Diary of a collection
Stories by Valentin Porcher, co-founder, and Juliette Manceau, Artistic Director
Photographs by Nina Ducleux
Sketches by Juliette Manceau
Last month, we (Mathieu, Juliette and Valentin) travelled to the Braga region of Portugal to give a boost to the Spring-Summer 2026 collection, which has already been in the pipeline for over 2 months. 5 intense days of work, divided as best we could between our accommodation and our various factories on site, carefully documented by Nina, our photographer. It's early March, and this is the first time we've left so late, so we're going to have to be super productive.
By the time we arrived in Portugal, all the collection plans were almost complete. We've designed our pieces, selected our fabrics, defined our colours, labelling... On the artists' side, work is well advanced. Even if everything is not 100% finalised, we know all the visuals for the collection. During these days, it's very common for us to work in our rooms or in the hotel lounge, sometimes until 11pm. It's a race against time and we know that once we leave here, the die is cast.
Day 1 - Sunday evening, arrival
Arrival in Porto at around 8pm, night taxi to our hotel in Barcelos (40 minutes away)
We head for the usual tapas restaurant just next door, keeping things simple as it's late...
We order the famous prawns with almonds, some gyozas and two glasses of Douro white wine.
Back to the hotel to get some sleep and freshen up for the next day.
"The rooms we share in the youth hostel are on the top floor and smell of good old damp. Despite a decoration of questionable taste, the place is not unpleasant. It's not the first time we've stayed here. The prices are right, and the view over the river is lovely. The hotel is full (as usual).
This is the realm of walking sticks, trousers that turn into shorts and hiking boots. As Barcelos is on the route to Compostela, our daily routine also includes walkers from all over the world."
Day 2 - Preparatory Monday
Marco picks us up at the hotel at 9am: slight time difference, it's 1 hour earlier than in France.
It's raining, and Marco is still transporting us in a black van. He's a sporty driver in the narrow, cobbled streets of the city, so you need to have a strong stomach.
Today's programme: making progress on the choice of fabrics in the factory showroom, going over everything 10 times, doubting again and making the right decisions.
Lunch at Perola with Miguel and talk about brand creation and development.
"Each of our trips is always a culinary delight, although it's difficult to be vegetarian"
Putting all the morning's choices into shape and modifying the collection plans accordingly, by product category.
The evening's reward: at the restaurant with Nina, Valentin and I, we shared a baked octopus at Dos Arcos - the best octopus in town. The waiter spoke French, which happens quite often in some restaurants.
Day 3 - Tuesday, sun over the city
Day two at Miguel and Marco's, and we're still working on the collection plans so as to be ready for the meetings that start the next day.
Enjoying the sunset on the banks of the river that runs through the city.
Working late in the hotel lounge or in the bedroom.
‘Nina with her computer on her lap, lying on her bed’.
Day 4 - Wednesday, it's on
Big meeting at the trouser-short-jacket factory with Victor
It's Victor's brother's birthday and it's a parade of cakes of all kinds, including the family recipe: a kind of sponge-cake, a rather good airy cake.
It's impossible to work properly in all this excitement, so he takes the opportunity to introduce his baby, just 2 months old.
After lunch, Mathieu arrives from Paris for the rest of the week. It's the biggest meeting of the season, there are lots of pieces and we also have to deal with the winter modifications... It takes all day, our brains are overheating, it's the catwalk, Valentin and Mathieu are trying on garment after garment.
‘I never tire of watching the orange and lemon trees grow along the road...’.
In the evening, back to the tapas, we've got work to do, we've got to eat quickly and not far from the hotel. We'll be discussing the collection late into the evening.
"Our local partners (the plant managers), whom we've known for 15 years, are our main advisers. Once back in France, it will be much more difficult to get the best advice. Most of our discussions are in French, which is much easier. But it has also prevented us from speaking Portuguese over time."
Day 5 - Thursday, final stretch
Morning, jumper factory at Pedro's, surrounded by eucalyptus trees, he shows us his new premises, freshly built.
The meeting starts with the winter alterations with his assistant, of which there are many. For the summer collection it's quicker, there are only 4 cotton jumpers to decide on. The guys are often inspired by what they see on the spot, the types of knits possible. Pedro knows all the knits by heart and recognises them at a glance!
‘And this jumper how much?’ ‘Set 8’ or ‘set 14’ or ‘jersey or jacquard stitch’, he doesn't speak French very well, Marco often has to translate.
In the afternoon, we return to Miguel and Marco's house. We brief Marco on accessories and shirts. As well as ordering all the fabrics for the prototypes. Everything has to be listed, lengths calculated and ordered by manufacturer between Spain, Portugal and France. They have 2 months to create all the prototypes before the sales tour: it's a race against the clock.
In the evening, at the hotel, we question all the choices we made the day before, call Alex (sales manager) to show him the collection, have our doubts, move on, then give up for the evening...
An evening stroll to our favourite Thai restaurant, on the other side of town, where the food is delicious, 1 or 2 bottles of wine, and we're ready to talk (or go to bed)...
Day 4 - Friday, the return journey
We meet up with Miguel all day to look at the sweatshirts and T-shirts in the collection.
Colours to be opened, special jersey fabrics to be ordered, manufacturing advice, planning and deadlines
Lunch in a restaurant that doesn't look like much from the outside: a speciality of grilled chicken served with a few raw vegetables and rice. There are TVs everywhere, like many restaurants, paper tablecloths and bottled water, small olives to share to start with, served with bread and butter in individual portions.
The collection plans are complete, but it will take some time and the coming weeks to finalise each product data sheet.
5pm, departure for the airport
