Hello!
SO.Silva stands for Sara Oliveira da Silva
Who?
I'm a passionate and experienced fashion designer based in Portugal with expertise in footwear design. My fascination with fashion began in my childhood, inspired by my mother's talent as a dressmaker. She made custom-made wedding dresses and I spent hours in her small studio, trying to reproduce her skills.
I remember being amazed during fittings, simply by witnessing the transformation and impact that a dress had on someone, the entire process was fascinating to me.
At the age of seven, I decided on my career path and began my plan to become a fashion designer. It all started with research in magazines to admire catwalk photos and to be inspired to draw my designs. I even started my first business, making and selling small coin purses, all hand made and supervised by my grandmother.
Years later, I got admitted to a technical course in Fashion Design, where I acquired the skills to create a collection from concept to final product. Since then, I’ve been a learner, challenging myself with each project, from choosing my academic path to becoming a footwear designer. My aspiration to become a fully qualified professional led me to supplement my academic journey with a BA in Fashion Design and Marketing, a Footwear Pattern-making course, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Project Management.
This Journey has brought me to this moment.
What is SO.Silva?
For over a decade, I have honed my skills as a footwear designer in the industry. My experience has given me an in-depth understanding of both the creative and industrial processes involved in taking footwear designs from conception to reality. From initial sketching to overseeing the production stages, I have mastered every aspect of the process.
SO.Silva is a project created to provide design services for the footwear industry, skillfully integrating design expertise with project management sharpness.
From research and sketching, to rendering and technical packages, So.Silva offers a range of services that includes a design process based on communication, follow-up, and collaboration.
The commitment is to strive for the perfect balance between time, costs, and the scope of your project, and the goal is to develop cohesive and competitive footwear collections, with creativity, technical knowledge, and industry experience - always planned to meet your requirements while respecting the brand's vision and market demands.
If you’re searching a footwear designer to help you start your footwear brand, or seeking for a restyle for an existing footwear line, launch an entirely new collection, then SO.Silva will be the collaboration for you.
Why?
While studying Fashion Design and Marketing, the idea of creating a project that would provide a complete range of services to the fashion industry, became a long-term goal. It all started in the early 90s as a wedding dress little helper, moved on to designing clothes, and ended up in footwear design the meticulous, complex yet unique fashion product.
Years of studying, working in R&D departments from casual and formal footwear to active and molded footwear, doing freelance projects, SO.Silva is ready to be presented to the community of footwear enthusiasts.
Why project management? Quite simply, the process of creating/developing a collection is complex, it involves different areas of knowledge; creative, marketing and sales, technical and industrial, with several phases and tasks that need to be meticulously executed, not only in terms of time, costs, and scope, but also quality standards. A well-known process, solid planning, and communication are the keys to success.
Where?
From Porto, Portugal Worldwide.
When?
I’m already underway, so fill out the form below to start our collaboration.
