Am was born. As well as being a label, it is a message, a statement of power, of authenticity and of empowerment.
In every way. HIA is not just a label: it is a statement, it’s a kind of freedom, it is a label that will distinguish itself by the certainty and quality of every item.
Was this a way of perpetuating your connections with the world of fashion?
I have always had a professional connection with fashion, which has allowed me to work with a number of designers. These years of experience have allowed me to find my own style, one in which I feel beautiful and comfortable, and one I now want to share with others. Everything has already been created, all I did was give it a twist. One of the label’s main goals is to show women that with just one item, we can create and combine several looks.
This project inspires freedom, relaxation, simplicity… it challenges each person to be free to express themselves. Do you believe the fashion industry is moving in this direction?
Fashion is passionate about the absence of rules, and about the freedom to express ourselves through a second skin. I fell in love with fashion when, in the 1980s, I saw my mother wearing a brown tweed skirt below the knee, a green blouse and high-top boots. The following week she swapped the blouse for a purple cashmere sweater, under which she was wearing a baby blue T-shirt. I was, and still am, so fascinated by the ease of mixing and matching colours and textures.
I honestly believe the fashion industry is better now than ever! I had the chance to follow the latest editions of national and international fashion weeks and I loved the boost of creativity from many of the designers!
What lies ahead for HIA?
I can’t be specific. All I can say right now is that we will be adding more colours and styles of slip dresses.
HIA works with capsule collections. The idea is that we will change the colours and add new styles every two months. HERE I AM is a label that stands out due to the quality of its products and the uniqueness of each item.
Thousands of ideas, endless projects! The future will be very exciting once the label is fully launched!