Following its inauguration the previous day, the exhibition titled ‘A Dois Passos do Futuro’ (Two Steps to the Future) opens to the public, showcasing how the Portuguese footwear industry has been structurally reconfigured, thereby making “visible the profound transformation led by APICCAPS- the Portuguese Association of Footwear, Components, Leather Goods, and Leather Substitutes Manufacturers, and by CTCP- the Footwear Technology Centre of Portugal,” says the ModaLisboa Association in a statement, which oversaw the curation and development of this exhibition hosted at MUDE- the Design Museum in Lisbon. It “brings together the results of collaborative scientific, technological, and material research that have repositioned the sector as an international benchmark in the sustainable transition,” underscoring the significance of an exhibition structured around the Bioshoes4all programme.

The note adds that “the exhibition brings to light what usually remains within the specialised domains of engineering, technology centres, and production units: silent but fundamental transformations that redefine raw materials, industrial processes and development models,” it continues. “Leathers stabilised with plant-based compounds, biomaterials obtained from natural fibres or agro-industrial waste, bio-based polymers, recyclable composites, and circular-economy solutions are presented as evidence of systemic change, and not merely as isolated innovations”.

‘A Dois Passos do Futuro,’ on display at MUDE until January 25, 2026, “demystifies complex processes: how eco-design methodologies are implemented; how post-consumer waste is reintegrated; and how digital platforms make it possible to share resources, simplify decisions and strengthen the transparency of the cluster.”

The exhibition thus reveals what has changed and how that change came about, “thanks to a production culture that combines technical rigour, environmental responsibility, and strategic vision,” the ModaLisboa organisation also stresses.

In this way, “a portrait of an ecosystem in transition is sketched, inviting the public to explore new materials, new production paradigms, new industrial ecologies, while taking two steps towards the future,” it concludes.