Portuguese brands headline shows at New York Fashion Week

At a time when the United States’ tariff policy is causing uncertainty worldwide, APICCAPS (Portuguese Association of Footwear, Components, Leather Goods and Related Products Manufacturers) is seeing this moment as an opportunity for the Portuguese footwear sector and guarantees that it will maintain its investment in this market. Among the initiatives it has lined up, it is continuing partnerships between Portuguese brands and fashion designers.

Following a project initiated in previous editions of New York Fashion Week, the association is once again bridging the gap between the two countries, facilitating collaboration between four Portuguese footwear companies and fashion brands, which are showcasing footwear made in Portugal at this edition of the New York fashion week, which kicked off this Thursday and runs until September 16..

The contemporary fashion brand Theophilio, founded by Edvin Thompson, took to the catwalk accompanied by footwear from Gladz, from Oliveira de Azeméis, while JJ Heitor collaborated with Kallmeyer, and the Helena Mar brand, born out of the PC Footwear company, teamed up with Libertine. Meanwhile, Mariano Shoes, founded in São João da Madeira in 1945, once again dressed the models of designer Patricio Campillo, repeating the collaboration from the February edition.

The Portuguese offensive to conquer the US market doesn’t stop there, however, Paulo Gonçalves, spokesman for APICCAPS, explained on the sidelines of the Milan fairs MICAM and MIPEL, where the sector was present with more than 40 companies.

Stressing that the United States is currently the 6th destination for Portuguese footwear, which has doubled its exports to the country in the last decade, Gonçalves believes that, by the end of the decade, this market will be in the top 3. “We are developing a series of initiatives in the United States because we believe it is an absolutely strategic market for the future of our industry. We’re not giving up on this market. On the contrary, we’re going to reinforce our investments in the North American market.”

In addition to the partnership within the scope of New York Fashion Week, the association has invested in its presence at different American fairs and has established a protocol with the Fashion Institute of Technology, the leading fashion college in the United States, based in New York, under which two dozen students will travel to Portugal to get to know the industry.