ModaLisboa has announced a new edition of ModaPortugal Links, an initiative led by CENIT (Centro de Inteligência Têxtil), in partnership with ANIVEC (Associação Nacional das Indústrias de Vestuário e Confeção), to be held on Thursday, December 11, at the Palácio da Bolsa in Porto. The event will bring together young European fashion designers, ITV (Indústria Têxtil e do Vestuário), and international experts for “a meeting dedicated to creativity, innovation, and sustainability,” according to a statement published on its website.

Associação ModaLisboa will lead the event’s artistic curation and production. The organisation positions itself “as a strategic platform linking education, design, and production, highlighting the relevance of the national ITV and its role in building a more responsible and technologically advanced fashion industry,” adds the statement sent to FashionNetwork.com.

ModaPortugal Links includes the European Young Fashion Designers Competition, featuring 18 promising talents from eight leading European schools: Aalto University (Finland), Institut Français de la Mode (France), Polimoda (Italy), ESAD, the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Lisbon, and Modatex Porto (Portugal), London College of Fashion (UK), and HEAD Genève (Switzerland).

The 18 young designers will visit five leading ITV companies and technology centres (Citeve, Inovafil, Irmãos Rodrigues, Pedrosa Rodrigues, and Valérius 360) on December 9 and 10 to learn about “cutting-edge production processes, sustainable models, and practices that reinforce Portugal’s position as an international benchmark in textile innovation.” The group will then present their collections to an international jury on December 11 at the Palácio da Bolsa in Porto.

“The competition final will take the form of a runway show and will culminate in the awarding of prizes to the winners from each country, along with the distinction of Best Collection in the ModaPortugal Links Fashion Design Competition,” reads the ModaLisboa website.

“The ModaPortugal Business Excellence Awards will also be presented at the ceremony, honouring Portuguese companies that have stood out over the last year in categories essential to the industry’s future: Brand, Exports, Industry 4.0, Investment, Sustainability, and Turnover.”

The statement also notes that the event “forms part of the Lusitano Project, funded by the PRR- Recovery and Resilience Plan and the Next Generation EU European funds, reinforcing the ongoing commitment to a more sustainable, competitive, and innovative fashion industry,” it concludes.