The new Portuguese Soul is out

 

Newsletter #76 January 2026

The new Portuguese Soul is out now

­ The new edition of Portuguese Soul is out now. Issue number 30 marks a beautiful milestone: 15 years of the project. Fifteen years ago, this project was born with a clear ambition: to show the world the best of Portugal. Portuguese Soul emerged from the desire to tell stories of talent, vision, and courage, bringing together fashion, design, art, and industry. Fifteen years on, that desire remains intact. We continue to believe that the Portuguese soul has a unique strength, built on authenticity, sensitivity, and boundless creativity. From the very first issue, we wanted to be more than a magazine. We aspired to be a platform for expression, a space where Portuguese footwear meets fashion, where craftsmanship dialogues with contemporary art, and where tradition and innovation walk side by side. Portuguese Soul was born within the footwear industry, but it quickly became a reflection of a country that creates, produces, and inspires. Celebrating fifteen years is, above all, an act of gratitude. Gratitude to the creators, photographers, artists, designers, and manufacturers who, through their talent and dedication, helped build this journey. Gratitude to all those who believed that Portugal could have its own voice in the world of fashion. Gratitude to those who, issue after issue, reinforced the idea that the future is built with identity and pride. This edition is therefore both a celebration and a moment of reflection. It is an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment. Today, more than ever, it is essential to value what is ours. To look at art, music, cinema, design, and footwear not merely as aesthetic expressions, but as affirmations of national identity. For this reason, THE ART ISSUE brings together some of the most defining names in our culture. We open with Miguel Guilherme, an iconic actor who, through the hands of Ricardo Santos and Joel Alves, reveals himself just as he is. From theatre to cinema, from television to podcasts, Miguel Guilherme has explored virtually every language of acting, establishing himself as a transversal and indispensable presence in the Portuguese cultural scene. In music, through the eyes of Frederico Martins and Teresa Abrunhosa, we discover a new facet of David Fonseca in Racing Light. And because a winning team should not be changed, the same duo was also responsible for photographing Gisela João, a leading name in contemporary fado, whose artistic intensity continues to leave its mark on generations. Still within the cultural universe, Edgar Morais, one of the most relevant faces of the new generation of actors, appears in an interpretation of “make-believe,” signed by Pedro Afonso and Fernando Bastos Pereira—an exercise where performance intersects with reflection on the very art of acting. In this edition, we return to the starting point: Portugal has a heritage that inspires and a present that reinvents itself every day. That is what Portuguese Soul exists to show. In Memória, the iconic streets of Óbidos are explored, where the beauty of traditional Portuguese attire meets designer fashion, in a project captured by Frederico Martins, with styling by Joyce Doret. Still focusing on the aesthetics and identity of traditional dress, LIDE proposes a reflection on art made of fabric, in a production by Frederico Martins and Sérgio Onze. In an issue that celebrates art in its many expressions, Pedro Afonso and Fernando Bastos Pereira present The Art of Colour and The Art of Love, two projects that explore, respectively, the importance of colour and the centrality of love in our lives. Meanwhile, The Canvas of Time, by Ana Caracol and Pedro Ferreira, offers a sensitive reflection on the relationship between art and time, and the impact of that relationship on the objects that accompany us. Within this same universe, Long Live the King, by Ricardo Santos and Joel Alves, delves into the dream of a king and the way in which art was fundamental throughout different reigns—not only as an aesthetic expression, but also as an instrument of memory and the perpetuation of power. We believe that Portuguese culture is our greatest luxury. A luxury measured not by exclusivity, but by meaning. It lives in the hands of a craftsman, through the lens of a photographer, in the idea of a young creator. It is present in everything made with soul—and it is precisely this soul that we want to continue sharing with the world. Fifteen years on, the challenge remains: to keep telling stories that honour who we are and project who we want to become. With the same curiosity, the same passion, and the same confidence in Portuguese talent. Because if there is one thing we have learned along this journey, it is that Portuguese Soul is not just a magazine. It is, and always will be, a state of mind. Cláudia Pinto Editor

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