How does a towel go from yarn to finished product? Editors from Germany, Egypt, South Korea, Greece, Japan and the U.S. were invited in June to Guimarães, the most-important area of Portugal for household-textiles production, to see for themselves. It was all a part of Guimarães Home Fashion Week, a first-ever event dedicated to showcasing the capabilities of Portuguese textiles manufacturers to the world.
In addition to the journalists, more than 50 buyers from the U.S.A., South Africa, Holland, Germany, Austria, Canada, Chile, Spain, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Oman, Poland, Dominican Republic, Russia and Turkey had the opportunity to see the newest and the best products from 29 Portugal-based manufacturers/exporters. They were on display at the Pousada, a restored 12th century Augustinian monastery, transformed into a luxury hotel. Pousada served as the venue for the exhibition that was the main attraction of Guimarães Home Fashion Week.
Participating textiles companies showed high-quality, well-designed quilts, bedspreads, sheets, blankets and cushions. They offered their newest kitchen towels, aprons, tablecloths and napkins. Curtains and throws were part of the mix and—of course—lots of towels.
Visitors who were fortunate enough to visit some of the Portuguese factories came away with a new appreciation for the manufacturing process. Did you know that it takes about 10 hours to dye towel yarn? If you want it white, plan on 4.5 – 5 hours to bleach it. And even with state-of-the-art-technology looms, human hands touch every towel several times to make sure the quality is perfect. Quality is the highest priority each of the manufacturers.
Here is The Trend Curve’s pictorial journey of a Portuguese towel, with images taken at several factories during Guimarães Home Fashion Week.
