Filipe and Sérgio created a fashion brand, Wetheknot, to go against all the stereotypes imposed by this industry. They want to bet on the timelessness of the pieces, they do not give in to the trends of the season and they are discovering new materials. They are ambassadors of slow fashion and the brand that was born 12 years ago has had its first store in Lisbon since November. “It is a fashion brand, because it works with clothes and accessories, however it does not follow the fashion calendars and does not have the need to present collections with the regularity that the fashion world demands”, explains Filipe Gameiro to Observador, one of the two founders of the brand. He is responsible for everything related to communication and Sérgio Cardigos is responsible for everything that involves design and production, but the fact that they are a small team means that many tasks are divided.
Sérgio and Filipe met in 2010, after finishing their respective degrees, the first in Fashion Design and Marketing and the second in Communication Design. “At first it wasn’t a brand, it was just a project to test some things, put them on the market and see how they were accepted.” The starting point was the used and sometimes damaged umbrellas that people throw away during the winter. Filipe collected them and challenged Sérgio to reuse them. The result was a men’s swimsuit and thus they immersed themselves in the adventure of Wetheknot, the name they chose for their project from the beginning.
In 2011 they launched the first collection, leaving reused materials behind and beginning to explore new textures and the new business world. They presented their creations in markets and resellers. They managed to put pieces on sale in stores in the Netherlands and Luxembourg. For a time, both were divided between working as part-time freelancers and Wetheknot, until in 2015 the brand took a leap. The opportunity arose to integrate a store in Bairro Alto, Lisbon, which already existed with a fashion designer and accessories brand, and it was from here that Filipe and Sérgio began to dedicate themselves to their brand full time.
The most recent step is to open a store. “The first own store is already a very old dream” and is the result of an exhaustive search based on a series of criteria. Filipe and Sérgio found the ideal space in the Alfama neighborhood, also in the capital, in an area where you can walk and that is not overcrowded with shops, as they expected. They found this address even before the pandemic, but plans were put on hold, and when they came back to it almost two years later, they discovered that it was still available and went ahead with the project, until they opened their store to the public. on November 16, 2021. They left the store they shared in Bairro Alto and made this new space their sole focus. In the other store they were with other brands with a different philosophy, says Filipe, now they are closer to customers and can better communicate the brand’s values.
The first clothing collection appeared in 2019 and can be found in the store throughout the year. The pieces reflect the philosophy of the brand, betting on simplicity and timelessness. There are no seasonal trends and no pressure to introduce new models on a tight schedule. Respecting the concept of slow fashion, Wetheknot has a permanent collection, to which new references are added every year. In 2020 they launched two collections, in 2021 only one and for this year they plan to launch three, however the collections are small and have about five or six pieces, including clothing and accessories. If the new pieces work well and are accepted by the public, then they will be part of the permanent collection. The garments don’t even allude to the season, so don’t expect colorful t-shirts because it’s summer, or turtlenecks because it’s winter.
The accessories, for their part, are committed to multifunctionality. A good example is the first piece designed for this range, the “pouch”. It was created for rolling tobacco, then it was adapted and became a multipurpose bag that is currently the brand’s “best seller”. The accessories are made of vegan leather, “which is a synthetic material made up of cotton, polyester and polyurethane, and we call it that because we want to mark the position of not using animal resources,” explains Filipe. He adds that the use of new materials is a path that they have now begun to explore and that they have discovered many interesting recycled materials on the market, to the point that the pieces are designed according to the texture.
At the moment they have a collection of recycled cotton tote bags for sale exclusively in the store and they have also used recycled plastic materials. They have combed organic cotton t-shirts with a very particular texture and cupro coats. “It is a very interesting material, left over from cotton yarn, it is chemically processed, but despite that it has a very natural and silky feel, which is why we also call it vegan silk. The characteristics are very similar to those of silk, but this material has other advantages”.
It is a 100% Portuguese brand as far as clothing is concerned. However, as for the materials, although they are bought in Portugal, some are not produced here, such as the acrylic used in the caps. On the brand’s website, with an online store, it is also possible to find beauty products that Filipe explains are the result of a partnership because they also reflect the values of the Wetheknot brand. The soaps and shampoos are made by Teresa and Mário, have the TerraViva signature and come from Mafra.
Wetheknot’s new address has already had many functions, says Filipe, a bakery, an atelier and even part of the restaurant next door. Today it is still a space for commerce and dissemination of the slow fashion concept. “It ends up being a place of communication with people, much more than a simple store that sells clothes and accessories.” Added to this is the fact that the brand’s atelier is nearby and can even be visited if customers request it. But there is more. It is also a “pet friendly” space, which owes this description to the fact that many animals enter it, accompanied by their owners, or simply passing through, such as the neighbor’s cat who pays a daily visit.
Source: Observadora
