No more than ten days full of fashion shows, without the marathons that make it impossible to see all the unveiled collections, nor infinite waits until the show begins, which makes it impossible to arrive on time for the next presentation. The Sofa Edition is an invention that has corrected many of the problems that prevail in a sector that tends to prioritise immediacy over quality and meaning all too often. It seems incredible that we have had to live a pandemic to slow down the unsustainable pace that governed the fashion system, although it is still too early to confirm that these changes will prevail. It is clear that the ingenuity and adaptability of the traditional fashion show format have been questioned, and Portugal Fashion has been one of the platforms that have got the best result in this regard.
In March, they hosted the first take of The Sofa Edition, a revealing format with which to follow the different presentations through streaming, in which brands such as David Catalán, Estelita Mendonça or Ernest W. Baker (whose outstanding works we analyse now) took part. Now, the second and last episode of this strange –though exciting– the season has just seen the light, holding the shows only in the afternoon. We finally have time to admire the talent calmly, being able to pay attention to the details of the collections and corroborate the potential of the Portuguese fashion scene, which we already talked about when we visited Porto at the end of 2020.
From Hugo Costa's mountaineering-inspired protective uniforms to Marques'Almeida's spectacular staging on the world's longest pedestrian suspension bridge, the fascinating collections presented by Bloom, dedicated to young national talents, and Bloom Upload, an experimental platform for designers who are still in the early stages of their career. A programme followed by talks, encompassed in Thinking Fashion, where different professionals have discussed the future of the sector, and the official presentation of the sports equipment of the national team for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. We collect the proposals that have awakened our interest, which show that Portuguese fashion has a promising future.