MODALISBOA BASE – THE VIBRANT HUB OF THE FUTURE

The highly anticipated fashion event, MODALISBOA transformed the city into a vibrant hub for creativity, talent, and innovation. As Portugal’s largest fashion gathering, this 65th edition invites a diverse audience—from designers and artists to entrepreneurs and spectators—to immerse themselves in the dynamic atmosphere that characterizes the Portuguese capital. Positioned as a platform for both established and emerging talent, MODALISBOA epitomizes Lisbon’s spirit as a city of endless opportunities, where creativity flourishes and the unimaginable becomes attainable.

In the years following previous editions, MODALISBOA has emerged even stronger this time around, establishing itself as a constructive real platform that offers invaluable opportunities to a new generation of creatives. This edition showcased a deep blend of art and fashion, highlighted by the unique presentatio n venues that enhance the overall experience. A highlight of this year’s event was the collaboration with MUDE (Museum of Design and Fashion), which serves as a focal point for a wide array of events as part of its partnerships with the Lisbon Architecture Triennale and MODALISBOA. From October 1st to 5th, MUDE hosted various programs that reflect a rich engagement between fashion and other artistic disciplines. The MUDE Collection, boasting 15,000 documentary inventory entries and 20,000 museum inventory entries across 23 collections and six typological design nuclei—including Scene, Editorial, Graphic, Fashion, Contemporary Jewelry, and Product—provides an invaluable context that enriches the fashion dialogues that took place during MODALISBOA.

In addition to MUDE, the stunning Palacete Gomes Freire added historical depth to the event. Built in 1878, this ornate palace, with its roots in the legacy of the Portuguese Crown, set a captivating backdrop for fashion presentations. With the initials of its original owner, Francisco Maria Ceraque, engraved on its main entrance door, the palace has a storied history that complemented the innovative spirit of MODALISBOA. In its early years, the first floor of the house housed the Chamber Court, illustrating the building’s transition from a private residence to a site of public interest until the late 1960s. Hosting events in such venues is a testament to MODALISBOA’s commitment to connecting fashion with cultural heritage.

The FASHION HOUSE was launched as a new project within MODALISBOA BASE. Conceived as the home of a global vision of Fashion, it emerged as a dynamic and relational space, rooted in the city and returned to the city, where different audiences intersect and recognize creation as a shared territory. Its programming reflected this vocation for encounter. The FASHION HOUSE was the meeting point for Designers, press, key opinion leaders, and the community, transforming into a space of convergence where new forms of exchange can be rehearsed. A craft showcase brought together cultural heritage, sustainable practices, and technological innovation, demonstrating how past and future can coexist within the same gesture. A pop-up store dedicated to Portuguese Designers and brands extended the affirmation of national authorship in the market, while a Lounge provided space to prolong the event experience in an atmosphere of listening and proximity. Balancing moments of free access with exclusive presentations, the FASHION HOUSE offered a program that included happenings, launches, and special events. More than a new venue, it was a statement about Fashion as a collective practice and a cultural force in motion.

SEE ALL THE FASHION HOUSE PROJECTS HERE

At its core, this year’s theme, “BASE,” urged participants to delve into the fundamental principles of fashion, prompting us to consider the materials and ideas that constitute its essence rather than merely focusing on surface-level aesthetics. This conceptual approach is refreshing and relevant, as it resonates beyond the confines of the fashion industry, inviting reflections on deeper societal, political, and economic structures. By encouraging a dialogue centered on foundational elements, MODALISBOA positions itself as a vital contributor to ongoing discussions about the evolution of fashion in a rapidly changing world. The event’s structure further enhances its impact, intertwining fashion shows with thematic debates, workshops, and exhibitions. This interdisciplinary networking allows for the convergence of various knowledge areas, techniques, and experiences, facilitating the emergence of innovative concepts and languages within the fashion sphere. By bringing together established names and emerging designers, MODALISBOA fosters an environment ripe for collaboration and creative exploration, encouraging fresh narratives and ideas to flourish. At Trend Privé Magazine, we are excited to shine a spotlight on the designers and collections that resonate with us the most. The creativity and passion on display promise to inspire and captivate, making this year’s event particularly notable as we embrace a multitude of artistic expressions. 

SANGUE NOVO supported by SEASIDE

Adja Baio, Fashion Designer born and raised in Guinea-Bissau, moved to Portugal with her family seven years ago. She graduated in Fashion Design from ESAD and has focused her work on creating genderless pieces that explore the fusion of Guinean cultural references with streetwear and maximalism. Her research reflects the freedom of expression she finds in fashion and the affirmation of her identity.

PANO DE PINTI is a collection that reflects the personal and cultural identity of Adja Baio, with hair as the central element of her self-expression. Since childhood, the Designer has nurtured a special connection with hairstyles and braids, but only recently came to understand the deep meaning behind this practice. Inspired by traditional silhouettes, fabrics, and the vibrant patterns of Guinea-Bissau, the pieces connect the Designer’s Guinean roots with a contemporary and experimental perspective. The integration of streetwear adds a striking edge, reflecting her personal style and her desire to exaggerate in the details. The aim is to celebrate the beauty of identity through shapes, textures, and elements drawn from her lived experiences. Each piece asserts who Adja Baio is,  in an authentic, conscious, and visually powerful way.

Born and raised in Lisbon, with Cape Verdean roots, Ariana Orrico developed an early passion for the arts. In 2021, she completed her studies in Artistic Production at the António Arroio School of Arts and, in the same year, began a Fashion Design degree at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Lisbon. She is currently completing a Master’s in the same field at FAUL. During her academic journey, she also took part in an exchange program at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. Her artistic background is reflected in the way she explores the plasticity of materials, manual techniques, and her experimental approach to fashion.

The 75 collection was born from an urgency: to liberate the male body from the visual neutrality that confines it. Eliminating trousers was the first step. From leather, denim, and lace knit, Ariana Orrico created a body that wears doubt rather than tradition. The path was to (re)imagine, to question, to provoke, and to open space for the body to experience new ways of existing. The final result is a series of looks that carry the weight of tools for self-discovery. This capsule is materialized in cotton fabrics sourced from textile waste and in genuine leather, purchased as offcuts and transformed into patchwork, making use of every fragment to its fullest.

Eva do Cruzeiro Seixas is a fashion Designer and visual artist, trained at Escola de Moda do Porto and Modatex – Porto, where she completed her Fashion Design training. Her practice is distinguished by her ability to translate concepts into coherent visual narratives, combining critical thinking, aesthetic research, and technical proficiency. Eva Seixas explores fashion as a multidisciplinary field, where textile experimentation, artistic conceptualization, and the development of creative and technical dossiers converge.

A CASA MORREU collection is an intimate interpretation of the concept of HOME, where space, belonging, and memory intertwine in the urgency of reconstruction. The work deepens themes previously explored, portraying the house not merely as shelter, but as an entity that moves between the physical, the emotional, and the philosophical. Amid the transience of places and the urgent need to reclaim a space, one question echoes: In the search for a home, what do we tolerate in the name of companionship, of the longing for community? Before it is too late, before the boundaries between what was and what will be dissolve, the circle remains – always returning, always home.

ELIO is the creative project of Élio Ramos, a Designer from the Algarve currently based in Lisbon. A graduate in Fashion Design from the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Lisbon, Élio Ramos has developed a critical and powerful design language that intersects body, memory, and identity. Through deconstruction and material exploration, he approaches fashion as a discourse, na attitude, and a tool of transformation, always rooted in values of sustainability, inclusion, and an irreverent irony that has become the signature of his work. Between skin and metal, LUBE emerges from the oily floors of workshops, where masculinity dresses in uniform and silence. But what if that body were exposed? What if the gaze turned? The collection stems from this unease. In a space where the sight of naked women in calendars has been normalized, LUBE responds by revealing the male body, vulnerable, tense, desirable. The material is raw, recycled, with inner tubes, metal, and cuts that disarm. The corset constricts, the clothes weighs, and discomfort becomes language. Here, absence reveals more than presence. LUBE does not soften the man, but tears apart the idea that he must remain hidden. It is between the mechanical and the intimate that the body relearns how to be seen. Without asking permission. Without disguise.

Born in Porto and currently living in Castelo Branco, Inês Almeida has always been passionate about different forms of art. She is completing her Master’s degree in Fashion Design at ESART, with her main areas of interest being fashion production, jewellery, and conceptual design of clothing and accessories. The designer seeks to continue refining her skills in these fields and enrich her portfolio with new experiences. She aspires to built a career she is proud of and that can inspire others, demonstrating that studying art and living from creativity is worthwhile.

SETTING UP THE TENT

Disinformation impoverishes us. In a world where information emerges in seconds and in excess, it becomes difficult to distinguish facts from distorted perspectives. In Portugal, as in other Western countries, there is an emotional distance among citizens, worsened by unreliable sources that fuel conflict and prejudice. The streets reflect this crisis: more people living in poor conditions, without proper housing, decent work, or access to culture. Migrants or locals — who suffers more? Are we seeking blame or solutions? This collection offers an aesthetic and political reflection on disinformation, challenging romanticised views of the country. Inspired by people experiencing homelessness, it uses shapes and materials such as tents, sleeping bags, and discarded blankets, in a construction meant to provoke critical thought and public awareness.

Mafalda Simões was born in Coimbra and graduated in Fashion Design from the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Lisbon, where she is currently completing her master’s degree in the same field. She interned with designer Constança Entrudo and, in 2023, participated in the National Exhibition of Young Creators, winning the first place in the fashion design category with the group collection “Entulho”. Her work is distinguished by a strong connection to artisanal techniques and an innovative approach to manual processes.

The DAYDREAM collection reflects the transition from childhood to adolescence, a dreamlike space between innocence and awareness, celebrating the imaginative, sensitive, and resilient spirit of this stage of life. Inspired by Justine Kurland’s photographic series Girl Pictures, in which teenagers create imaginary worlds on the margins of adult life, the collection presents a surreal universe, between fantasy and reality, outlining a transitional territory. Each piece is entirely crafted through yarn manipulation, using knitting and crochet, in a meticulous artisanal process in which manual technique merges with creativity.

Mariana Garcia, born in Vila Nova de Famalicão, graduated in Fashion Design from ESAD. She interned with Susana Bettencourt and at the company BECRI, experiences that allowed her to explore the dialogue between creativity and industry. In 2019, she won first prize in the “My Project is Entrepreneurial” competition, promoted by the Famalicão Empreende Municipal Network, with the project “Mutante,” a transformable clothing collection. Her work explores the relationship between body and movement, aiming to create experiences through clothing, combining functionality and elegance.

In topography, the zero level marks the starting point, the foundation from which everything begins. The COTA 0 collection is the start of a creative journey: an open exploration inspired by movement, art, nature, and design. Inspired by Richard Serra’s work, it plays with precise cuts and organic lines. Built through deconstruction, the process began with shaping exercises on the mannequin, using blazers and trousers as a starting point for the development of new pieces. Industrial elements like copper and chrome, from the grandfather’s motorcycle workshop, add contrast and raw elegance. The result is a reflection on transformation, simplicity, and refinement, preserving the essence of each piece while giving it new meaning.

Recently graduated in Fashion Design from ESAD, Xavier Silva, born in Aveiro, finds his main inspiration from the universe of workwear and streetwear, exploring the connection between functionality, reconstruction, and urban identity.
Born from the desire to rethink fashion and its impact, the brand Usual Suspect 1 of 1 values upcycling and the reuse of materials, giving new life to discarded fabrics and garments. Each creation is unique, the result of a creative process that combines sustainability, innovation, and contemporary aesthetics. With this vision, Usual Suspect seeks to redefine the way we relate to clothing, promoting conscious and authentic fashion, where every piece tells its own story.

The collection ÚLTIMO EMPREGADO (The Last Worker) draws on the experiences and history of Xavier Silva’s family, marked by years of hard, undervalued work. Through this collection, the Designer seeks to transform feelings of weariness and invisibility into artistic and enriching creation. The collection incorporates uniforms once worn by Xavier Silva and his family, preserving stains, tears, and patches as testimonies of their “battle scars.” These elements, combined with repurposed work objects – such as worn gloves and used cloths – reinforce the connection to upcycling and the emotional memory embedded in clothing. From this process emerges a conscious fashion proposal that gives new life to what was once discarded, transforming stories of effort and resilience into unique pieces, full of authenticity and meaning.

WORKSTATION DESIGN supported by JEAN LOUIS DAVID

WORKSTATION DESIGN supported by Jean Louis David makes its debut at MODALISBOA BASE as the reformulation of a historic platform of Associação ModaLisboa, presenting in three fashion shows ARNDES, Bárbara Atanásio, Çal Pfungst, Francisca Nabinho, Gabriel Silva Barros, and Mestre Studio. In an industry in constant transformation, identifying talent is not enough: it is essential to create the conditions for authorial visions to mature and gain solidity. WORKSTATION DESIGN supported by Jean Louis David provides this framework, offering emerging Designers stage and structure (presentation venue, technical production, support teams, and hair styling by Jean Louis David professionals), amplifying the capacity of each collection to assert itself both as a creative proposal and as a professional project.

The project also includes the Empowerment Award, designed to support careers in their consolidation phase. This financial incentive contributes to the development of business models, to innovation, and to the affirmation of a consistent presence within the system. The selection takes into account conceptual maturity, responsibility in production, and growth potential. In October 2025, the awardees are ARNDES, Bárbara Atanásio, and Mestre Studio, three rising creators whose trajectory already points towards future internationalization. WORKSTATION DESIGN supported by Jean Louis David thus establishes itself as a strategic instrument of valorization, a platform where authorship, innovation, and business thinking converge, projecting the future of a new generation of Designers and reinforcing their presence in a sector in constant transformation.

Bárbara Atanásio graduated in Textiles from António Arroio school in 2016, and in Fashion Design from Modatex Lisbon in 2023. In a multidisciplinary work of upcycling, deconstruction, and humor, Bárbara explores the utopia of memory and the conceptualization of daily life. She interned with Valentim Quaresma and Marques’ Almeida, and has been participating in the Mercado P’la Arte since 2022. In March 2024, she won the ModaLisboa x RDD Textiles Award of Sangue Novo, ModaLisboa’s Young Designers Competition, and in October of the same year, she made her debut on the Workstation platform.

ANARCHY OF INNOCENCE

The seed of a childhood that is not scarcity, but raw creative power. A poetic barricade: fragile, yet fiercely unyielding. Anarchy is not chaos, but the organic dance of those who never forgot how to dream. They rise in free assembly, voices colliding in the restless utopia of those who refuse to wait to live. They play as a political act, they game as a manifesto, they build the very ground on which a new world can stand. This is not a celebration of what is finished, but of what is still becoming.

Çal Pfungst creates carewear clothing, as the creator describes it, a type of clothing connected and committed to those who try it on. It postulates imagery and emotive sensory activation through the item of clothing, creating inter-personal, shared narratives. They develops their cosmogony or lore in each collection, through the creation of style and interconnected timeless narratives. Immanent dialogue between the pants and the leg.

«For clothes that fit me, caring clothes, comprehensive clothes, clothes that tell me it’s worth it to wake up and that I am not difficult to love. Clothes with time, clothes that are friends and lovers. Poliamorous clothing that warms whoever needs it. Clothes from now, borrowed clothes. Clothes from the future, clothes that precede us. Interstellar clothes. Clothes that are good to listen to and that sleep with me. Intimate clothes, sweet clothes. Talkative clothes but that can keep secrets. Tore clothes, sweaty clothes. Clothes that I hug. Clothes with space. Placebo clothes that hold me when I break.»

Francisca Nabinho lives and works in Lisbon. She has training in Communication Design, a license degree in Art History from Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and a master’s degree in Fashion Design from Faculty of Architecture (UL). During her academic career, she studied in Italy and completed an internship in Copenhagen with the brands The Garment and Designers Remix. Visual arts and nature are central influences on her creations. She is dedicated to researching and integrating natural materials into her work, always in harmony with the themes and concepts of her projects.

A ALEGRIA É A COISA MAIS SÉRIA DA VIDA (Joy is the most serious thing in life) takes as its starting point the statement by José de Almada Negreiros, spoken in 1932 at the D. Maria II National Theatre. In this speech, the artist distinguished joy from superficial laughter, positioning it as a conscious, courageous, and structuring attitude toward life. His formulation reveals an understanding of joy not as something incidental, but as a vital force capable of guiding the individual in the face of life’s challenges. It is within this framework that the collection seeks to situate itself. Drawing inspiration from Almada Negreiros’s work, it revisits graphic elements, geometric shapes, and the intense use of color, which in the artist’s practice functioned as a language of experimentation and modernist assertion. Transposing these elements into clothing creates a visual and conceptual field where joy is understood as vitality, movement, and energy. The moment of the collection’s presentation aims, therefore, to go beyond mere aesthetics and be experienced as a collective event. Through color, rhythmic repetition, and the power of prints, it proposes that joy manifests as a shared and transversal feeling, assuming the role of both resistance and possibility for communion. In this way A ALEGRIA É A COISA MAIS SÉRIA DA VIDA is not presented merely as a title, but as a conceptual principle. As in Almada’s work, joy is understood as an existential and critical attitude, an active force that withstands adversity and asserts itself as a condition for thinking about the present and the future.

Gabriel Silva Barros, raised on Madeira Island, studied at Central Saint Martins and the University of Westminster, in London. His design ethos combines eclectic influences from the past and present, creating dynamic silhouettes with a play on tradition and the unconventional. Passionate about craftsmanship, Gabriel challenges gender norms through world-building and storytelling. Gabriel has worked at Palmer//Harding and Vivienne Westwood, and aspires to introduce a different perspective on menswear, contributing towards an inclusive future. He seeks to revive fashion’s sense of fantasy and exclusivity.

PERLIMPIMPIM sets Gabriel Silva Barros’s design language. PERLIMPIMPIM is a world of constant fluidity between reality and fantasy. Delfim Maya and Francisco Simões guide this conversation, Maya’s construction techniques and Simões’s soft eroticism act as dual reference points, giving rise to the PERLIMPIMPIM look. Soft Eroticism and technical identity. The seductive silhouettes were achieved by using contrasting techniques to reflect this dialogue. Lightweight fabrics are merged with heavier ones, causing intentional tension and movement. Duality in the colour palette, pink and blue, black and white, also express this. The Designer is manifesting a space for creative expression, and inviting the wearer to the conversation. Pulling from Portuguese history, Gabriel Silva Barros designed a wardrobe that merges wearability with theatrical elegance. A “noman’s” space where contrasts can coexist. A collection of beauty, between theatrical drama and delicate intimacy.

The Mestre Studio brand was founded in 2023 and presented its first collection at Sangue Novo, ModaLisboa’s Young Designers Competition, immediately establishing its nostalgic vein and the importance of memories in shaping its identity. It primarily focused on knitwear and the deconstruction of traditional techniques. Diogo Mestre, the brand’s director and Designer, graduated in sculpture from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Lisbon, in 2022, and completed a master’s degree in Fashion Design from the Faculty of Architecturein Lisbon, in 2024. His passion for fashion has always been present, later merging with art. More than just creating clothing, Diogo aims to craft narratives that deeply immerse his audience in his universe.

TRUGIA
Regionalism / Alentejo, Algarve
“a set of objects without use or value; clutter”

In the popular vocabulary of Alentejo, trugia refers to a set of objects without use or value — those that, though no longer serving a purpose, remain kept. Yet the word also carries another dimension: the silent beauty of what survives beyond its utility. The collection draws from this imagery. It revisits forgotten objects, seemingly useless, but which endure as witnesses of the past. The doll we once played with every day, the suitcase with worn corners, the pile of old clothes, and the box where they rest, covered in dust — objects, fragments of our history that no longer have function, yet we keep them. All of these elements compose the silent landscape that inspires the collection. The collection acknowledges its own ephemerality: the pieces appear with the awareness that they, too, will one day become trugia — destined to be forgotten, yet always susceptible to being rediscovered.

TREND PRIVÉ – DESIGNERS HIGHLIGHTS AT MODALISBOA BASE 

Joana Duarte, the founder and designer of BÉHEN showcased, in a private viewing, LOVES ME, LOVES ME NOT, a collection of unique pieces: singular creations, all developed in the brand’s Lisbon atelier. Mostly crafted from antique materials and found treasures, each piece reflects the skill of craftsmanship and the dialogue between memory and contemporary forms. This exclusive presentation is an homage to treasures and to the beauty of time. Like the title itself, LOVES ME, LOVES ME NOT, it leaves fate to the flowers.

Ana Margarida Feijão – FREEDOM IS A WOMEN’S NAME is an extension of the work done by Ana Margarida Feijão in her graduate collection, presented in 2024 at NYFW.

Inspired by the documentary series “Nome Mulher,” produced by RTP and created by Maria Antónia Palla and Antónia de Sousa, the collection draws from the stories of Portuguese women in the period following April 25, 1974. Real stories, often forgotten, of those who lived through the promise of freedom in a country still bound by old habits. Margarida intertwines these memories with those of the women who raised her — women from the south, from the land, grounded in strength — and with her own experience as a Portuguese woman who inherited a democracy still marked by patriarchal legacies.

Silhouettes and details from traditional Portuguese costumes serve as a starting point — reimagined with respect and intimacy, as if dressing memories with new eyes. There is a constant tension between structure and fluidity, between what shaped us to be and what we wish to become.

The collection features a monochromatic palette dominated by black — a deliberate choice, rich in symbolic and emotional weight. Here, black does not represent absence but rather the concentration of memories, struggles, and silent resistances. textiles manually constructed from yarns receive treatments that give them their own structure — firm without losing lightness, delicate yet with a strong presence. The silks, hand-draped and inspired by the voluminous skirts of traditional Portuguese attire, contrast with the firmness of leather, reflecting the constant tension between protection and exposure. Each piece is conceived as a body of memory — as if the garment itself holds lived stories and inherited silences. More than clothing, this collection is a declaration of resistance. It speaks of inter generational traumas, of freedom won through struggle, of a female body that resists imposed forms.

For Spring/Summer 2026, Alves/Gonçalves explores a street-chic perspective built from geometric volumes in fluid and feminine compositions. The color palette combines pink, white, black, burgundy, and blue, supporting an aesthetic vision defined by synthesis and contrast.

Finishes take center stage: pleats, flocked surfaces, and crackled effects intersect with patchworks, lace, and damask, producing an intense and emotional textural effect. Through this interplay, Alves/Gonçalves explore the tension between the artificial and the natural, unveiling a collection open to multiple interpretations and readings in the present moment.

CONSTANÇA ENTRUDO X CASTLE HI HI HI X HUMANA – FAUX CHIC

To celebrate the opening of the independent shop and creative studio CASTLE HI HI HI — a project that unites its community in Lisbon’s historic neighborhood — Constança Entrudo presents a capsule collection in collaboration with Humana. Invited by CHHH, the Designer reinterprets children’s costumes in a collection that reflects the fragmented reality of globalized production, where materials and labor from disparate geographies converge into garments discarded as quickly as they are produced. The launch event at Lisboa Fashion Week is a relaxed moment that embodies the creative intersection and multidisciplinary spirit of CASTLE HI HI HI, and the only occasion on which the collection will be available for purchase — activating both a sense of urgency and a sense of purpose. For Constança, the obsolete materials she worked with do not represent an end, but a starting point: by reconfiguring second-hand garments into new forms, she proposes a cyclical process in which textiles are continuously restructured, serving at once as a critique and a solution to the system of overproduction. The link between luxury and degradation is long-standing, embedded in society’s love-hate relationship with excess. Faux Chic embodies this tension: a seduction through simulation, a play on the idea of false luxury using second-hand materials, where Constança Entrudo’s hand is visible in every cut, seam, and tear.

RUN TO HELP
Obsessed with charity-run T-shirts — the garment Constança most frequently found among fast-fashion items in Humana’s warehouses — the collection exposes the ironies of incoherent causes and the lack of awareness surrounding disposable goods. Each piece is a provocation, a critique of fleeting trends of wellness and solidarity that generate disposable products instead of lasting change.

Ana Duarte (Lisbon, 1991), founder and designer of the DUARTEHAJIME brand, studied Fashion Design at the Faculty of Architecture in Lisbon and finished her Master of Arts in Menswear Design and Technology at the London College of Fashion, with distinction, in 2015. She is currently a guest lecturer on the Fashion Design Bachelor’s degree at Universidade Lusófona, in Lisbon. For her latest collection showcased at MODALISBOA she was inspired by Medusa from the Greek mythology. Medusa was one of the three Gorgon sisters, known for her hair made of living snakes and a gaze so powerful it could turn anyone who met her eyes to stone. However, Medusa wasn’t always a monster—she was once a beautiful woman, who was transformed by the enraged goddess Athena, after being seduced by Poseidon in Athena’s temple. Later, the hero Perseus, aided by the gods, slew her by using a mirrored shield to avoid her deadly stare. He wielded her severed head as a weapon, and eventually offered it to Athena, who placed it on her shield.

This Spring/Summer 26 collection, PETRA, reimagines the myth of Medusa, not as a monster, but as a symbol of feminine power and transformation. In stone greys, deep greens and blacks that echo her mystery; soft lilacs reveal her vulnerability; while gold accents recall Athena’s armor and Hermes winged sandals, worn by Perseus. There are serpent-shaped cuts and winged details which nod to both Pegasus – Medusa’s son – and Perseus’ sandals. Fluid silhouettes meet strong textures – each piece a strike of transformation and strength. Medusa is no longer feared—she is honored. Let them look.

Founded by childhood friends Vera Caldeira and Pedro Ferraz, who turned a shared passion into a lifelong project, Gandaia was born from the desire to create a Portuguese brand with identity, quality, and a global outlook. The journey began in 2018 with Mustique and has since evolved naturally, consolidating into Gandaia – a brand that embodies the creative maturity of its founders while staying true to the authenticity that has won over a community in Portugal and beyond. Gandaia celebrates freedom and authenticity. It blends contemporary and irreverent design with classic and sophisticated influences, creating versatile and timeless pieces. Through colours, patterns, and unique details, it conveys energy, elegance, and edge – an invitation to live without rules and to express yourself every day.

VOLTE SEMPRE (“Come Back Soon”) is Gandaia’s new Spring/Summer 2026 collection. An ode to the typical Portuguese expression, it pays tribute to our roots. With new cuts and silhouettes, the collection highlights the brand’s evolution — more mature and elegant, yet without losing its irreverence.

With a background in cinema and fashion, Lidija Kolovrat defines her language through deconstruction, urban culture and arts. Her passion is to create meaningful garments to all of those who seek a differentiated style, in tune with their true, inner self. In 1990, she founded KOLOVRAT, a brand that cares about the impact of its creations, both for the environment — by valuing sustainability and recycling — and for customers. Kolovrat believes that clothing reflects our inner world, our sacred geometry and our symbolic language.

“Intuition, spirituality and innovation are the way to achieve the uniqueness of the piece that will be co-created for each one, so that everyone can empower themselves with their true selves and engage in beauty, daring and a sense of humor needed to embrace the unexpected.”

For Kolovrat, being part of the community means reinventing itself and achieving excellence in creations that combine the vibrancy of a dynamic society with the commitment of an ethical business.

STONE AGE – SPRING-SUMMER 2026 – Kolovrat is always playing. From the obvious weight and shape of a rock to the concept of presence, the work moves across grand silhouettes and slides into the fluidity of the mind. In the Spring/Summer 2026 collection, earthy tones and blacks trace the path defined by cottons and

Gonçalo Peixoto’s Spring/Summer 2026 collection merges sensuality, delicacy, and vibrant energy, presenting itself as an expression of femininity and boldness. The visual narrative evokes natural and tactile elements of summer — acidic tones and fresh fruits — through fluid transparencies and ethereal textures. The sweetness of lace contrasts with colors such as yellow, magenta, and turquoise, while distorting the palette with timeless prints. Gonçalo Peixoto thus brings vitality, freshness, and sophistication to a season that celebrates Women in all their strength and lightness.

In a time marked by division and dissonance, UNION emerges as a tactile manifesto—an evocative celebration of love, connection, and the invisible threads that bind us together. For the Spring/Summer 2026, Luís Carvalho goes beyond difference to explore the deep texture of human bonding, expressed through pieces that embody care, complexity, and cohesion. The foundation of the collection is a multilayered composition, rich in movement, intricacy, and complexity. Each fold tells a story. Twisted pleats and ribs unfold like sculptural elements, creating intertwined bodies, gestures of intimidation made visible in form. A unifying line, sometimes structured, sometimes yielding to flow, runs through the collection, appearing as horizontal bars that echo through the silhouettes. This visual rhythm evokes parenthesis, creating a harmonious dialogue between disparate parts.

UNION traverses stylistic dualities: openness and restraint, minimalism and opulence, tradition and innovation. The result is a kind of organic geometry—shapes that breathe, expand, and respond to movement. Each piece is a proposal for coexistence. In keeping with our commitment to sustainability, over 80% of the materials used are sourced from deadstock or recycled fibers. This is not just an environmental choice, but a design principle—allowing the stories of the materials to inform the collection’s narrative. Textural contrasts, between matte and shiny, stand out in the structured cotton twills, luminous satins, and jacquards.

The palette moves with a quiet intention: green, mustard yellow, purple, and teal flow like a landscape in transition, each hue symbolic, each tone in dialogue with the next. Nothing shouts; everything resonates.

UNION is more than fashion. It’s a statement. A declaration of shared humanity, respect for craftsmanship, and care for the Earth. To dress in UNION is to wear a perspective, one that values difference as strength, and sees sustainability not as a trend, but a ritual.

The Spring/Summer 2026 collection by 2B opens with Genesis: the fertile void, the blank canvas where everything can be born. It is the initial breath of freedom, formless yet already untamable. It follows with Flux: a body in perpetual metamorphosis, liquid and infinite, crossing borders as if they did not exist. At the heart of this movement bursts forth Impulse: structures rising like armor, firm and protective, yet allowing the vulnerability within to shine through. In Vibration, the skin encounters sound: raw proximity, emotion at the surface, a shiver that becomes music. The path advances into Duality, where opposites confront and seduce each other: the feminine and the masculine, the classical and the experimental, the real and the dream. Then rises Insurrection: the fierce cry against the norm, where imperfection is not flaw, but precious detail. And then emerges Labyrinth: a territory of unpredictable layers, where the everyday and the spectacular merge, between who one is and who one dares to be. The collection culminates in Manifesto. An incandescent climax, where brilliance is not ornament but symbol. Dressing is creation. Without gender. Without time. Without limits.

Nuno Baltazar graduated in Fashion Design from Citex (currently Modatex), in 1998. During his academic journey, he received several awards, including the Young Designers prize from Máxima magazine in 1995 and 1996, and the Porto Moda award in 1997. In 1999, he began presenting collections at ModaLisboa as part of the duo Cravo | Baltazar, and in 2004 he started showcasing under the Nuno Baltazar brand. In 2005, he opened his shop in Porto as an extension of his atelier work, where he focuses on creating unique pieces under the Nuno Baltazar Atelier label. He has collaborated with personalities such as Carminho, Dalila Carmo, Custódia Gallego, Maria João Luís, Raquel Strada, and Victória Guerra. Alongside the development of his collections, Nuno Baltazar is responsible for the on-screen wardrobe of television presenter Catarina Furtado. He has made sporadic collaborations for music, cinema, theatre and dance. At the same time, his creative office has various uniform projects. He has also developed capsule collections with his signature: Baltazar Map (home), Nuno Baltazar Eyewear (optics) and Sportzone + Nuno Baltazar (sportswear). Throughout his career, he has been awarded with several prizes. In 2011, he received the Fashion Award from Fashion TV Portugal for Best Fashion Designer, in 2013 he won the Golden Globe for Best Designer of the Year, and in 2015 he was awarded the Commendation of the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator. Between 2015 and 2021, he worked as a fashion consultant for Riopele. In 2020, he returned to the fashion presentations at ModaLisboa – Lisboa Fashion Week.

LaBscapes by Olga Noronha presents an exhibition resulting from an investigation and aesthetic study of landscape, form, and matter. LaBscapes encompasses site-specific works and mixed approaches, both sculptural and a series of Lab Paintings ©, developed through the creation of new materials in the laboratory — a line of research the artist has pursued since 2018 — which seek to express the imprecise variations of color and the blending of senses and emotions. The exhibition opened with a piece on the ground floor, serving as an entryway to the installation by the designer, visual artist, and researcher in the octagon on the third floor of MUDE – Museum of Design.

Sara Maia is a Portuguese fashion designer graduated in Fashion Design from Modatex, Porto. Based in London, she has been part of creative teams at brands such as Marques’Almeida, Aitor Throup, and Maharishi. These experiences deepened her understanding of clothing as both structure and narrative. Simultaneously, she taught at Modatex, consolidating a critical and reflective approach to design. Her practice, rooted in visual research and construction, seeks new forms of expression that intersect body, memory, and gesture, exploring the potential of clothing as language. She recently completed a Master’s degree in Fashion at the Royal College of Art, London, where she expanded her research interdisciplinarily, integrating textile experimentation, image, and performance to question the boundaries of what clothing can communicate.

The Spring/Summer 2026 collection, NOTHING HAPPENED. AND YET, EVERYTHING CHANGED is a work born from a prolonged silence. A time when creation felt distant, almost impossible. For years, the urgency to feel again, to reconnect with the body, with gesture, with material, became the Designer’s path. This work is not about a specific event, but about the invisible transformation that takes place when we stop recognising who we are… and slowly begin to return. Each piece is an attempt at listening. A gesture of approaching what remained suspended. Sara Maia works with contrasts: rigidity and fluidity, opacity and transparency, structure and vulnerability, to express emotional states and internal tensions that often have no name. The garment becomes a double, both shield and revelation. A way of inhabiting the body safely, without hiding it. Sara’s practice is rooted in observation. In detail, repetition, and care. She does not seek answers, but presences. Echoes. Fragments of who she was, and who she is becoming again. Above all, this work is an essay on intimate resistance. On the courage to create when everything once seemed lost. The work is not finished, and perhaps it never will be. But in creating it, she began to breathe again. To remember that she is still here. And still able to feel.

It is with this spirit that the new Portuguese Soul presentation emerges at ModaLisboa. An initiative by APICCAPS, in partnership with ModaLisboa, and supported by PRR, within the framework of the BioShoes4all project. A unique piece can last a lifetime. It tells stories that go beyond fashion: it speaks of identity, of vision, and of future. It carries a legacy. In Portugal, there are those who transform legacy into objects that embody the weight of turning tradition into innovation. Those who value every detail, without haste, with the certainty that what is well made endures over time. Those who believe that creativity is just as important as responsibility. And that sustainability is not a trend, but a commitment.

Founded by Roselyn Silva, a designer born in São Tomé and Príncipe and raised in Portugal, the brand Roselyn Silva expresses her cultural roots through refined silhouettes, rich story- telling, and sustainable craftsmanship. Each collection reflects a deep connection to identity, community, and elegance, rooted in Afro-European perspectives. Committed to responsible fashion, the brand works with natural and recycled materials, upholding ethical production from concept to creation. With over a decade of creative evolution, Roselyn created a brand with the aim of highlighting the African design and value her roots, becoming the first black-owned luxury brand in Portugal.

Reviving a brand is a journey that requires respect for its essence, fidelity to its founding values, and an authentic connection with the public. Over the past ten years, the Roselyn Silva brand has flourished by embracing its cultural heritage and reinterpreting it in the present. To mark this milestone, the LEGACY II collection emerges as a reflection of the brand’s path and of the achievements of the women who accompany it. Rooted in its origins yet always seeking new directions, LEGACY II expresses the boldness of innovating without losing identity. It is a tribute to growth, renewal, and resilience, evoking the very process of the brand’s construction. Just as flowers pass through stages before reaching full bloom, the collection celebrates a decade of Roselyn Silva’s history. Every detail was conceived to convey the idea of new beginnings and continuous evolution, with patterns evoking flowers as symbols of creativity, courage, and transformation. Flowers thus take center stage: they represent authenticity, change, and the strength of those who overcome challenges. As in nature, which resists winter in order to bloom in spring, the brand’s journey has been shaped by perseverance and reinvention. The choice of fabrics and textures reflects this cycle, translating difficulties, learnings, and triumphs. More than a collection, LEGACY II is a milestone: a testament to the brand’s growth and its inspiring role. As it enters its next decade, Roselyn Silva reaffirms itself with the same fearless spirit that characterizes the women it dresses — ready to bloom, evolve, and shape the future of fashion.

Valentim Quaresma expresses his creativity through fashion and art. He studied at the António Arroio School of Arts and the jewellery department of Ar.Co. Between 1990 and 2010, he worked with Ana Salazar, a pioneer of Portuguese fashion, creating jewellery and accessories for her collections. In 2008, he won the “Accessories Collection of the Year” award at the international competition ITS#7, in Trieste, Italy, and launched his own brand. Since then, he has showcased his work internationally at events such as Bread and Butter in Barcelona; 080 Barcelona Fashion; [moment] in Riga; Fashionclash in Maastricht, the Netherlands; Cesis Fashion Art Festival in Latvia; Bijorhca in Paris; MoBA13 “Fetishism in Fashion” in Arnhem; Manipulating Surface – Portuguese Craftsmanship in London, among many others. In March 2011, he joined the official calendar of ModaLisboa – Lisboa Fashion Week, where he started to present his collections seasonally.

The creativity displayed at MODALISBOA not only showcases innovative fashion but also serves as a vital platform for cultural conversations and societal reflections. A movement that invites us to explore the foundational elements of the fashion industry. MODALISBOA challenges us to reflect on our values, ambitions, and collective responsibility as we build upon our bases for the future. This edition was a transformative experience, paving the way for real possibilities in the evolution of fashion, community, and creativity. Finally, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to the MODALISBOA team, Audi Portugal, and the Palácio do Governador Hotel for creating a magical atmosphere that made us feel right at home. Thanks to their support and vision, we could feel and celebrate the creativity in Lisbon with huge excitement.