February 11, 2015

By Contributor

Photos courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid

Madrid, Spain – MBFWM’s official line-up, held from February 6th to 11th at Ifema’s exhibition centre, hosted an invited country: Portugal. The organization of Madrid’s fashion week has recognized the influence of the neighbouring country as far as fashion design is concerned and invited three of its renowned designers to present their work in Madrid. And so, on February 9th at 8.30 p.m., Spain’s leading catwalk welcomed the collections signed by three of the most well-known Portuguese fashion designers: ANABELA BALDAQUE, JÚLIO TORCATO and MIGUEL VIEIRA.

MBFWM’s 61st edition – which in February 2015 celebrated 30 years of existence – offered a wide representative range of Portuguese creative universe, which is also known for its tradition in the textile production sector.

The three Portuguese designers showed their collections in Madrid under the umbrella of “PORTUGAL FASHION”, an initiative conducted by ANJE (Portuguese Association of Young Entrepreneurs), which aims at promoting Portuguese fashion, organizing shows twice a year in Lisboa and Porto as well as in other foreign fashion capitals, presenting the utmost avant-garde collections of national designers.

ANABELA BALDAQUE Fall/Winter 2015/16

The Portuguese fashion shows in Madrid were opened by the designer ANABELA BALDAQUE, a key figure in the Portuguese fashion industry. After finishing her studies in design in 1983 at the “Gudi Fashion School”, she completed her training in Paris and worked with Emilio Pucci in Florence. She started her own brand in the year 1988 and in 2000 she opened her first store in Oporto. She has exhibited her collections in the best international platforms (Paris, New York, Sao Paulo, Düsseldorf, Copenhagen) and currently has stores in Oporto, Lisbon and Åarhus (Denmark). Her collections are very feminine, with an urban, practical and simple style.

ANABELA BALDAQUE´s Collection Autumn-Winter 2015/16 was named “Teatime”. A history made up of images. The visit to a museum reminded her the cloakroom with winter clothes hanging there. Capes, long coats, big coats, thick coats, scarves wool…Each picture of the exhibition awaked in the designer a chromatic movement: Autumnal shades like beige and ecru, combined with yellow, orange, black and many shades of blue. The shine of the colours savouring the elegance. The collection showed a mixture of romantic rock mixed with graphic audacity. Among other materials: brocade, silks, lurex, wool, jersey knit, plain and fantasy textures. The silhouettes were long and flowing, being key pieces coats and scarf shirts. 

The second fashion show was signed by JÚLIO TORCATO, one of the most important designers in Portugal creating fashion for men. His collections are aimed at the young man of today and positioned in a medium-high market segment. Identity, mobility and trendiness are the key concepts of the brand. He offers a casual style, with sports influences, and is characterised by a combination of minimalist and classical casual aesthetics, the high quality and strong identity of the products and the special attention to patterns and details. The men´s collections of Júlio Torcato show an elegant and urban style, based on a classical inspiration but with a contemporary mentality. Usually, he works with materials such as wood, silk and linen, using sometimes technological textiles such as neoprene. Among his favourite colours we can find several tonalities of grey, blue and beige.

JULIO TORCATO Fall Winter 2015/16

Júlio Torcato finished in 1989 his design studies at the”Academia de Moda, Artes y Técnicas” in Porto. On the same year he wins the Portex Contest for Young Designers (Spring/Summer). Other awards followed this prize.He has been the designer for many recognised international brands (Queens, Decénio, Salsa, Lion of Porches y Red Oak). Since 2008 he started to commercialize his own brand, taking part in several fairs and international fashion shows (Paris, Czech Republic, Poland, Brasil, Angola, Mozambique, etc.). Besides that, since 2007, he teaches as a design professor at the Beira University.

“TWO (2) COLLECTION” was the title of the collection for the next winter collection presented by JÚLIO TORCATO in Madrid. The collection inspired by duality and duplicity, us and them, with the differences approaching like energy (positive/negative) and associating apparently opposing concepts: light/dark, tradition/modernity, classical/street. The materials, shapes and textures were the key concept of the collection: low waisted pants and long jackets, synthetic leather, velvet, leather, 100% wool, stripes and tartans provide contemporary silhouettes and reinforce the look of the collection. The used colours were black, navy blue, burgundy, and ash.

The golden “finale” for the Portuguese shows in Madrid was held by MIGUEL VIEIRA, one of the most national and internationally recognized and respected Portuguese designers. His successful career as a designer started 1986 and he is today one of the greatest names of fashion in Portugal, where he usually presents his collections at the “Portugal Fashion Weeks” fashion shows in Porto and Lisbon. He has participated at the most important international platforms and catwalks (Paris, Sao Paulo, Moscow, Milano, Belgrade, Warsaw, Istanbul, Bilbao, Montevideo, Madeira, Barcelona, etc.). Miguel Vieira has received many awards and has taken part in many international design projects. His label is commercialized since 1991, offering, besides his collections for men and women, his own lines in shoes, jewels, glasses, handbags and homewear. His creations can be found all around the world as it shown by the fact that 80% of his sells are made out of Portugal.

MIGUEL VIEIRA FALL WINTER 2015/16

MIGUEL VIEIRA´s AUTUMN/WINTER 2015/16 Collection was a minimalist, luxury and wonderful collection, where inspiration came, as the designer said, “From the fabrics and other materials, and their implementation process”. Perfectly cut suits with a hand-crafted base, carefully made by tailors with the finest cashmere; handmade shoes from the hands of the most experienced craftsmen; ties and knit shirts that fit like a second skin. Rich technical fabrics, jacquard fabrics with geometrical motifs, tooled leather and bicolour sequins; a combination of technical fabrics with more noble, luxury fabrics, which results in a clean silhouette.

Seemingly simple items adorned with details from decades gone by and casual touches, but always with a classical base, resulting in a modern yet sophisticated and elegant look for men and women of strong character, where luxury and perfection must always be present. The range of hues showed an abundance of beige-café au lait, bordeaux-wine, brown-coffee liquor, Limoges blue and charcoal black.