Maluma and Willy Chavarria walked the world’s most famous fashion red carpet wearing Portuguese-made footwear.
Portuguese footwear made its debut at the MET Gala, one of the most important fashion events in the world. At this renowned annual gala, which aims to raise funds for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, musician Maluma and designer Willy Chavarria opted for Portuguese footwear from the Carlos Santos brand.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, known as The Met, is one of the largest and most prestigious museums in the world. Located on Fifth Avenue in New York, it houses over two million works spanning five millennia of history, from Egyptian artifacts to European masters, as well as fashion, photography, and sculpture.
After the presence of Portuguese footwear at the Oscars and in international TV series, the MET Gala appearance signals the growing prestige of the national sector. “We’ve been working hard to show North American clients that Portugal is a valuable and versatile business partner, combining craftsmanship with contemporary design,” says Paulo Gonçalves, communication director at APICCAPS. “We’re here in the American market to stay!”
Amid great excitement, APICCAPS continues to strengthen its activities abroad. Projects such as a conference with American Vogue in June, participation in professional trade fairs, hosting buyer missions, partnerships with fashion schools, a presence at New York Fashion Week, and sponsoring public figures are some of the initiatives planned for the second half of the year.
According to the World Footwear Yearbook, the US is the world’s largest footwear market. Annually, it imports more than 1.98 billion pairs of shoes, totaling nearly 26 billion dollars in value. China is traditionally the largest supplier to the market, with a share of nearly 60% (equivalent to 1.2 billion pairs), followed by Vietnam (23% share with 461 million pairs) and Indonesia (6% share with 129 million pairs in 2023).
For Portugal, the US is a strategic market, currently ranking as the 6th largest destination for its exports. In the last decade, Portuguese footwear sales to the US have doubled, reaching nearly 100 million euros by the end of 2024. “Although we already export more than 90% of our production to 170 countries, we consider the North American market strategic and the major focus of the Portuguese footwear industry for the next decade,” emphasized APICCAPS spokesperson Paulo Gonçalves.