Highsnobiety

Fashion is a truly global language now. The most hyped designers right now are from the former Soviet Union, brands from Korea are killing it, and every month our Under the Radar feature spotlights brands from all over the world.

21st-century youths are harnessing the power of the internet and social media to scour the world for newness, while designers and brands use it to take their visions global. It’s created a globalized melting pot of culture, and it’s one of the most exciting things about streetwear in 2017.

With that in mind, we’re venturing further afield to get a little closer to street culture scenes all over the globe. Next up in our roaming series of reporting is Nuno Andrade, from Portuguese label Against All Odds.

I hit up Nuno to get the lowdown on what’s happening in the Portuguese sneaker and streetwear scene at the moment.

For more local insights, get the low-down on Brazil and Iceland’s thriving street culture scenes.

How is the streetwear and sneaker scene right now? How's it different to the rest of the world? 

The streetwear and sneaker scene is Lisbon is definitely growing, conquering new enthusiasts by the day. It's seen a huge boom in the last couple of years I’d say, mostly due to great initiatives, stores, and projects such as Sneakers Love Portugal, a community of sneaker lovers that started as a Facebook group and has since grown into a website, with an annual event and merchandising.

There's also All About, another Facebook group created with the purpose of sharing news within the streetwear realm and everything that surrounds it, and Against All Odds, our country’s biggest urban culture website, provided in both English and Portuguese.

Your Highsnobiety privacy settings have blocked this Instagram post.

Although this all helps the culture grow and raises awareness, unfortunately we are still limited to what the brands make available in our country. It's getting better, but still isn’t a lot, so most of us have to resort to the internet for collabs and rare pieces, as well as some brands that cannot be found here. Another big setback is Portugal’s low minimum wage, which doesn’t allow most enthusiasts to purchase the pieces they’re looking for, having to settle for other alternatives. I’d say those are the major differences between Lisbon and the rest of the world, but we’re very resourceful, so we always find a way around it.

How do people dress? What brands are popular? 

Well, speaking for myself, I’d love to see more difference and individualism in the way every person dresses, especially young people. I have the feeling that everyone cares a bit too much about what everyone else thinks. Also, the point I made above about the wages obviously influences this factor, as a lot of people prefer cheaper alternatives, but we do have really good thrift and vintage stores. Other than that, people that are into the culture and can afford pricier brands actually dress great and you’ll see diverse styles. I’d say coziness is a big factor right now. As for the brands, adidas is definitely getting bigger in both footwear and apparel, then there’s Carhartt WIP, Supreme, Palace, Gosha, and when it comes to sneakers you’ll see a bit of everything, from Nike to New Balance, Reebok to Vans.

What local brands and designers should our readers know about? 

As I mentioned, these past couple of years have been great and there’s a lot of young brands/designers coming up. Some of my favorite brands right now are Selva, a very young brand, currently on its second season, OSF, a brand that’s been around for a few years and shows great evolution and Litoral, a menswear brand from Porto actually, but I had to mention it – great product, everything is made in Portugal with amazing details and fabrics. There's also Slumdog, another young brand that’s in touch with street culture and is constantly evolving with amazing pieces, Hugo Costa, a young Portuguese designer with great products with a bolder aesthetic, and João Barriga — he won last season’s MODALisboa “Sangue Novo” award.

What are the essential places for visitors? 

This is a tough one, as there are countless cool places to check out but I’ll do my best to sum it up. The Baixa/Chiado/Bairro Alto/Príncipe Real area is a no-brainer, filled with cool stores, restaurants, and great views. We also have amazing museums and exhibits, and some great places to check out are MUDE, the Underdogs gallery, Centro Cultural de Belém, and the recent MAAT.

Your Highsnobiety privacy settings have blocked this Instagram post.

Belém is a great area, as is Cais do Sodré, and you should definitely check out Castelo de São Jorge. If you want the very traditional experience, make sure that you walk around Alfama.

Where's good to shop, eat and party?

When it comes to stores, we do have a great selection, and the ones I visit the most are SLOU, a high end menswear store that focuses more on brands like Comme des Garçon, Norse Projects, Stone Island, etc., and Impasse, which has a great curation of brands that you can’t find anywhere else like Fucking Awesome, Nanamica, Rip N Dip, and Raised by Wolves. There's also Son Of A Gun, a store that’s more in touch with streetwear brands like 10.Deep, Stussy, BornxRaised , and also has its own brand. Nothing beats traditional Portuguese food, and for this I recommend staying off the course of city guides, etc, but if you walk around Alfama or Bairro alto, you’ll surely find great spots — go for small and discreet!

If you want something a bit more “well curated”, some of my favorite restaurants are La Brasserie de L’Êntrecote (great meat), Pistola y Corazón (Mexican food), and Frankie (an amazing hot dog place that’s very affordable and cozy). If what you’re looking for is a cool night out, I recommend Bairro Alto — a large concentration of bars and people, some crazy — and Cais do Sodré, which is similar to Bairro, but you can also party until later in the night/day at the clubs. You can specifically visit Lux, the biggest and coolest club is Lisbon, and Park, a rooftop bar/club with a great view and great music. Unfortunately, hip hop parties are scarce, but you can always find something and there’s a lot of great events going on.

  • Lead imageSelva Apparel
We Recommend
  • Bradley Cooper & Gigi Hadid seen out in New York wearing streetwear outfits
    Gigi Hadid Stole Bradley Cooper's Streetwear Swag
    • Style
  • fragment design's green Stanley cup collab
    Stanley Cups Have Streetwear Hype — But Are They Streetwear?
    • Culture
  • pophams bakery london fields
    London’s Best Pastries, Curated by a Pioneering Speaker Studio & Local Expert
    • Culture
  • Timothee Chalamet wears a black Stüssy x Junya Watanabe sleeveless hoodie, leather pants, black boots
    Timothée Chalamet Casually Debuted the Year's Biggest Streetwear Collab
    • Style
  • pharrell nigo human made
    Streetwear's Best Duo Is Back, Will It Create Magic Again?
    • Style
  • Image on Highsnobiety
What To Read Next
  • Nike air max wallet
    This Ain't an Air Max Sneaker. It's Nike's Newest Accessory
    • Sneakers
  • nike air max day 2024 releases
    Nike Air Max Day 2024: Everything Air Lovers Need to Know
    • Sneakers
  • Yayoi Kusama x Louis Vuitton
    In an Era of Collaboration Saturation, How Do Brands Stand Out?
    • Style
  • END. x HOKA sneaker collaboration 2024.
    Can Anyone Stop HOKA?
    • Sneakers
  • Willy Chavarria FW24 Parfums de Marly
    For FW24, Fashion Got Fragrant
    • Beauty
  • comme des garcons new balance 610 snaekers
    COMME des GARÇONS' Dropping the Perfect New Balance Slip-On
    • Sneakers
*If you submitted your e-mail address and placed an order, we may use your e-mail address to inform you regularly about similar products without prior explicit consent. You can object to the use of your e-mail address for this purpose at any time without incurring any costs other than the transmission costs according to the basic tariffs. Each newsletter contains an unsubscribe link. Alternatively, you can object to receiving the newsletter at any time by sending an e-mail to info@highsnobiety.com

Web Accessibility Statement

Titel Media GmbH (Highsnobiety), is committed to facilitating and improving the accessibility and usability of its Website, www.highsnobiety.com. Titel Media GmbH strives to ensure that its Website services and content are accessible to persons with disabilities including users of screen reader technology. To accomplish this, Titel Media GmbH tests, remediates and maintains the Website in-line with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which also bring the Website into conformance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Disclaimer

Please be aware that our efforts to maintain accessibility and usability are ongoing. While we strive to make the Website as accessible as possible some issues can be encountered by different assistive technology as the range of assistive technology is wide and varied.

Contact Us

If, at any time, you have specific questions or concerns about the accessibility of any particular webpage on this Website, please contact us at accessibility@highsnobiety.com, +49 (0)30 235 908 500. If you do encounter an accessibility issue, please be sure to specify the web page and nature of the issue in your email and/or phone call, and we will make all reasonable efforts to make that page or the information contained therein accessible for you.