Chatting with Hugo Costa

We interviewed Hugo Costa, one of the participating designers in the last edition of Portugal Fashion.

What is your assessment of this year's Portugal Fashion?

Despite the limitations resulting from the times we live in, it was a positive edition, very well organized and that adapted very well to this new reality of ours (which we all hope, temporary). We had a very positive feedback on the collection.

What was the great inspiration for this collection?

The basic inspiration for this collection was a gentleman named Desmond Doss. The first conscientious objector in history, who denied the use of weapons but never stopped going to war, saving hundreds of lives. A message of hope in adverse times.

What was the reason for the choice of fabrics used?

The fabrics we chose required light, light, but we also needed some more structured materials. The composition was also required to be natural, because the main inspiration was the military uniforms, which are also based on cotton. 

Do you think that the three days of Portugal Fashion were very different from previous years? Did you really feel the effects of the pandemic?

They were different from the previous ones, but they were extremely well organized and very dynamic. Of course we felt it. We missed the public. We work because we like to, but for our public. And he wasn't there. 

Did you feel, in any way, that this phase we are going through affected the realization of this collection of yours? What impact did the pandemic have on your work and creative dynamics?

In our case, we were able to realize this collection with some normality. of course the whole dynamic of the studio had to readjust. We can't be so close to each other.

What are the perspectives for the future?

We don't make big plans. All the ones we had have changed with this new reality. We are going to focus on the digital market and adapt to this new reality.

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Hugo Costa is one of the established designers that uses Troficolor fabrics in his collections.

BIO

Hugo Costa concluded, in 2008, the Course of Fashion and Textile Design in the Superior School of Applied Arts of the Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco. In 2009, he was one of the finalists of the Acrobatic Competition, where he won the prize for Best Male Coordinate in 2009 and 2010, and in this last year he also won the title of "Best Collection".

Since 2007, he has been developing collections of clothing, footwear, accessories and print illustration for several national companies on a freelance basis.

Since September 2012 he became a trainer, working with the Fashion School of Porto, Modatex and Footwear Industry Vocational Training Center.

Since October 2010, Hugo Costa presents his collections in Bloom space, Portugal Fashion's platform dedicated to young designers. In March 2014, he jumped to the main runway where, until October 2015, he shared the shows with other designers. At the 38th edition of Portugal Fashion, in March 2016, a new milestone in the young designer's career: the first individual show in the initiative's line-up.

Today, his homonymous brand stands out as one of the most promising in fashion for men. In fact, 2016 was marked by Hugo Costa's affirmation in the national and international panorama of the sector. It can even be said that the maximum exponent of this visibility happened in June 2016, when the creator made his debut at the Paris Men's Fashion Week, with the support of Portugal Fashion.