During an early morning fashion shoot at Nova Praia, Costa da Caparica, ZOOT and Lisbon based fashion college ETIC collaborated on showcasing a futuristic student collection merging fashion and function. Crafted as a team work by ten students, these sustainable looks combine waterproof fabrics and netting, drawing on Swedish fishermen gear brand Grundéns’ expertise.
Photography and film Thomas Probosch
Music Tony Corlett
Art direction and beauty Antonia Rosa assisted by Elizabeth
Fashion students Inês Reis • Raquel Pires • Mariana Henriques • Cláudia Romão • Mariana Sampaio • Carlota Cebola • Beatriz Guedes • Leonor Sampaio • Rodrigo Castro and Jaya Phoenix from ETIC
Producer Margarida do Carmo from ETIC
Models Gany Camará • Gustavo Ramos • Ângelo Woozly • Kauan Carvalho
and Estefano Santos from Face Models
Interview and words Kelly Bernardo
Special thanks to the fishermen at Costa da Caparica.
Led by professor Luís Emilio, ten of his students of the fashion design course at ETIC were collaborating with Swedish fishermen gear brand Grundéns, for the development of a small fashion collection. Grundéns, first established nearly a century ago in Grundsund in Sweden, expanded its operations to Portugal in 1972. The brand prioritizes quality and sustainability at its Lisbon based factory.
The design merges technical fishing garment needs with the creative futuristic appoach by the fashion students and utilized materials from deadstock provided by Grundéns. The collections incorporate waterproof fabrics and netting, resonating deeply with the essence of fishing gear. The color scheme, mainly black, orange and blue, is emphasizing safety and visibility for the Grundéns brand’s target audience of professional and sports fishermen while showcasing a blend of practicality and futuristic design.
During the dawn photoshoot at Nova Praia, local fishermen engaged in their tasks while our team prepared. This dynamic interaction between the models, the ongoing work of the fishermen, the birds and the waves in the background created an intriguing interplay between human activity and the natural environment. Photographer Thomas Probosch captured our group of five models between night and dawn, making them interact with the nature around them.
ZOOT was speaking wih Raquel Pires, Mariana Henriques and Inês Reis — three of the design students from ETIC about their project, these interviews are included in quotes below.
Raquel about the production…
While we were all planning the final graduation collection at ETIC, professor Luís Emilio and the school itself provided us with the opportunity to collaborate with the Grundéns brand, a brand specialized in professional and amateur fishing apparel. In this collaborative project, we had to design a technical garment for the brand, considering the needs of deep-sea fishermen. As my final collection was inspired by fishermen too, we decided to combine the pieces created in this collaboration with some pieces from my final collection to create this photo shoot.
Mariana on the use of fabrics…
The collection comes from a collaboration with the Grundéns brand, whose target audience is amateur and professional fishermen. Considering the technical needs sought by them, I decided to incorporate details from their best-selling pieces, but also create more conceptual pieces inspired by objects linked to the practice of fishing, such as nets.
Mariana about the colours…
Fishermen are the brand’s target audience and could not fail to explore the techniques and environments that are part of their daily lives. However, the collection through colours (black and orange) aims to transport us to an environment of safety and visibility, highlighting this profession.
Inês on the target group…
For this new collection, we decided to go beyond the practicality of the coat and give the opportunity to make the pieces more creative and youthful, with a more appealing design. We thought that the audience that would join would be young people who practice the sport or are professional fishermen. The Grundéns brand focuses on creating fisherman’s gear, with their designs demanding simplicity, utility, comfort, and practicality. When creating prototypes that comply with means of practicality, such as waterproofing or ensuring easy removal and use of the gear, one must bear in mind that comfort and simplistic design are also essential in creating a work-friendly product that protects the user from possible hazards. We propose to explore how the design can still incorporate a sense of fashion into fisherman’s gear without hurting its original purpose. Following further investigation, we identified “Futurism” as one ideal answer for the concept required.
Raquel about her own collection…
The inspiration for this collection came from a documentary from Gonçalo Tocha called “A mãe e o Mar“. This documentary follows the lives of the fisherwomen of Vila Chã. My collection aims not only to capture the essence of the lives of the female fisherwomen of Vila Chã with the big skirts and the sleeves but also to create pieces with modern elements inspired by seaweed and fishing nets.
Inês on the work process…
This collection was created during a school module, in a project in collaboration with the brand Grúndens with the aim of creating a new concept with a new sense of fashion without leaving aside the sustainability and practicality of the product. The class was divided into groups of three and each group created a new concept considering the brand in collaboration.
Raquel about the inspiration of her collection…
The Portuguese culture is something that inspires me immensely, especially the culture of Portuguese women. In the documentary “A Mãe e o Mar” we witness the lives of the fisherwomen of Vila Chã, and how these women were the first in Portugal to obtain a skipper’s license (carta de arrais) at a time when women were undervalued. This story inspired me to create a collection that could represent the strength and courage of these women without taking away their femininity and vulnerability.
Inês and Mariana on sustainability and deadstock …
The materials used were given by Grundéns in collaboration, it was deadstock and we, with the deadstock materials, created the new concept and during manufacturing we followed sustainable practices to ensure the least amount of waste. — Inês Reis
The materials used consisted mainly of waterproof clothing and netting, which immediately takes us to fishing nets. All materials used come from deadstock, safeguarding the use of new resources in their production.
— Mariana Henriques
To boot…
ETIC
Escola de Tecnologias Inovação e Criação // School of Technologies Innovation and Creation
@eticoficial I @modaetic I www.etic.pt
The HND Fashion Design Collaborative Project at ETIC is led by professor Luis Emilio @_emylio_ and was working for this project with Grundéns @grundenseurope I www.eu.grundens.com
Inês Reis, fashion student
@ines.reis.designs
“Fashion always made part of my life, but I never thought I would become a fashion designer. Everything started with me, without knowing what I would like to do in the future, but I always liked creating and arts, so I dropped out of science and went to graphic design, that lead me to creating a brand, which was a fashion brand. Since then, I´ve done what I could to have the knowledge to run a fashion brand, getting me into fashion and loving it.”
Mariana Henriques, fashion student
@marianahhenriques
“My journey in the world of fashion began at the age of 16 when I started the professional fashion design course, since then I have tried to gain experience through internships in companies and designer studios, I also recently took the HN Fashion Design course at ETIC where I had the opportunity to develop projects in collaboration with real brands.”
Raquel Pires, fashion student
@rouk_fashion
“I startet to get into fashion relatively recently. Until then, I was studying Comparative Studies at the Faculdade de Letras. It was only in 2019, when I decided to drop out of my undergraduate program and start something new, that I took a course in makeup, hairstyling, and fashion production at the World Academy. There, thanks to a costume design discipline, I ended up falling in love with sewing and fashion design, which gave me the courage to enrol in the HND Fashion Design program at ETIC at the age of 26. This course has given me the opportunity to work with brands, participate in incredible projects, and meet talented individuals who inspire me greatly.”
