Portugal’s fashion scene is quietly defining its own rhythm. At the centre is Lisboa Fashion Week (LxFW), where craftsmanship, innovation, and cultural heritage meet. From veteran designer Nuno Baltazar to avant-garde visionary Lidija Kolovrat, and emerging names like ARNDES and Adja Baio; these are the voices shaping the country’s evolving style narrative. They’re also the ones to keep on your radar.
Adja Baio (up-and-coming)
In a world where it’s becoming harder to tell what’s real, you still recognise it when you see it. Adja Baio was the first collection to be presented under the Sangue Novo banner, Lisboa Fashion Week (LxFW)’s emerging talent showcase, and yet, after three runway-packed days, it remains as one of the most memorable.
The brand created by model and designer Helena Baio is in its infancy. But like a beautiful baby, seems to have a great future ahead of it. Mixing streetwear with traditional fabrics and silhouettes from Guinea-Bissau, where Helena was born and raised before moving to Portugal seven years ago, Adja Baio feels simultaneously authentic and experimental.
In Pano de Pinti, this small introductory collection, Helena is telling us who she is using hair braids woven into fabric, raw denim and geometric prints. The pieces are genderless but culturally grounded.
Out of the eight new talents that competed during LxFW, Adja Baio has been chosen as one of the few moving on to the final, set for March 2026. Our pick for the win.
ARNDES (up-and-coming)
Ana Rita de Sousa’s runway show at LxFW felt like an encrypted message from women to women. While some designers tend to present dreamy, dramatic or romantic visions of femininity, her take felt strong and relatable. There was a sense of practicality to her experimental style. These are pieces that you can wear and keep forever. At least that’s the goal, as her brand, ARNDES, is deeply committed to sustainability.
Not only does Ana Rita reuse deadstock fabrics to create her collections, she also reimagines existing garments. And transforms them into fashion that you’ll want to wear time and time again. The deconstruction is visible in pieces like shirts and trousers that appear, quite literally, turned inside out. The result is less of a caricature and more cool-girl-next-door – understated, confident and real.
Sangue Novo, LxFW’s emerging talent competition, played a pivotal in her trajectory. Winning the award in 2021 earned her direct entry into a masters at Polimoda, the prestigious fashion school in Florence, Italy. Since returning to Portugal, she’s been presenting regularly in LxFW.
Kolovrat (established)
Lidija Kolovrat is an artist. Even if you’ve never heard of her before, you’ll spot it the moment you see her runway presentations. It’s clear to see in the sculptural dresses, the prints that tell a story that brings everything together, the accessories shaped like stones. After all, who else would be inspired by a stone to create a collection, if not an artist?
From her studio in Lisbon’s trendy Princípe Real neighbourhood, Lidija has been creating custom designs and presenting in LxFW under her label Kolovrat since 1990. Her ambition is not to expand and multiply, but to hone in her craftsmanship and make every garment count. “With Lidija’s sensibility to beauty, boldness and a refined sense of humor, one-of-a-kind pieces are produced every day”, her website reads.
As an artist, she stands as a reader of the world, absorbing its cultural energy and translating it into pieces that capture the essence of that moment in time. She is both storyteller and interpreter, a singular presence in the landscape of Portuguese fashion.
Nuno Baltazar (established)
Only a select few were invited to Nuno Baltazar’s SS26 presentation on the rooftop of Lisbon’s Design Museum. The setting: an open terrace with cinematic views of the city. It felt like the right stage for a designer whose work has always blurred the line between fashion and film. Baltazar’s clothes look made for the kind of party where glamour arrives on cue, and drama never feels accidental.
It’s no wonder he’s often tapped to design costumes for theatre, cinema, and television. In Portugal, his name is practically linked to Catarina Furtado, his long-time muse and one of the country’s most recognisable TV personalities. On any red carpet, you can bet at least a few looks will be his.
Though he’s been showing at Lisboa Fashion Week since the early 2000s, Baltazar has kept his atelier in Porto. It’s the city where he grew up and fell in love with fashion after finding an old 1950s magazine hidden in a chest at his grandparents’ house.
A master of balance and detail, Baltazar layers fabrics, textures, and colour like a stylist telling a story. His brand is one of the most fully realised in Portuguese fashion. He produces two ready-to-wear collections a year, along with bespoke bridalwear and accessories that stretch from stationery to sunglasses. Everything he creates feels like part of the same cinematic universe — elegant, intentional, and just a little bit theatrical.
All image courtesy: Lisboa Fashion Week