Made For You

Charting down miles from Portugal to the Philippines, designer Ricardo Preto looks back on the years that led him to his now, crafting fashion tailor-made for you.

- Angelo Ramirez De Cartagena

It is hard to believe that despite a well-storied tenure in the fashion industry, chalking season after season of consistent and well-received shows in Lisbon Fashion Week, stocking his wares in stores all over the world, and designing exclusive collections in various international markets, Ricardo Preto has yet to call a space in Lisbon as his own. Well, that is until this year.

“[I’d like to think of myself as a] fashion designer approved by the people,” he says during a conversation over cigarettes. “It has been fifteen years since I debuted, so it’s very exciting and next year, we are going to open my first Ricardo Preto store in Lisbon.” The second this statement of a fact escapes his lips after an exhale of wispy smoke, he cracks a smile—one that not only warms up his persona, but also pleasantly belies any intimidating upfront brought about by his stature and legacy.

THROUGH THE YEARS

Ricardo Preto has come a long way from studying the rigors and intricacies of architecture in Lusiada University, Lisbon. From blueprints and mock-ups, it was his adolescent interfacing with visual merchandising, as well as a fortuitous cut and-sew course with Maria Emília Sobreira and a workshop in handbags in the Saint Martins School of Arts in London, which set him full throttle on the path of fashion.