The 40th Portugal Fashion, one of the biggest fashion events on the Iberian Peninsula

PORTUGAL FASHION CLOSES ITS PRESENCE IN THE

MAIN FASHION CAPITALS IN PORTO

▪ The fashion shows in Porto will mark the end of the presentations of the Fall-Winter

2017-18 collection, which were also seen in New York, London, Paris, Milan and Lisbon

▪ Trends for the cold season revealed by Anabela Baldaque, Carlos Gil, Diogo Miranda,

Luís Buchinho, Luís Onofre, Miguel Vieira, Katty Xiomara, Susana Bettencourt, Dielmar,

Lion of Porches, Fly London, among many others

▪ Designer Micaela Oliveira makes her début at the event

▪ Katty Xiomara opens a photography exhibition and auctions a luxury tapestry

▪ Júlio Torcato reveals his new collection with an installation at the Porto Customs House

▪ This 40th event will have 31 fashion shows, involving 15 designers, six clothing brands,

six footwear brands, ten young designers and one label

▪ Fashion shows at Cordoaria Nacional, in the Porto Customs House, the Portuguese

▪ Photography Centre (CPF), the CTT Palace and the Porto Silo Auto car park

Following the four fashion shows in Lisbon (Pedro Pedro, Alexandra Moura, Alves/Gonçalves and

TM Collection), the 40th Portugal Fashion continues in Porto, on 23 March, with the proposals

from the young Bloom designers at the CTT Palace. The next day, 24 March, the austere

atmosphere of the Portuguese Photography Centre will be the setting for Katty Xiomara's fashion

show. That day and the next, 25 March, there will be fashion shows by other famous names in

Portuguese fashion, such as Anabela Baldaque, Carlos Gil, Diogo Miranda, Luís Buchinho, Luís

Onofre, Miguel Vieira and Nuno Baltazar.

The emerging designers, some with a prior presence in Bloom, taking part in this 40th Portugal

Fashion are Estelita Mendonça, Hugo Costa, Sara Pontes and Susana Bettencourt. Also being

showcased are the ready-to-wear collections by Ana Sousa, Dielmar, Lion of Porches, Micaela

Oliveira and Pé de Chumbo. Footwear will have its usual collective show, bringing together six

prestigious brands: Ambitious, Dkode, Fly London, JJ Heitor Shoes, J. Reinaldo and Nobrand.

For the four days of the 40th Portugal Fashion (22 to 25 March), 31 fashion shows have been

scheduled, involving 15 designers, six clothing brands, six footwear brands, ten young designers

and one label. There will also be two parallel events supported by Portugal Fashion: the

presentation of the Storytailors collection, on 22 March, in the duo's studio in Lisbon, and the

installation called MOBIL(IZE) with coordinates from Júlio Torcato’s new collection.

Júlio Torcato’s installation will be on exhibit at the Porto Customs House on 24 and 25 March.

There will also be an official event presenting and celebrating the designer's new collection, at

9:30 pm on 25 March, which will be open to the press and to guests. Incidentally, Júlio Torcato

has just opened a shop in downtown Porto, together with his daughter, Inês Torcato, who is taking

part in the Bloom project fashion shows.

“Portugal Fashion is becoming a victim of its own success. As happens with other big

international fashion events, there is a need to support events parallel to the official

calendar to promote designers and labels that, for a variety of reasons, cannot take part in

the fashion show programme. This is the case this time, with Storytailors and Júlio

Torcato, whose new collections will be presented in events supported by Portugal

Fashion”, explained the President of ANJE, Adelino Costa Matos.

Another highlight will be the inauguration, at 11 am on 24 March, at the Portuguese Photography

Centre (CPF) in Porto, of the “Anatomia do Tempo – Memories Revisited – NIGHT, FASHION &

FANTASY” exhibition, organised by Katty Xiomara along with national fashion photographers. As

the name implies, it consists of photographs allusive to the world of fashion, which will be on

exhibit until 23 April in the building the designer chose as the setting for her fashion show at the

40th Portugal Fashion.

The idea for the exhibition came from a challenge laid down to eight photographers (Aloísio Brito,

Ana Luísa Silva, Carlos Teixeira, Cassiano Ferraz, Frederico Martins, Mário Príncipe, Ricardo

Santos and Victor Hugo) for each of them to recreate an old photo from the CPF, inspired by the

mystical universe evoked in Katty Xiomara's new collection, “El toro enamorado de la luna” (see

description below).

The Portuguese-Venezuelan designer will also be involved in another campaign during the 40th

Portugal Fashion, this one of a social nature. Desistart, a Portuguese luxury tapestries company,

produced a large tapestry (200x400 cm and 50 kg) from a design by Katty Xiomara. It will adorn

the catwalk for the presentation of the designer's new collection. After the fashion show, the

tapestry will be auctioned and the proceeds of the sale will go to a charitable institution.

A diverse, balanced and attractive programme

Porto is the final stage in a cycle of presentations of Fall-Winter 2017-18 collections, which visited

New York, London, Paris, Milan and Lisbon. For the recently-elected Chairman of the National

Board of ANJE, organiser of the event, “it is indeed a privilege to be able to attend the 40th

Portugal Fashion, after the quality of our designers and brands has been, once again,

broadly recognised in the main circuits of world fashion, such as New York, London, Paris

and Milan.

The national audience, both general and professional, will be able to enjoy a particularly

vibrant moment in Portuguese fashion, attending fashion shows that bring together

designer fashion, commercial lines, young designer proposals and footwear collections.

It is a diversified, balanced and attractive fashion show programme worthy of the 20-year

history of Portugal Fashion”, concluded Adelino Costa Matos, the new head of ANJE.

One of the designers included in Portugal Fashion's most recent internationalisation campaigns

and present at New York Fashion Week was Katty Xiomara, who is now bringing her “El toro

enamorado de la luna” collection to the CPF. Inspired by the “mysterious universe of the forest

and its creatures”, the collection has items with pure, clean lines, but with a rolling, natural volume.

“The fabrics are rich and textured, some light and fluid, others structured and compact”, and are

“outlined in jacquards and prints, combined with lace and embroidery”. In the colours, “cold night

blue touched by light and shadow contrasts with the warm shades of wood and leaves”.

Also on 24 March, one of the most promising Portuguese fashion designers, Estelita Mendonça,

reveals a collection where the majority of the materials used are recycled. “The blanket-capes are

made from waste cotton, generally used when moving house or in renovations, and the sleeping

bags were reprocessed [by combining various materials], in an attempt to instil an idea of constant

movement and travelling”. The silhouette “comes close to street style, in a freer, more relaxed

version”.

Another young designer who has been consolidating her work and gaining fame in the fashion

world is Susana Bettencourt, whose fashion show will take place on 24 March. Entitled “Wear’art”,

the new collection from the Azorean designer has “jacquard squares consisting of striped,

pixelized textures, contrasting with angular geometry”. Once again, Susana Bettencourt shows

off her special talent for mixing, intercepting and blending technology and handicrafts, through

the use of hand knits. In this collection, the designer “defends art in fashion, even with the new

dynamics and perception destroyed by fast fashion”.

The programme for 24 March ends with the always eagerly awaited fashion shows by Luís Onofre

and Carlos Gil. The former will be presenting his “Solid Rock” collection, where “women's shoes

recall the monumental nature of cathedrals and men's shoes are inspired by the boldness of rock”.

Metals and Swarovski stones abound, as well as chains, tacks and metal accessories from the

1970s. Carlos Gil, who took part in the most recent Milano Moda Donna, will be revealing his

“Magic Tale” collection, inspired by the world of children. The designer “reproduces prints with

pure children's motifs and acrylic appliqués mixed with geometric patterns”.

Miguel Vieira closes the fashion shows

The kick off on the last day is at midday, with Luís Buchinho's fashion show, just back from

Portugal Fashion's campaign at Paris Fashion Week. The markedly bare, urban look of the Porto

Silo Auto car park serves as the setting for his “This is the sea” collection, where the designer

created “long silhouettes in a look totally constructed in layers, suggesting overlapping skirts and

trousers portraying the fusion of male vs female”.

“Silk prints with stone and clay motifs, elastic fabrics with graphic elements taken from fishing

boats, wools with leather treatment, lace and mesh with foil and cotton and nylon gabardines take

on an important role in showing the nautical environment” of the collection. The colours are neutral

and sober, including black, clay, navy blue, anthracite, red and white.

Another designer with an international impact, although still young, is Hugo Costa, who made his

début in January on the official calendar of Paris Fashion Week Menswear, with the support of

Portugal Fashion. The designer took his inspiration from the adventures of Norwegian explorer

Roald Amundsen to design a collection with oversized silhouettes in long overcoats and

dungarees, where white, black and blues predominate.

Another young designer from Bloom, Carla Pontes, “eliminates seams, highlights comfort, selects

soft textures and touches in materials that favour cotton and wools” in her new collection. This is

a collection with “organic volumes with urban and sporty details, such as subtle metallic appliqués,

plastic graphics and details with strong colour contrasts”. There is an abundance of neutral

colours: blacks, raw shades, greys and sky blue.

Also on 25 March, note should be taken of Micaela Oliveira's début at Portugal Fashion. The

stylist dresses actresses Rita Pereira and Diana Chaves and the presenter Cristina Ferreira,

among other public figures and she has her own shops with the She label, corresponding to her

more urban line. Micaela Oliveira is presenting her “Botero” collection, inspired by the Colombian

artist of the same name. “The silhouettes give way to the curves outlined by the garment covering

the body, creating static shadows”. Of note are the coordinates and the semi-oversize fit items,

as well as anatomically market garments in neutral shades, nude and black with splashes of

colour.

The 40th Portugal Fashion ends with Miguel Vieira's fashion show. He recently took part in New

York Fashion week, with the endorsement of Portugal Fashion. In his “Reflexos refletidos”

collection, the designer proposes “for men, slim fit structured, tailor made suits, casual overcoats

and trousers with a pronounced cut; for women, slim silhouettes, contrasting volumes, maxi and

mini sizes and structured garments, some of them oversized”. All of this in dark grey, light grey,

black, navy blue, red and marshmallow white.

In this collection, Miguel Vieira opted for a multitude of materials, from wool to imitation leather,

through tailored check and pinstripe fabrics, neoprene, knits, lace, jerseys, etc. Of note in the

details are the personalised prints, the layers with casual and worked elements, pleats and

manipulated fabrics.

Portugal Fashion 2015-2017 – a project run by ANJE – National Association of Young

Entrepreneurs, developed in partnership with ATP – Textile and Apparel Association of Portugal,

and co-financed by Portugal 2020, under the scope of the Operational Programme for

Competitiveness and Internationalisation – Compete 2020, with funding from the European Union

through the European Regional Development Fund.

Fashion coordination and production by designer Paulo Cravo

BLOOM TAKES OVER THE CTT PALACE IN A FESTIVAL OF URBAN CULTURE

• There will be nine fashion shows by ten young designers and one label

• Portugal Fashion's alternative catwalk once again has its own calendar

• Débuts by Carla Alves (Amorphous label), Mariana Almeida and Nycole

• DJ sets by Alfredo, Maria and DJ KITTEN

The markedly urban and alternative CTT Palace in Porto will be the setting for the nine fashion

shows in the 14th Bloom event, a Portugal Fashion project dedicated to discovering and promoting

young fashion designers. Bloom will be returning to a place it was happy and will once again have

a full day's programme at Portugal Fashion, clearly showing the increasingly prominent role of

new designers at the event.

This time coordinated and produced by designer Paulo Cravo, for the second time in a row, Bloom

will have its very own calendar, giving the young designers' fashions shows more independence

from the main catwalk. “The autonomy of Bloom reinforces the project's capacity to

emphasise its unique characteristics in Portuguese fashion, as well as giving young

designers the opportunity to publicly display what distinguishes them, what individualises

them as designers and sets their work apart”, is the opinion of Paulo Cravo, who has taken

over from Miguel Flor as project coordinator.

At this 40th Portugal Fashion, “we are once again setting aside a day just for the Bloom

fashion shows, following the successful experiment in the previous event. The quality,

modernity and sophistication of the young designers' collections fully justify this

independence from the main catwalk. And the popularity of the event with the public at

what is now the Bloom fetish space, the CTT Palace, as well as the interest of the

specialised press and buyers in the young designers, prove that our strategy of giving it

autonomy is correct”, assured the President of ANJE, Adelino Costa Matos.

He also added that “opting for a calendar just for Bloom is positive, first of all for the young

designers, who have improved material and promotional conditions for presenting their

collections. But Portugal Fashion also wins with this option, because it means that the

event itself is being rejuvenated both creatively and generationally. We are working for the

future of the young designers in Portuguese fashion and Portugal Fashion”.

Nine fashion shows by ten designers and one label

The fashion shows at the 14th Bloom kick off right at the beginning of the afternoon, with the

catwalk divided between Olimpia Davide's creations and the proposals from Amorphous, the label

of a first-timer, Carla Alves. The second fashion show is by Nycole, also making her début at

Bloom. The fashion performances continue with Eduardo Amorim, who recently took part in White

Milano Uomo – an internationalisation campaign supported by Next Step, Portugal Fashion's

commercial project.

This will be followed by proposals from Maria Kobrock, the collective fashion show by Beatriz

Bettencourt and Mariana Almeida (making her début) and Pedro Neto's new collection. In the

evening, there will be fashion shows by David Catalán, Sara Maia and Inês Torcato, three names

that have already gained some projection in national fashion.

The irreverence of the young designers is framed by the markedly urban cultural atmosphere that

Bloom creates, by combining fashion with other contemporary aesthetic expressions, particularly

music. During the intervals between fashion shows, the CTT Palace will vibrated to the beat of

DJ sets by Alfredo, Maria and DJ KITTEN. Once again, it is expected to be a festival of urban

culture, which Nova Era radio will be devoting a special programme to.

39 young designers supported by Bloom

The Bloom project was created by Portugal Fashion in 2010, at the 27th event, in order to support,

publicise and promote young Portuguese designers nationally and internationally.

Since that event in 2010, the Bloom project has made it possible for 39 young designers and six

new designer labels to present their collections. Namely, Alexandre Marrafeiro, Ana Segurado,

Andreia Lexim, Beatriz Bettencourt, Carla Pontes, Carlos Couto, Catarina Santos, Celsus,

Cláudia Garrido, Daniela Barros, David Catalán, Diana Matias, Eduardo Amorim, Elionai

Campos, Estelita Mendonça, Gonçalo Páscoa, Hugo Costa, Inês Marques, Inês Torcato, Iúri,

Joana Ferreira, João Melo Costa, João Rôla, Mafalda Fonseca, Margarida Gentil, Maria Martins,

Maria Kobrock, Olimpia Davide, O Simone, Pedro Jorge, Pedro Neto, Pedro Pinto, Pilar Pastor,

Pritt Franco, Rita Gilman, Sara Maia, Stefano Ficetola, Susana Bettencourt, Teresa Abrunhosa

as well as the Align With Kay, Atelier Ctrl, Autopsy (by Jordann Santos), HIBU., K L A R and UN T

labels.

The names of young designers Carla Alves (Amorphous label), Mariana Almeida and Nycole,

who will be making their débuts on the Bloom catwalk at this 40th Portugal Fashion, must now be

added to that list.

Some of these young Bloom designers have participated in international fashion shows and

showrooms with the support of Portugal Fashion, or its complementary commercial project, Next

Step, and have been present at important fashion events in London, Paris, Milan, Vienna,

Copenhagen and Madrid.

Carla Pontes, Estelita Mendonça, Hugo Costa and Susana Bettencourt are examples of young

designers who, following their participation in the Bloom project, have consolidated their careers

and are now on the main Portugal Fashion calendar. They have also taken part in several

international fashion events with the endorsement of Portugal Fashion.

24 and 25 March, from 2 pm to 10 pm, at the Customs House in Porto

PORTUGAL FASHION COLLECTIONS

ON DISPLAY AT THE BRAND UP SHOWROOM

▪ Designs by Anabela Baldaque, Luís Buchinho, Micaela Oliveira and Katty Xiomara

will be at the event

The Brand Up showroom will be held during the 40th Portugal Fashion, with its inclusion in the

event format for the fifth time. It is an exhibition of collections by creators and clothes brands, open

to the general public but also directed at specialised purchasing agents. It is important to mention

that Brand Up takes place at the same time as the fashion shows at the Porto Customs House, on

24 and 25 March, between 2 pm and 11:30 pm, with free admission.

Brand Up takes on an eminently commercial role, complementing the showcasing of the catwalk

collections. Items of clothing presented in Portugal Fashion can be seen up close in the showroom.

The collections on show are by young Bloom designers Beatriz Bettencourt, David Catalán,

Eduardo Amorim, Nycole, Olimpia Davide and Pedro Neto and designers Anabela Baldaque, Carla

Pontes, Luís Buchinho, Micaela Oliveira and Katty Xiomara.

A wider audience is thus given the opportunity of becoming better acquainted with Portuguese

fashion, particularly items that are not on offer in retail outlets. On the other hand, national and

international buyers are expected to be at the showroom, by invitation from the Portugal Fashion

organisers.

In the opinion of the new President of ANJE, Adelino Costa Matos, “the commercial aspect is

inherent to the Portugal Fashion project. In its 20 years of existence, it has sought to

reconcile the creative side of fashion with its business potential. With this in mind,

organising showroom events at the same time as the fashion shows is a way of making it

possible for designers and labels to work on their collections from a purely commercial

standpoint, thus complementing the performance, artistic and glamourous side of the

catwalk. Brand Up is part of the history of Portugal Fashion and is on the Portuguese

fashion calendar, so it is with great pleasure that we have once again organised this

showroom”.

THE TENDERNESS OF 40

Portugal Fashion has reached its 40th event, a number which is normally associated with

maturity and consolidation. After the event's 20th anniversary in 2015, this is an occasion that

brings back memories and encourages a return to the past to better envision the future.

On 27, 28 and 29 July 1995, under the name “Portugal Fashion 95 – Jovens à Moda do Porto”

(young people, Porto style), an event was produced that was not limited to the usual catwalk

fashion shows. In addition to the tout court fashion show, the inaugural programme also included

a conference, a children’s fashion show, musical interludes and a tribute to international

designer Franco Moschino. This event was only possible thanks to the vision and

entrepreneurial capacity of ANJE directors such as Paulo Barros Vale, Manuel Serrão and Paulo

Nunes de Almeida.

Participants in this first event included names that are well-known today, such as José António

Tenente, Nuno Gama, Maria Gambina, Luís Buchinho, Júlio Torcato and José Carlos. And to

add glamour to these designers’ collections, international top models like Claudia Schiffer, Elle

Macpherson, Carla Bruni and Helena Christensen paraded on the catwalk of the recently

opened national headquarters of ANJE, in Porto.

The following year, Portugal Fashion sought to consolidate its philosophy. Once again, care was

taken to attract the attention of the international media, using the media exposure and charisma

of top models. But, unfortunately, the event chose the Coliseu do Porto as the stage for the

show. On the first night, 27 September 1996, a fire broke out in the Porto concert hall. The

second part of the event was then postponed until 26 October, in the Crystal Palace.

The concerns about making the proposals from the textile and clothing sector better known

became more accentuated in the 3rd event, with the introduction of a show devoted exclusively

to the industry. At the 5th Portugal Fashion, in 1999, the Ferreira Borges Market continued to be

the nerve centre, but the number of participants increased considerably because young

designers were given an opportunity to present their proposals. For the first time, there was a

footwear show, which took place in the Porto Customs House.

In 2000, and with the intention of adjusting to the calendars of the major international fashion

shows, Portugal Fashion was divided into two annual events: one dedicated to fall/winter

collections and another presenting the spring/summer proposals. There was also some

decentralisation of the event. The first event in 2000 was not held in Porto, but rather in Portimão,

in April. In the following events, shows were held in Funchal and in Figueira da Foz.

In 2004, for the first time, the event took place at the Porto CACE Cultural Centre, an ample and

aesthetically stimulating space that would allow individual shows to be focused on. The 16 th

Portugal Fashion, in 2005, marked the beginning of a new cycle. The event reinforced the

relationship between the industry and designers, focusing on labels where the design is clearly

seen as a competitive factor and on designers who look at their work from a commercial point

of view. It is also understood that the collections gain fresh impetus when they are presented

individually, because the designers are allowed to maximise the entire spectacle inherent to

fashion shows.

Unlike what had been happening since 1995, and despite the nomadic nature of some of the

shows during the history of the event, the 21st Portugal Fashion, in 2007, was not held in Porto,

but on the left bank of the River Douro. In fact, Vila Nova de Gaia hosted the following three

Portugal Fashion events, in accordance with a protocol signed by the event organisers – ANJE

and ATP – and the local authority.

The 25th Portugal Fashion in 2009 marked the event's return to Porto and the Customs House

building, which had hosted the spring/summer events in 2001 and 2002. The monumental

building, restored by Eduardo Souto de Moura, would become the event “headquarters”, playing

host to all of the events held in Porto.

The 27th Portugal Fashion, in 2010, marked the 15th anniversary of the event, with the largest

fashion show programme ever, as well as artistic interventions, contemporary art exhibitions,

concerts, DJ sets and other entertainment. This event was also marked by the start of Bloom, a

project dedicated to discovering and promoting new designers.

Portugal Fashion once again underwent a conceptual transformation at the 30th event in 2012.

The first day of fashion shows took place in Lisbon (MUDE / Lisbon Geography Society) and the

remaining three days were at the Porto Customs House, as usual. The event then began dividing

its calendar of fashion shows between the two cities.

This organisation model, with opening shows in Lisbon and the main body of the line-up in the

Porto Customs House, has remained constant. In addition, the shows started to be held in

aesthetically important buildings, so that the catwalk can interact with the surroundings. This

staging of the shows is, in fact, a distinguishing feature of Portugal Fashion and one of its

strategies for adding value to Portuguese designs, both nationally and internationally.

With this decentralisation of the fashion show programme, Portugal Fashion took on the

organisational model of other big international fashion events, such as Paris Fashion Week,

where the use of glamorous buildings (often unknown) in these cities reinforces the promotional

capacity, the aesthetic language and the authorial worldview of designers and brands.

In 2016, at the 39th event, the Bloom project was given its own calendar and an exclusive venue

for its fashion shows, thus gaining independence from the main catwalk.

Internationalisation of the event

The international aspect of Portugal Fashion is one of the main areas of operation of the project

and is undoubtedly one of the most important, bearing in mind that due to our limited domestic

market, labels and designers can only grow by expanding their activities to the international

arena and marketing their proposals there.

Portugal Fashion campaigns abroad have generally been well-received. Since 1999, shows by

the main Portuguese designers and labels (Felipe Oliveira Batista, Fátima Lopes, Luís

Buchinho, Ana Salazar, Alves/Gonçalves, Miguel Vieira, Storytailors, and many more) have

been produced at major international fashion events, such as Paris Fashion Week (ready-to-

wear and haute couture), the 7th on Sixth Fashion Week (New York), São Paulo Fashion Week,

London Fashion Week, Barcelona Fashion Week, SIMM (Madrid International Fashion Salon),

Istanbul Fashion Week, Vienna Fashion Week or the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid, for

example.

These shows are complemented by showrooms, presentations to the press, contacts with

purchasing agents, meetings with possible financial backers and raising support from public

entities promoting Portuguese investment abroad. In other words, there is an entire external

promotion programme that involves much more than the actual shows. On the contrary, it has

different components and areas of operation.

In recent years, Portugal Fashion has been working on continuity with designers and labels that,

in principle, not only present quality collections, but also have production, distribution and

marketing capacity for the international market. A specific example of this integrated and

uninterrupted operating logic is designer Luís Buchinho, who already exports around half of his

collections.

Now that Portuguese fashion has moved up to the first division in the world league, it would

make no sense to interrupt the internationalisation strategy followed so far, which would just

mean throwing away the reputation already earned. The future must include an increasing focus

on the major international fashion shows, where our designers’ creations parade side by side

with names such as Armani, Versace, Jean-Paul Gaultier and Dolce & Gabanna. It is important

to continue to show the world that Portugal is good, both in quality and design.

Young designers (Carla Pontes, Daniela Barros, Estelita Mendonça, Hugo Costa, Joana

Ferreira, João Melo Costa, and others) have also participated in international fashion shows and

showrooms with the support of Portugal Fashion and have been present at important fashion

events in London, Vienna, Paris, Copenhagen, Berlin and Madrid.

In 2015, Portugal Fashion took part in the Milano Moda Donna Fashion Week for the first time,

producing shows by Carlos Gil and Miguel Vieira in The Mall. After this trip to the capital of

Lombardy, Portugal Fashion can take pride in having participated in the four main fashion weeks

in the world: New York, London, Paris and Milan.

The Next Step project, a new promotional itinerary for the Portuguese fashion business

organised by ANJE, began in 2015. For a year, until the end of 2016, the commercial arm of

Portugal Fashion organised over 20 international promotional campaigns and two workshops,

involving 16 national designers and six national brands, with a frankly positive outcome. In this

first quarter of 2017, Next Step was back with more weight and influence in the

internationalisation of business in the Portuguese fashion sector. It was present at three different

campaigns in New York, two in Paris, one in London and another in Milan, making a total of

seven external campaigns.

In 2016 and 2017, the event became part of the annual calendar of collection presentations in

the four main fashion capitals, and both the Portuguese designs and the technical quality of the

Portugal Fashion staff were very well-received on these international circuits.