Childhood memories took shape in flowing fabrics and metallic serpents coiled around models’ heads. The second half of ModaLisboa Spring/Summer 2027 brought fashion into unexpected territory, moving between Portuguese footwear craftsmanship, nostalgic silhouettes and striking sculptural accessories.
Following our first recap, we return to Lisbon Fashion Week to explore how Portuguese Shoes by APICCAPS, Mestre Studio, ARNDES, Kolovrat and Valentim Quaresma transformed personal memories, cultural heritage and questions of identity into some of the season’s most memorable runway moments.
Portuguese Soul by APICCAPS: Kindness
KINDNESS, presented by Portuguese Shoes by APICCAPS, emerges as a refuge from the rush of everyday life, a much-needed pause in a constantly changing world driven by speed and endless consumption. In this context, the Portuguese footwear industry chooses a different path, focusing on quality, authenticity and products designed to last. An industry that preserves craftsmanship passed down through generations, valuing people and attention to detail while embracing experimentation, innovation and sustainability rather than relying solely on tradition.
This message comes to life through an immersive presentation set in an entirely white space, creating an almost dreamlike atmosphere. Models pass a representation of the world from one to another, a symbolic gesture reflecting collective responsibility and the importance of the choices we make. The experience is accompanied by a live performance from Raquel Martins, whose voice and guitar add an intimate and evocative dimension, turning the presentation into a moment of reflection and connection.
Mestre studio: Sonhos De Menino
Mestre Studio’s collection, Boyhood Dreams, draws inspiration from an idyllic vision of the past, where childhood memories, softened by the passage of time, begin to feel more like dreams than actual recollections. At the heart of the story is the designer’s grandmother’s house, the place where he grew up. The image of his grandmother, to whom the collection is dedicated, now elderly, dressed in black and wearing her signature gold earrings, contrasts with that of a young boy in striped sweaters and bright colours, still immersed in a world of play, curiosity and discovery.
These two seemingly opposite figures come together through fashion, creating contrasts in colour, volume and proportion. Adding an even more nostalgic touch is the tiny chair that opens the runway show, an object that instantly brings us back to childhood, when everything seemed to be made on a smaller scale, perfectly sized for a child.
Arndes: Irreal Social
Arndes SS27 explores the tension between who we truly are and the image we learn to construct in order to be accepted by others. Moving away from the predominantly monochromatic aesthetic of previous collections, this season introduces touches of colour that break up the signature black-and-white palette, including a striking blood red.
At the heart of the collection is layering, with sheer pieces worn over shirts and skirts, revealing what lies beneath the surface. This approach also carries a deeply personal meaning, inspired by the designer’s memories of his grandmother, who used to protect her finest clothes by covering them with additional layers to make them last longer.
This simple gesture becomes the starting point for a reflection on contemporary society, standing in sharp contrast to today’s culture of overconsumption, where clothes are constantly bought, worn and replaced. At the same time, the collection questions the social pressure to conform to ever-changing aesthetics and trends, inviting us to reconsider the relationship between identity, appearance and authenticity.
Kolovrat: Common Place
One of ModaLisboa’s most established and distinctive voices, Kolovrat returned this season with a new collection titled Common Place. For Spring/Summer 2027, the designer invites us to reconnect with our roots, exploring the relationship between memory, identity and a sense of belonging.
This return to origins unfolds through an earthy colour palette of sun-baked earth, dried clay and ochre, shades that evoke familiar landscapes and places etched in memory. Touches of deep violet, burnished gold, ivory and soft blush add contrast, appearing across spiralling constructions, fluid volumes and geometric patterns, alongside figurative giraffe prints. Craftsmanship lies at the heart of the collection, with hand-applied embellishments, intricate textures and braided details transforming each garment into an expression of identity and tradition, reinterpreted through a contemporary lens.
Valentim Quaresma: Distopia
Valentim Quaresma presented Distopia, a collection born from an unsettling vision of a world in which individuality is gradually replaced by conformity. In this dystopian scenario, getting dressed becomes an act of resistance, a way of asserting one’s identity in a society where preserving what makes us unique seems to be the last remaining form of freedom.
With a background in jewellery design, Quaresma creates a dialogue between clothing and sculptural accessories, bringing to life an aesthetic that blends Gothic influences with dark romanticism. Metallic serpents coil around the head, while sharp spikes and claw-like structures extend across the face, framing and sometimes concealing the eyes. Other pieces resemble pointed spinal columns, transforming the human body into something almost animalistic, if not entirely alien. The result is a vision of fashion in which ornamentation becomes an extension of the body itself, reshaping its silhouette and challenging the boundaries of human identity.
