Seawife: Pre A/W '22 Collection

I have been playing with the concept behind this collection since around last spring, unsure about I should go about materialising it. However it is said that good things come to those who wait and I am indeed pleased to have let it mature in the back of my mind while working on other projects.

Seawife’s trendboard.

Seawife is a womenswear pattern collection inspired by the Portuguese seaside and those who make their living from the sea, woman in particular.

Its concept is very close to my heart indeed. I’m from the seaside and my maternal grandfather worked as a fishermen most of his life. Needless to say there were plenty of other fisherman and fishwives in my grandparents’ town, however the job of the fishwife was unglamorous despite being respected and vital to the community, as in their quest to make a living these woman would trade their youth through merciless exposure to the elements and heavy work.

In order to be able to develop this collection I carefully studied Portuguese traditional costumes focusing particularly in coastal central Portugal. The way people dressed by the seaside was more simple than in the rest of the country but had some charming details. While in Nazaré (one of the best known piscatory towns) woman were known for their multiple petticoats and short brimmed hats placed on top of their headscarves, in places like Buarcos (my grandparent’s town) the attire was much simpler but would often include a special ‘something’, like Buarcos’ traditional aprons, embroidered with intricate cut-out florals by the fishwives themselves.

⁠However despite these small differences, 2 things united piscatory villages from the north to the south of the country: ubiquitous plaids, tartans and ginghams and the occasional floral.

‘Flor do Sal’ print pattern, developed with sheer and drapey fabrics in mind

‘Salpico’ print pattern

With this in mind it seemed only logical to approach this project through the reinvention of traditional patterns. However the challenge of keeping their DNA intact while offering something fresh and suitable for modern fashion kept me on my toes for roughly a month, with fear of having the collection turn out overtly folksy.

Thankfully it wasn’t the case, not this time. I am very pleased by the softness of Flor do Sal, the lead print, the freshness of Molhado, the wet looking maxi-gingham, the distressed look of Jorna and the humble simplicity, almost obvious, of all the others.


Completing this project made me feel really proud and peaceful, as if closing a small chapter of my creative journey. The full collection is now available in my licensing portfolio waiting to be snatched for the perfect project.

Stay tuned,

Cândida