APICCAPS: From Factory to Runway

April 13, 2026

There’s a version of fashion week that exists far from the front row, before the lights, the music, and the final looks come together. It’s in the factories, where shoes are built piece by piece, often in places dedicated to a single component. On a recent trip to Portugal with APICCAPS, that side of the industry came into focus.

What usually gets reduced to a small “made in Portugal” stamp turned out to be a much larger, highly organized operation. In some cases, entire factories are devoted to just one part of the shoe, like soles, which makes clear how much really goes into the making of a pair of shoes.

That context carried over into ModaLisboa, where alongside a full schedule of designer runway shows, APICCAPS presented Portuguese Soul, a performance that leaned into movement rather than a traditional format. Dancers wore the shoes as extensions of their bodies, emphasizing how footwear supports, shapes, and directs motion rather than just finishing a look. It was a simple idea, but effective. The shoes weren’t styled onto the performance, they drove it.

The presentation also tied back to the industry’s broader push around sustainability. Developed within the Bioshoes4all project, it pointed to a shift happening behind the scenes, a shift towards more responsible materials, reduced waste, and a more circular approach to production.

By Dylan Andrews

Seeing the factories and then watching that performance makes the “factory to runway” idea feel literal. It connects the technical side of production with the more visible, creative one, and makes you more aware of everything that goes into a shoe long before it ends up on a runway, or on your feet.

Following the trip, office caught up with Luis Onofre, APICCAPS president to learn more about to learn more about Portugal’s footwear industry and where it’s headed.

Portugal has become such a leader in footwear manufacturing, what does it offer that other countries don’t?

Portugal combines a strong tradition of excellence in footwear manufacturing with sustained, long-term investment. Over the past three years alone, the sector has invested more than €100 million in automation, sustainability, and robotics, particularly through initiatives such as Bioshoes4all and FAIST. This represents a powerful vote of confidence in the future. It clearly sets us apart and explains why we are increasingly sought after in international markets.

How would you describe the identity of Portuguese footwear today?

It is a forward-looking industry, defined by strong technical expertise and advanced technologies, combined with a contemporary design sensibility.

How important is it for you to keep production in Portugal versus moving elsewhere?

It is a matter of principle. It is entirely possible to produce excellent footwear in Europe, while respecting international standards in environmental and social responsibility, and still remain competitive in terms of pricing.

How has the local industry evolved in the last 5–10 years?

I believe the Portuguese footwear industry will continue to consolidate its position as a leading reference on the international stage.

Do you think consumers are becoming more interested in where things are made, not just how they look?

I have no doubt about it, particularly among younger generations. Consumers want to be well informed and to pay a fair price for what they buy.

Are there innovations in materials or processes you’re excited about right now?

For us, more than focusing solely on new materials, the priority is to optimise resources: avoiding waste, reducing the use of raw materials, and lowering water and energy consumption. Eco-design has become a guiding principle of our activity.

At the same time, we have been working closely with technology centres and universities to develop a new generation of products, including innovative leathers, biomaterials, and recycling solutions. In these areas in particular, Portugal is ahead of many of its competitors.

Seeing your factories and then the runway shows in Lisbon, how do you see the relationship between production and presentation?

Companies and designers are often seen as having different perspectives on the same business. Personally, I do not see it that way. In reality, companies bring deep technical expertise and manufacturing know-how, while designers contribute a fresh and creative vision of the market. Together, this forms a highly effective strategy.

That is why, over the past two years, we have partnered with several international designers such as Bianca Saunders, Kallmeyer, Patrício Campillo, Libertine, Theophillio and Willy Chavarria. This is a direction we are committed to continuing.

Fashion

Ophsides: A Brand For The Outsiders

May 07, 2026

Ophsides doesn’t position itself inside the game. It builds something deliberately just beyond it. Founded in New York City, the emerging label is carving out what it calls the “oph-pitch” category: a space where football, fashion, and identity intersect without being confined by any of them. It’s less about sport as spectacle and more about sport as language; one spoken fluently by those who’ve long existed on the margins of both fashion and football culture.

The name itself is a provocation. In football, being offside means you’ve moved too early, broken formation, stepped out of place. For most, it’s a mistake. For Ophsides, it’s the entire point. The brand reframes that misstep as instinct, an ability to see openings others don’t, to operate outside prescribed structures. It’s a philosophy that resonates far beyond the pitch, especially in an American context where football has historically occupied an ambiguous cultural position; globally dominant, yet domestically peripheral, embraced by subcultures rather than the mainstream.

Text by Dylan Andrews
Photos courtesy of Ophsides

That tension is where Ophsides lives. The brand taps into a largely unseen network of American creatives who have deep ties to the sport but have lacked an authentic outlet to express that connection. Rather than forcing football into fashion’s existing frameworks, Ophsides builds its own ecosystem, one that reflects the hybrid identities of its community.

At the center of it all is the relationship between co-founders Uyi Omorogbe and Ruja. The two met as teenagers at Shattuck-St. Mary’s, an elite residential football academy in Minnesota, where both were navigating what it meant to exist between cultures. Omorogbe, a first-generation Nigerian-American raised in upstate New York, and Ruja, a Romanian-American from El Paso, bonded over shared experiences of feeling out of place; socially, culturally, and often racially. Football became both a connector and a form of escape, offering structure while allowing space for self-definition.

Ophsides’ debut collection launches May 7, anchored by the “00 track suit”, the pieces are designed to move fluidly between environments. Alongside the apparel, Ophsides introduces its first tooling product: Play Tape which allows users to create a football pitch on virtually any surface. The idea is simple: play anywhere. But the underlying message is broader; claim space wherever you are, whether or not it was designed for you.

Ophsides isn’t trying to insert itself into existing systems. It’s building parallel ones, rooted in friendship, shaped by displacement, and driven by a community that has long existed just out of frame. On May 7, when the website goes live alongside the official launch party, it won’t mark the beginning of the brand so much as the public arrival of something that’s been in motion for years.

Fashion

MARINE SERRE THE SOURCE: Spring/Summer 2026 Campaign

May 06, 2026

For Spring/Summer 2026, Marine Serre returns to the core of her practice: the garment as necessity, gesture, and protection. Titled The Source, the collection builds an intentional wardrobe where craft, transformation, and circularity meet a refined sense of sensuality. Structured yet fluid silhouettes, alongside regenerated materials and precise construction, define a language of modern elegance: functional, intimate, and quietly powerful. The campaign, fronted by Ester Expósito and joined by Momo Ndiaye, extends this vision through a study of contemporary femininity and presence, unfolding across cinematic and photographic narratives.

The third chapter returns to the campaign’s origin, where instinct evolves into certainty. Ester Expósito reappears with a new sense of control- no longer tentative, but fully self-possessed. Within the same intimate setting, the atmosphere sharpens as gestures become deliberate and silhouettes assert presence rather than suggest it. Garments continue as extensions of the body. A black knit dress follows the form with precision, while the House’s flocked mesh catsuit reveals through transparency and texture. Structure and fluidity coexist, reinforcing a sensuality that feels instinctive yet defined. Accessories, from the Mini Aurora to the Eclipse and Strike bags, punctuate the narrative with clarity, grounding the chapter in a femininity that is both intimate and assured. Alongside her, Momo Ndiaye offers a steady counterpart, his presence understated yet grounding. Together, they complete the campaign’s arc where what begins as instinct resolves into confidence, and presence becomes power.