Numero237 opens in Porto, Portugal with vintage fashion and more

 new vintage store specialising in designer fashion, ceramics, and photography books, called Numero237, takes its name from its location on Rua de Miguel Bombarda in Porto, famed for its concentration of art galleries, cultural spaces, independent designer fashion boutiques, decorative arts, architecture and much more. Although Numero237 specialises in second-hand designer fashion, focusing on pieces by young, daring designers, it also carries Portuguese ceramics from iconic brands such as Vista Alegre and Sepal, as well as photography books.

A post on the store’s Instagram account reads: “There’s a new place of discovery in Bombarda- Numero237, an archive specialising in second-hand designer fashion, now with a physical space on the street that lends it its name. A place where clothing, photography, vintage ceramics, and design coexist with sensitivity and good taste.” 

“Numero237 brings together pre-owned pieces by Comme des Garçons, Issey Miyake, Helmut Lang, Jean Paul Gaultier, Walter Van Beirendonck, Yohji Yamamoto, among others, as well as fashion books and objects that bridge art and everyday life,” the post continues.

After opening one of Porto’s first vintage stores in 1997, Gonçalo Velosa has returned to the concept he honed in the British capital, where he lived for years, now in the heart of the Porto Art District: “I wanted this to be a space which, although it sells brands that can sometimes be a little elitist, also offers more accessible pieces,” he told Time Out.

“I’ve tried to create an environment where no one is afraid to explore, touch and try things on, because there are certain spaces where you think twice before going in, because they’re so controlled and formal,” says the entrepreneur, who has since settled in London to study Fashion Design, going on to open House of Liza, a space in the Hoxton neighbourhood with a rigorously curated selection of iconic pieces. At Miguel Bombarda, major names in fashion and design also stand out, such as Alexander McQueen, Comme des Garçons, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Helmut Lang, Issey Miyake, Jean-Paul Gaultier, and Valentino, to name a few. 

Numero237 opened in September, focusing on the categories and styles of women’s and men’s fashion that Gonçalo Velosa sources on trips abroad, never neglecting quality as a point of difference. 

“Everything on sale here is free from defects; it goes through a cleaning process,” he also told the local edition of the London-based magazine founded by Tony Elliott in 1968. “I don’t buy anything just because it carries a particular brand label, but because I see aesthetic or cultural interest in it.”