Manuel Serrão is one of the most renown and successful portuguese entrepreneurs.

He’s a man that doesn’t stand down in the face of challenge, and his will has given us Portugal Fashion, one of the biggest fashion events in Portugal, where industry and fashion meet in an unique way.

I met him at Portugal Fashion, and we talked for a bit.

How would you describe your life, in four lines?

I’d rather describe it in four words:

Prefiro descrevê-la em quatro palavras: Obstacles, Conquests, Persistence and Determination.

Tell us about an unforgettable moment in your career… 

I hesitate between two: watching Laetitia Casta walking the runway right in front of me, in the Algarve in 2000, and FC Porto “walking the runway” in front of the entire world in Prater 1987. Two moments of absolute beauty.

A great icon / source of inspiration from the fashion world (and why)… 

Felipe Oliveira Baptista, Lacoste’s creative director. He’s an example of a portuguese designer that made a name for himself internationally, without losing his sense of nationality. Moments of pure seduction.

A trend still to be invented?

The idea that we can stop having tanks and other warfare monstrosities parading the world’s runways for religious reasons. Moments of pure terror.

Portugal Fashion is one of  the strongest brands in the country. Is it hard to make a difference and innovate? 

It’s more than 20 years. It’s important for an event like this to keep changing on its head, because fashion is, in itself, in constant change. And that’s what we try to do, innovate and create new ways to promote national brands. Moments of pure glory.