ATP promoted the Portuguese Textile Industry at Expo 2025 Osaka with “TEXTILE LIVE” Installation

The Portuguese Textile and Apparel Association (ATP) promoted the national textile industry at Expo 2025 Osaka with the installation TEXTILE LIVE – Draping with Sustainable Materials, made in Portugal, featured in the Portugal Pavilion under the theme Ocean, The Blue Dialogue.

This international initiative celebrated innovation, environmental responsibility, and the heritage of the Portuguese textile and clothing industry, highlighting materials and processes developed in Portugal that respected ecosystems and placed sustainability at the heart of creative practice.

From 12 to 15 June, thousands of visitors to the Portuguese Pavilion every day, namely in the Multiuse Room (with doors opening directly onto the Expo grounds), were able to watch and witness an unprecedented live work action by 15 young Japanese designers and one Portuguese designer, working on textile materials made in Portugal based on the pillars of sustainability and environmental responsibility.

In collaboration with three Japanese fashion schools — Osaka Institute of Fashion, Marronnier College of Fashion Design, and Kobe Bunka Fashion College — art, tradition, and innovation, in the form of draping work on busts also made from sustainable materials, showed the world the creative potential of Portugal’s most eco-friendly materials.

This live draping performance took place twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. In addition, visitors were able to see a photo exhibition in which Portuguese textile materials were “interpreted” through the beauty and talent of top Portuguese models from past generations. The experience was further enriched by a miniature doll installation, the Marias Paperdolls by Cláudia Oliveira, and an informative video that explained the sustainable processes behind the materials on display.

Altogether, these elements offered more than enough reason for high anticipation around the event, which aimed to reaffirm the active role that Portugal’s textile and clothing industry was playing in positioning itself at the forefront of the Circular Economy.

Curated by Paulo Gomes, the installation highlighted textile solutions made in Portugal with:

• Natural wool and linen, responsibly sourced and rooted in traditional craftsmanship.
• Bio-based artificial fibers, derived from food industry by-products.
• Recycled synthetic fibers, including polyester from PET bottle waste.
• Seaweed-based finishes, which reduced water consumption and created unique effects.
• Natural and eco-friendly dyes, with environmentally conscious processes.

The result was a living dialogue between tradition and innovation, Portugal and Japan — where textiles became a medium of artistic expression and a symbol of an industry in transformation.

ATP extended its gratitude to all those who made this installation possible — especially the Portuguese companies Albano Morgado, Burel Factory, Lemar, Positive Material, and Trimalhas; the curator Paulo Gomes; the designer Renato Luiz; and the 15 Japanese fashion students from the Osaka Institute of Fashion, Marronnier College of Fashion Design, and Kobe Bunka Fashion College, as well as AICEP.

They also acknowledged the valuable contributions of Cláudia Oliveira (Marias Paperdolls); the volunteer interpreters Kazuha Toriyama and Ayu Adachi; photographer Sorin Opait; models Elsa Correia, Isabel Sousa, Milene Veiga, and Telma Santos; Rui Guimarães (graphic materials); Liliana Alves (video production); and the team from Saiunion Co., Ltd (mannequins), as well as the support of sponsors Aquitex and Mind.pt.

With this action, ATP reinforced the positioning of the Portuguese Textile and Apparel Industry as a global benchmark in sustainable innovation, presenting itself to the world through art, design, and the matter that defines us: textiles made in Portugal — FOR A BETTER WORLD.