With the aim of projecting the work of Portuguese Textile and Clothing Industry in the national and international market, CENIT with the support of ANIVEC distinguished with the Business Excellence Awards the companies that stood out the most in different areas of competitiveness.

Ramiro & Carvalho, in Industry 4.0, Confetil, in sustainability, Portuguese Flannel, in brands, and Anglotex, with the biggest increase in exports, were the four companies distinguished for their good practices.

«Since 2017, and including this year’s winners, we have already distinguished 38 companies», says Luís Hall Figueiredo, president of CENIT. «These companies are highlighted as an example, for their good practices in different areas, and can be a reference for others, so that a virtuous cycle is created that further boosts the competitiveness of the Portuguese clothing industry», he adds.

The Excellence Awards were awarded at the MODAPORTUGAL LINKS event, which also included a European Young Fashion Designers Competition, which represented the culmination of an action to promote the Portuguese Clothing Industry among specialized European designers and journalists.

After a two-day program of visits to the companies Calvelex, Polopiqué, Riopele and Valérius Recycling Centre to get to know the Portuguese Textile and Clothing Industry, 18 emerging Designers from six European Fashion schools — Aalto University (Finland), Institut Français de la Mode (France), Polimoda (Italy), Modatex Porto (Portugal), London College of Fashion (United Kingdom), and Head Genève (Switzerland) — presented their projects to an international jury chaired by Eduarda Abbondanza and composed of Miguel Flor from Portugal, Jenny Hytönen from Finland, Serge Carreira from France, Mira Wanderlust from Italy, and Johnson Gold from the United Kingdom.

Maxence Guenin, from Head Genève (Switzerland) won the Best Collection Award. The jury also chose one winner from each participating country: Neža Simčič from Aalto University (Finlândia), Carla Mignano from Institut Français de la Mode (França), Ian Morris McDonald from Polimoda (Itália), Concei.to_Normal (Maria Nunes) from Modatex Porto (Portugal), and Eden Sherry from London College of Fashion (Reino Unido).

MODAPORTUGAL LINKS is part of the Lusitano Project, supported by the PRR – Recovery and Resilience Plan, and the Next Generation EU European Funds.