Life is fashion week
Fashion Week is truly pure life, pulse, energy, adrenaline… That’s the experience I’ve had over the last 14 years at Lisboa Fashion Week. And before I tell you everything that happened between March 6th and 9th, during ModaLisboa Capital, let's talk about something that is rarely talked about... In comparison to the fashion shows and events on the agenda of each edition - the time in between.
I'm not just referring to the hour or hour and a half that separates each fashion show, happening on the same day, but all the time that is not spent at an event... Because, in fact, the end of the last fashion show of the night and the beginning of the first fashion show of the following day are separated by only 15 hours.
Therefore, life, everyday life, begins to revolve around the Fashion time zone. For four days, 3 days of fashion shows to be exact, it is never 20 minutes before 5 pm. There are 20 minutes left until the oConstança Entrudo, Luís Onofre or Arndes’ fashion show…
Continuing to talk about numbers… Have you ever wondered what numbers characterize a Fashion Week? Lisboa Fashion Week responds on its Instagram:
“4 days, 12800 visitors, 28 Fashion Designers, 9 brands of footwear and leather accessories, 5 talks, 1 workshop, 1 documentary and 1 pop-up store; 4,420,781 views, with 1,197,353 views on social media (so far) and 153,979 views on the ModaLisboa website and on the mupis”
This edition, as usual, ModaLisboa took place on the second weekend of March. Following Paris Fashion Week in the fashion month(s), with a “break” day (PFW ended on Tuesday and MLX - LFW started on Thursday). “Le Grand Gala du Louvre”, nicknamed the Parisian version of the Met Gala, has moved the capital’s fashion calendar entirely to March (from March 3rd to 11th).
Returning to the numerical gear, I know that being present at 4 days of Fashion Week is exciting, pulsating, full of adrenaline, inspiration and fun. Get a healthy amount of sleep, prepare your look from head to toe, having breakfast and lunch in the meantime; you go to events during the afternoon and evening. And you start over, happy as can be…
I seriously wonder how it is possible to multiply this over 9 days, with schedules that go from 9:30 in the morning to 8 at night, with travel and other events in between. I'm not saying that I wouldn't enjoy attending shows or events that are part of Paris Fashion Week. But with a pace like this, it's normal that the conversation about Mental Health, or lack thereof, within the international Fashion System, is growing.
Not that I consider myself even close to being an “opinion leader”, but it is possible to have an overdose of Fashion and that will take away its magic. The importance of the so-called “fashion four” is gradually decreasing. Before we return to the Portuguese capital, let me confess one more thing - I don't like those white pavilions that mark the entrance to fashion shows and the like.
Bias aside, it is so much more interesting to be behind a stanchions at a place that combines historical architecture and the scope of ephemeral architecture, in various spaces in Lisbon in general and, in Pátio da Galé in particular.
And the time between shows can be filled in so many ways. Look and see the activations of the sponsoring brands of this Fashion Week: Audi; L’oréal Professional; Seaside; Renova; Asus; Bioderma; Monchique; Mateus Rosé e Locke de Santa Joana. Networking with various fashion players, at the corridors, such as: Sara Sozzani Maino; friendly volunteers (I won’t mention names here, because I don’t want to exclude anyone), “the boy who drews during fashion shows”… Admire the installation “I dress, therefore I exist” by SELF, reflecting on fast fashion. Be inspired by the design of the reception that resembles drawing boards or creative incubators.
One of the things I value most in this “fashion week” routine is having time to be with myself, to get ready, put on makeup, get dressed… Consider how I will present myself to the world, how I will express myself through Fashion, with total intentionality and full awareness. This is anything but futile.
Along the way we changed the saying, dogs are the best friends of fashion insiders, with the pampering of Jaime and Gaia.
What's next? In the next two articles we will talk about the events of the four days mentioned. And what was the itinerary that we were going to trace, in a way? (As I did not watch all the events and parades, I will only address perspectives on what I watched).
The Capital edition of ModaLisboa opened with the usual Fast Talks conference cycle - in this 64th edition of MLX, there were two “talks” - “Cultural Capital - An industry under the influence” and “Social Capital - Design as a catalyst for change (Design Activism/ Social Justice/The Social Fabric)”.
Both hosted by Rui Maria Pêgo, Cultural Capital was discussed by Antonio Letteri (Cabanamad), Mira Wanderlust (33 Magazine) and Umberto Sannino (IED Milano). Matteo Ward (WRAD) and Paulo Gomes (Manifesto Moda) were responsible for the debate on Social Capital. Ward's work would conclude this day, with the screening of two episodes of the documentary series “Junk” - focusing on Ghana and Bangladesh, respectively.
Friday was the transition day between the conversations and the dialogue and the presentation of fashion shows, it is up to us to talk about the first two “Dialogues” - Diogo Mestre with Adriana Progonó and Marta Gonçalves with João Pedro Vale and Alexandre Ferreira. As well as the second phase of the Sangue Novo young designers competition, the workstation platform show presenting the Mestre Studio and Inês Barreto collections. At the end of the night, the Alves/Gonçalves brand returned “home” through the hand of José Manuel Gonçalves.
The weekend was a truly electrifying and excitingly intoxicating marathon, I missed two fashion shows and a presentation, after all I have a family of foodies, I tried to make the pure aesthetic pleasure of independent fashion serve as dinner, but for my father, lunch and dinner are sacred moments, so it didn't work. So this was my itinerary: Carlos Gil; IED Graduate Fashion Week; Louis Onofre; Kolovrat; Ricardo Andres; Luiz Carvalho; Nuno Baltazar, Barbara Athanasio; ARNDES; Valentine Lent; DuarteHajime and Dino Alves.
This is just the first in a series of articles within the scope of ModaLisboa Capital. Some will be followed, others will be a surprise; some may speak from a purely personal perspective and from my experience or based on study and research… And, furthermore, we get to know how MLX is a creative catalyst, in different ways and in particular cases.
However, here and now, what I share with you is the result of what I have lived and experienced. The theme Capital was widely interpreted, for me, ModaLisboa reiterated that Lisbon is a true Capital with legitimate rights based on the resilience, freedom and independence of this LFW.
Next week, not a week from now, we will review the lessons learned at MUDE, we will start transcribing what stepped on the Pátio Galé catwalk and we will still visit the CAM of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
I'll wait for you, okay?
With love,
Vera Lúcia