From Peggy’s Head to Potato Head

This season’s ModaLisboa shows created a mosaic of styles. Luís Carvalho showcased subtle pastel floral patterns and solid flowy neutrals, while brands like Dino Alves opted for a grittier, more punk-inspired collection with a mix of black and taupe tulle, including pops of fuchsia and warm yellow. Both gorgeous, but utterly different.

So what exactly did they have in common? APICAPPS shoes were the foundation for both. Despite their distinct personalities, the versatility of APICAPPS shoes was able to create a throughline in styling and even in mission. APICAPPS shoes were also showcased by brands like Luis Onofre, DuarteHajime, Valentim Quaresma, and Arndes. That is to say, all these brands had a commitment to the beauty of not only the fashion and sense of style being presented, but also to the beauty of the environment that makes up the cities of Portugal. Portugal is a country not only known for its stunning architecture and abundance of culture but for its dedication to eco-friendly initiatives. And APICCAPS is absolutely in line with that same identity.

“Doing better is not simply about producing better. It means making more conscious choices, respecting what surrounds us and understanding that every gesture matters,” says Cláudia Pinto, Communications Director at APICCAPS. For the footwear association, compassion assumes many forms. Their latest campaign, Kindness, approaches production through a lens of quality materials and moral responsibility first and foremost. And they have new technologies to back this up. Through Bio4All, Portuguese footwear companies create shoes with biomaterials like pine bark, olive leaves, coffee grounds, chestnut shells, and olive stones. They even have new leather processing methods that reduce water usage by 20%. And through FAIST, they’re reeling in AI, automation, robotics, and digitalization to fully optimize their efficiency and reduce waste.

Of course, new-age technology can be a tricky topic. Luis Onofre says, “Automation, robotics and artificial intelligence are not here to replace the knowledge accumulated by the industry. They are here to enhance it. If we can combine the best of our people with new technologies, Portugal can build a competitive advantage that will be extremely difficult to replicate by industrial models based primarily on price.”

By the time you’re flipping through your favorite magazine, looking at the latest stilettos on the runway, it’s likely you’ve forgotten that it all started with an initiative, a few pieces of cheetah print leather cut up in a factory, or even a simple sketch or design. That’s precisely why seeing the full process was fascinating. It made me think about the lifetime of a shoe, conception starting not at the time of purchase, but from the moment the designer’s pencil hits their paper, and so on. Drawn, cut, stitched, shaped, adjusted, worn. In Portugal, all of this is done without losing sight of concepts like environmental awareness, durability, and plain old beauty. APICAPPS is proving that these elements can exist side by side, one leather boot at a time.