APICCAPS – the Portuguese Footwear, Components, Leather Goods and Related Products Manufacturers’ Association – will this June welcome students from leading international institutions in the field, including London College of Fashion and New York’s Fashion Institute of Technologyin an initiative supported by Compete 2030.
The program includes visits to factories producing footwear, components and leather goods, as well as technology centres, with the aim of giving participants direct exposure to the Portuguese industry’s production processes, innovation and savoir-faire, the association representing the sector in Portugal said in a statement.
It has not yet released a detailed schedule or the list of companies that will form part of the itinerary.
both the APICCAPS press release and the international republication state only that the students will be in Portugal “during the month of June” to visit factories producing footwear, components and leather goods, as well as technology centres.
However, APICCAPS’s activities typically take place in the sector’s main centres, namely Felgueiras, Guimarães, Oliveira de Azeméis, Santa Maria da Feira and São João da Madeira, where a significant share of Portugal’s footwear industry is concentrated.
Accordingly, APICCAPS “continues to strengthen the link between the footwear industry and the international academic community, through a strategy designed to prepare the sector’s future and create opportunities for innovation”, the note continued, emphasizing that the students come from “two of the world’s most prestigious fashion and design schools, London College of Fashion and the Fashion Institute of Technology, in an initiative supported by Compete 2030.
“This initiative forms part of APICCAPS’s ongoing efforts to bring academic knowledge closer to business realities, promoting direct contact between young talent and companies in Portugal’s footwear and leather goods industry.”
This is a unique opportunity for students from British and North American higher education institutions “to explore factories producing footwear, components and leather goods, as well as technology centres, gaining direct insight into production processes, the capacity for innovation and the savoir-faire that set Portuguese footwear apart in international markets,” the press release explained.
According to APICCAPS’s communications director, Cláudia Pinto: “The link between industry and academia is essential to encourage new ideas and prepare the sector for future challenges.”
Cláudia Pinto also noted that “contact with students from internationally renowned institutions is an opportunity to showcase the best of what is being done in Portugal,” the statement read.
“The Portuguese footwear industry has much to teach, but also much to learn from younger generations,” she continued. “These visits are an opportunity to share knowledge and inspire talent who may, in future, collaborate with our companies.”
For APICCAPS, this is “a way to create new opportunities, both in terms of creativity and product development and in building future partnerships with leading designers, researchers and educational institutions, since by welcoming students from London College of Fashion and the Fashion Institute of Technology it reaffirms its commitment to building bridges between academia and industry, helping to ensure that Made in Portugal continues to be synonymous with creativity, quality and a forward-looking vision,” it stressed.
Regarding its position as an international benchmark, it added that “the Portuguese footwear industry will once again take part in the world’s leading fashion weeks”, notably between June and September, “on the main stages of Milan, Paris and New York.”
“If Portugal has knowledge, tradition and continuous investment in the footwear industry, this collaboration with designers from around the world allows us to gain a fresher perspective on the market. It is clearly a winning strategy that we intend to pursue further,” concluded Pinto in the press release.
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