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Miguel Vieira in the Interview

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Miguel Vieira in the Interview

At GDS in September 2011 Miguel Vieira celebrated his German première presenting a footwear portfolio for men and women.

In his home country of Portugal the multi-talent is already a household name in the fashion business.

His collections feature on international catwalks – in Poland, Istanbul and Sao Paolo as well as in Paris, London and Barcelona.

For each new season there is a fashion theme such as the Lisbon-Capri theme for this season.

For this collection he has used various materials in one shoe, sometimes up to six types of leather.

With these boat shoes for example Vieira combined smooth leather and velour leather with coarse canvas.

It is precisely the contrast between these “rich” and plain materials that typifies this collection making it so irresistible.

The shoe collection focuses on colours with pastel shades for men and women, colourful raffia flowers and Cuban heels.

For the Designer colour is important to ensure product variety as this allows to offer the customers a larger selection of shoes.

23 years ago Vieira started designing fashion for women. Soon after, the collection for men followed.

Today, he works with twelve teamsters on 15 licenses that are now distributed to 100 sales outlets in Portugal and over 300 PoS worldwide.

It is corporate policy to exclusively produce in Portugal. This allows to stay in direct touch with the manufacturing sites.

He gathered his inspiration from his many trips to “fashionable” beach destinations and cities like Milan, Paris, New York and London.

But also through the glamorous 50s movies and stars such as Humphrey Bogart, Marilyn Monroe, Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando.

“I am very disciplined and see myself not only as a designer but also a businessman.” says Miguel Vieira.

“Design is discipline and hard work”

In his home country of Portugal Miguel Vieira is a household name in the fashion business and his collections feature on international catwalks – in Poland, Istanbul and Sao Paolo as well as in Paris, London and Barcelona. But Vieira’s creativity is not just focused on women’s and men’s wear, footwear and accessories. This is evidenced by cooperations with Farol Design Hotel, Motorola and Swarovski, among others, as well as by his designs for interiors and jewellery.

This season the multi-talent celebrated his German première presenting a footwear portfolio for men and women at GDS – luxurious, with loving attention to detail and no compromises on colours.

How famous is Miguel Vieira in his home country Portugal – and how did it actually all start?
I can hardly cross the street there without having to sign autographs (he laughs). No – just joking. 23 years ago I started designing fashion for women. Soon after, the collection for men followed. But then I realised I am interested in fashion as an entire concept. This is when things started to grow: the First Line in fashion was joined by jeanswear and a sports collection, then sunglasses, even furniture and so on. Today, I work with twelve teamsters on 15 licenses that are now distributed to 100 sales outlets in Portugal and over 300 PoS worldwide.

Since when have shoes been part of the range?
For 16 years now. For each new season there is a fashion theme such as the Lisbon-Capri theme for this season. My team and I travel frequently and then we discuss all the ideas at a meeting and “digest” our impressions. At this point everything is dovetailed in terms of design – be it for apparel or for shoes. Very rarely do items emerge independently.

What is so attractive about shoes for you?
With shoes there are so many components to consider. I like leather, its touch and the variety the material offers. For this collection I have used various materials in one shoe, sometimes up to six types of leather. For instance, with these ankle boots I have combined light blue patent leather with coarse canvas. It is precisely the contrast between these “rich” and very plain materials that typifies this collection making it so irresistible.

Your trademark feature is minimalism with clear lines and strict black & white but this shoe collection focuses on colours with pastel shades for men and women, colourful raffia flowers on Cuban heels…
Colours that stand for summery weightlessness although black and white continue to be the recurring theme for my collection. Although I love to work with black and white, colour is important in our collections so as to ensure product variety as this allows us to offer our customers a larger selection of shoes. The finish of the shoes is also interesting. We look at every little detail, even when designing the soles that are produced in one piece. And featured inside the shoes is a hologram with the logo. It is corporate policy to exclusively produce in Portugal. This allows us to stay in direct touch with the manufacturing sites.

How high is the workload – how often do you visit the companies that produce for you?
I visit all companies that cooperate with us at least once a month, i.e. all 15 licensees. This obviously involves great effort – there are two trade fairs per season where nearly all licences are presented – which means plenty of coordination.

How do you manage to juggle everything so successfully?
I am very disciplined and see myself not only as a designer but also a businessman. Everything must be taken into consideration. On the one hand, I am probably a romantic type but I do not conform to the image of the romantic designer who dreamily whiles away his time in the workshop waiting to be hit by a stroke of genius to then frantically get on with it. Design is discipline and hard work more than anything else. What help me here are my good planning skills. I am strict with myself but also with my twelve members of staff who co-design with me. You have to have rules that everyone abides by.

How are you inspired?
On my many trips – to “fashionable” beach destinations and cities like Milan, Paris, New York and London as well as through movies; I like glamorous 50s movies and stars such as Humphrey Bogart, Cathérine Deneuve, Marilyn Monroe, Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor, Ingrid Bergman and Marlon Brando.

Could you please say a few words on your German debut?
We are launching our shoe line here first which is why we deliberately opted to feature at GDS; I have wanted to exhibit here for a long time. The trade fair company helped us a great deal in the event run-up and we were able to talk to potential distributors and agents for the German market. We primarily wish to target high-fashion stores – boutiques whose ranges suit our high-quality collections so we can also build a good reputation on this market.

Das Interview führte: Nicoletta Schaper
Photos: Susanne Boidol