ModaLisboa Base: Catwalk shows, performances and other highlights that defined Lisbon Fashion Week

The 65th edition of Lisbon Fashion Week, held from October 1 to 5  and coinciding with Paris Fashion Week, which showcased the talent of Portuguese couturier Miguel Castro Freitas, who made his debut at Mugler, among many other debuts, unveiled collections by 53 Portuguese and international designers and labels across dozens of catwalk shows and presentations spanning designer fashion, sustainability, technology and experimentation.

FashionNetwork.com gathered some of the key highlights and news — not forgetting, of course, the show by 13 talents from the IED in Milan, which opened the Lisbon catwalk on the evening of September 30 at the Italian Embassy in Lisbon, building bridges between cultures, knowledge and creativity.

On Thursday, October 2, the Fashion House at Palacete Gomes Freire was inaugurated as ModaLisboa Base’s new project, featuring performative exhibitions by Roselyn Silva; Ana Margarida Feijão, who will also be making her debut at Lisbon’s CUPRA City Garage this week; and Gandaia, formerly Mustique, which underwent a rebranding process, just revealed at ModaLisboa Base.

Amid four days of performances, workshops and sound healing, a notable highlight on Saturday, October 4, was João Magalhães, who changes tack by presenting a performative installation exploring his own experimentation in situ, depicting a creative laboratory behind bars — as if in a prison.

Even the dress made from Palestinian scarves by Luís Carvalho for Marisa Liz was exhibited at ModaLisboa to raise awareness and encourage donations to Médecins Sans Frontières, an international medical-humanitarian organisation that helps everyone regardless of race, religion, gender or political affiliation.

On Friday, October 3, the five finalists of the Sangue Novo ‘supported by Seaside’ young designer competition were announced: Adja Baio, Ariana Orrico, Mafalda Simões, Mariana Garcia and Usual Suspect.

On the catwalk, the highlights were Bárbara Anastásio of Workstation Design ‘supported by Jean Louis David’, who toyed with anarchy; Alves/Gonçalves surprised with textures and palette, heralding a new era for the label; and 2B, the new brand from young singer Bárbara Bandeira, also a ModaLisboa Base debut.

On Saturday, October 4, Béhen surprised with some bridal (or Sunday) looks, made from embroidered tablecloths or napperons, among other repurposed noble materials, drawing on the Belle Époque for this new collection of unique pieces, suggestively titled “Bem Me Quer, Mal Me Quer”.

For his part, Gonçalo Peixoto continued to reveal his sexier side, signalling greater mastery of haute couture fabrics and cuts for spring–summer 2026, where lace and sheer prints hint at skin and femininity.

The day (or rather, the evening) closed with Kolovrat, surprising with a range of new bag typologies in Stone Age, a collection that leans into earthy tones and black, sculpting markedly different contemporary paths in cotton and organza.

Carlos Gil followed into the night, unfolding in two acts within a collection marked by shades that are by turns subtle and vibrant, with reminiscences of the 1960s to the 1990s. Called “Urban Flow”, the name itself hinted at the urban theme where “the speed and movement of the streets, as well as graffiti” evoked creative freedom and transformation.

The best came at the end of the Lisbon catwalk with Constança Entrudo at the inauguration of Castle HI HI HI, where she presented a capsule collection in collaboration with Paraíso and Humana, recently pre-launched at Lux Frágil.

Also off-site from the Pátio da Galé, where most of the fashion shows were held, Nuno Baltazar took over MUDE’s sunlit terrace, open to Lisbon’s magical light, with sequinned dresses, brocades and cinched silhouettes, sharp suiting and stronger shades than he usually dares — pink, blue and orange among them.

Çal Pfungst offered more wearable looks than usual, via Workstation Design ‘supported by Jean Louis David’. A notably successful effort. DuarteHajime turned to Greek mythology and the martial, with heroines and heroes such as Athena, Hermes, Medusa and Perseus, mixed with the usual sportswear camouflage.

Valentim Quaresma played with zips of different sizes and applications in ultra-creative looks that intertwine, opening and closing pathways that showcase cut-and-sew mastery. Always, truly ahead of the curve.

Dino Alves didn’t stray from his brand DNA in some evening or party looks , but innovated with the concept he calls MAIS ALÉM — in other words, “an exercise in freedom as an essence, of thinking without borders, of dressing without conventions and of expressing oneself with authenticity,” the ModaLisboa organisation noted.

As he explained: “This collection was designed to take an idea or ideas from previous collections and go further, going beyond the idea itself. This doesn’t mean that the pieces have to be more elaborate, more outlandish or flashy, since going further can be in the sense of purification and simplification.”

This season also saw the Dino Alves X Rêve de Flo partnership in women’s footwear, the Portuguese label that two years ago shod the cast of the Patrick McDowell show at London Fashion Week.

Finally, Luís Carvalho closed ModaLisboa Base with brilliant materials that are somewhat unusual for his label, favouring white, light blue and certain contrasting shades such as lemon yellow, turquoise or green which, in stripes and all together, become psychedelic. Heading for the red carpet.

“Twisted pleats and ribbing unfold like sculptural elements, suggesting intertwined bodies, gestures of intimacy made visible in form.”

In a word: UNION — a “manifesto of unity in a fragmented world” — concluded the Lisbon catwalk, at the forefront of Portuguese designer fashion.

Although the north was not lagging behind with Portugal Fashion, this season it was radiating synergies with shows and showrooms at the most important Fashion Weeks in London, Milan and Paris.

Portuguese heroes in Greek mythology, as evoked by DuarteHajime at this 65th ModaLisboa — and also the centuries sung by Camões in the Lusitanian manner. Not to be forgotten.