Riopele highlighted at the Fashion and Textile Museum

Riopele, one of the oldest Portuguese companies in the fashion area, is highlighted in the new museum, with various materials and equipment, with emphasis on one of the first looms of the company.

Overlooking Oporto, right in the historical centre of Vila Nova de Gaia, the new Fashion and Textile museum, has already opened its doors, with the support of Riopele. The new space presents "Fashion & Design", a collection that will "sew" an area of about two thousand square meters, organised on two floors. On the first floor it is possible to find an insight into the textile industry in Portugal, where visitors can learn about the importance of that sector in the development of the Northern region of Portugal, as well as in the national economy. There, visitors will be able to appreciate iconic pieces of Portuguese designers, from the 80s of the last century, to the present day. There is a space dedicated to Portuguese pioneer designers in current fashion, where visitors can see works by Eduarda Abbondanza and Mário Matos Ribeiro, Ana Salazar, José António Tenente, João Tomé, Francisco Pontes and Manuela Gonçalves.

Then there is a room dedicated to Portuguese fashion designers, both nationally and internationally acclaimed, where visitors can appreciate the work of designers such as Miguel Vieira, Luís Buchinho, Nuno Baltazar, Fátima Lopes, Maria Gambina, Filipe Faísca, Luís Carvalho, Anabela Baldaque, Diogo Miranda, Hugo Costa, Alexandra Moura, Ricardo Preto and Carlos Gil, among many others.

Sustainability and recycling in the world of fashion and textiles were also subject of reflection in that new museum, because, she argues, it is necessary to "train new generations to be careful when buying items", and in the way they "consume fashion". The Fashion and Textile Museum, as well as the other museums of the World of Wine, are establishing protocols with schools in the region with the purpose of "promoting knowledge" and "bringing visitors to the museums".

The Fashion and Textile Museum is included in a larger itinerary, composed of five other museums - Wine Museum, Museum about the Oporto Region, Cork Museum, Chocolate Museum and the Museum about the ritual of drinking.