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Portuguese footwear steps onto the MET Gala stage

May 12, 2025 Portugal

Portuguese footwear made its debut at the MET Gala as musician Maluma and designer Willy Chavarria walked the world’s most famous red carpet in Carlos Santos shoes

Musician Maluma and designer Willy Chavarria chose Portuguese shoes from the Carlos Santos brand for the prestigious annual gala, The Met, held on the 5^thof May 2025 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Located on Fifth Avenue in New York, the museum houses over two million works spanning five millennia of history, from Egyptian artifacts to European masters, as well as fashion, photography, and sculpture.

After the presence of Portuguese footwear at the Oscars and in international TV series, the MET Gala appearance signals the growing prestige of the Portuguese footwear sector. “We’ve been working hard to show North American clients that Portugal is a valuable and versatile business partner, combining craftsmanship with contemporary design”, says Paulo Gonçalves, communication director at APICCAPS. “We’re here in the American market to stay!”.

Amid great excitement, APICCAPS continues to strengthen its activities abroad. Projects such as a conference with American Vogue in June, participation in professional trade fairs, hosting buyer missions, partnerships with fashion schools, a presence at New York Fashion Week, and sponsoring public figures are some of the initiatives planned for the second half of the year.

According to the World Footwear Yearbook, the US is the world’s largest footwear market. Annually, it imports more than 1.98 billion pairs of shoes, totaling nearly 26 billion dollars in value. China is traditionally the largest supplier to the market, with a share of nearly 60% (equivalent to 1.2 billion pairs), followed by Vietnam (23% share with 461 million pairs) and Indonesia (6% share with 129 million pairs in 2023).

For Portugal, the US is a strategic market, currently ranking as the 6^th largest destination for its exports. In the last decade, Portuguese footwear sales to the US have doubled, reaching nearly 100 million euros by the end of 2024. “Although we already export more than 90% of our production to 170 countries, we consider the North American market strategic and the major focus of the Portuguese footwear industry for the next decade”, emphasised APICCAPS spokesperson Paulo Gonçalves.

Source and Image Credits: portugueseshoes.pt

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