Again I do a little historical review of the industry nationally.
Prior to April 25th, 1974 the Portuguese were dressed according to the rules impose by the government, basic colors, especially black, white and gray, the necklines were modest, with skirts below the knee, the lines were straight leaving little room for the imagination, a minimalist silhouette, almost abstract, the result of a closed world that left little room for the influences that could come from abroad. In post-revolution of the carnations everything changed little by little the Portuguese women felt a great need to deconstruct this rigid image and joined forces with the fashion trends from abroad, the bodies took their curves, skirts rose several inches above, the color palettes were more varied and they wore more psychedelic patterns of the fabrics, the image reflected the spirit of a country open to new emotions and are eager to be free from a heavy and amorphous past.
The eighties brought about the emergence of so-called designers. Ana Salazar, Fatima Lopes and Augustus are some of the compelling names of this revolutionary process that led to the emergence of the first brands made in Portugal. There was even a big growth and modernization of the textile industry which was hitherto stagnant and outdated. From the nineties until today there was a great effort by various organizations to promote the participation of the industry in numerous international events linked to fashion and the differentiation and consolidation of some brands abroad. However, contrary to what you may think, women in this area, although they have been the main driver of this change, contributed little or nothing over the years to sedimentation of national designers. After two decades they continue to omit the Portuguese national brands in favor of foreign, it reaches the point of having companies with products with foreign names in order to sell well. However, there is not only bad news; the Portuguese textile row is currently responsible for 11% of our exports, a clear sign of the market in relation to the quality of our products.
