Photos – masterandmuse.com
For the first time ever, a Portuguese designer was present at the Fashion Crowd Challenge, an international fashion and design awards ceremony. And also for the first time, the designer distinguished with a Dream Award is Portuguese. Inês Caleiro, founder and creative behind the shoe brand GUAVA, just showed the world, from Shanghai, that she is part of the new “it-generation” of designers.
Among the dozens of renowned designers present, Inês Caleiro leaves with the Dream Award, an award dedicated to the most promising designers and which aims to project them on the international fashion and design scene. “The mission of Fashion Crowd Challenge is to discover talents, and take them to stardom” says the Fashion Crowd Challenge organization.
For Inês, the recognition and votes from her colleagues and the various people involved, culminate in a feeling of ecstasy: “To be among the Top 5 young creators from around the world is more than just an award. It’s a deep sense of gratitude and happiness. When I received the news that I had won a Dream Award I couldn’t believe it. It seemed straight out of a dream. I read and re-read the email several times before I actually believed it.” Inês goes on to say that this is an important stage in the life of the brand that she created in 2011: “Being able to go to Shanghai to receive this award represents a new step and achievement in the brand’s life. At a time when we’re celebrating GUAVA’s 5th anniversary, receiving this award is amazing”.
After a year at Jimmy Choo in London, Inês worked in Washington for two years at Boca do Lobo, a Portuguese luxury design furniture brand. This was the moment that Inês realised that design was part of her life and that shoes were the way for her to express this passion for design. It was then, in 2011, that Inês created GUAVA, a Portuguese shoe and accessory brand for women. Inês believes that passion moves design, and that design moves the world. Inspired by nature and urban, she created GUAVA shoes.
