Sangue Novo announces five young designers as finalists

The Sangue Novo ‘Supported by Seaside’ young designers’ competition has announced Adja Baio, Ariana Orrico, Mafalda Simões, Mariana Garcia, and Usual Suspect as its five finalists. 

Adja Baio, from Guinea-Bissau, has a degree in Fashion Design from ESAD and, according to ModaLisboa’s website, “has centred her work on creating genderless pieces that fuse references to Guinean culture, streetwear and maximalism”.

Ariana Orrico, Lisbon-born with Cape Verdean heritage, is described on ModaLisboa.pt as an experimentalist who “explores the plasticity of materials and manual techniques”.

Ariana holds a degree in Artistic Production from the António Arroio Art School and a degree in Fashion Design from the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Lisbon (FAUL), where she completed a master’s in the same field, having also taken part in an exchange programme at the University of São Paulo, Brazil.

Mafalda Simões demonstrates “a strong connection to artisanal techniques” and “an innovative approach to manual processes”. She previously interned with Constança Entrudo, who has just been honoured with a SIC Golden Globe, and took part in the 2023 National Young Creators Exhibition, where she won the Fashion Design category with the collective collection ‘Entulho’.

The designer from Coimbra also holds a degree in Fashion Design from FAUL, where she is currently pursuing a master’s degree.

Designer Mariana Garcia interned with Susana Bettencourt and “explores the relationship between body and movement, seeking to create experiences through clothing, combining functionality and elegance” at BECRI.

The designer, who hails from Vila Nova de Famalicão and is a Fashion Design graduate from ESAD, won the ‘My Project Is Entrepreneurial’ competition, promoted by the Famalicão Empreende Municipal Network, in 2019 with a transformable clothing collection titled ‘Mutante’.

Finally, Usual Suspect by Xavier Silva, a recent Fashion Design graduate from ESAD, focuses on unique creations as “the result of a creative process that combines sustainability, innovation and contemporary aesthetics”, and presented the collection ‘O Último Desempregado’ (The Last Unemployed), without overlooking the most recent war refugees.

The five young designers will now develop new collections to present at the final stage of the Sangue Novo ‘Supported by Seaside’ competition, to be held in March next year. They will receive mentoring sessions with the jury and fashion experts, and will also benefit from the press office and showroom services of the Showpress communications agency, according to a press release.

In March 2026, the five young talents will compete for the ModaLisboa X IED – Istituto Europeo di Design and ModaLisboa X Burel Factory awards, the press release concluded.