Villas&Golfe Angola
· Fashion&Accessories · · T. Joana Rebelo · P. Rights Reserved

Soraya da Piedade

«It’s hard to live and produce in a country that has no fashion industry»

PMmedia Adv.
She assures us that fashion is a childhood passion and admits to contributing to the world in a professional, assertive and honest way. Creating is her thing, and she characterises her creative process as calm and passionate. Soraya da Piedade is one of the special guests of this anniversary issue, a woman with «natural tendencies» to reject rules and escape the everyday. Covering fashion, personal life and the country, get to know the universe of Soraya, the rising Angolan fashion designer.

« I have always had a natural tendency to reject rules, the compulsory and the ordinary»

Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a peaceful citizen, with a great desire to contribute in an honest, professional and assertive way. 

Did your passion for fashion come about in your childhood or later?
Ever since I was a child, I have noticed that I didn’t like things exactly the way they were... I have always had a natural tendency to reject rules, the compulsory and the ordinary!  

Brazil marks the beginning of your foray into the fashion world. Tell us about the whole journey until you came back to Luanda.
Feeling a sense of fulfilment was missing, after having completed a course in Business Management at university, I took the risk of doing a Fashion Design course, just to check if that «calling» I had had inside me since I was young was something that could actually bear fruit, and it bore so much that I never looked back. I feel completely fulfilled now. 

Back in Angola, do you feel that the community immediately understood your creative language?
Yes and no. As I was already quite well known when returned from Brazil, in a sense people already knew my style. However, my goal was always to break the paradigm that fashion, as a lucrative career or as a real business, had no future in Angola. I am proud to have contributed against this idea. Today, the brand lives off what it creates, is completely self-sufficient and is expanding rapidly. 

Describe your creative process.
Peaceful, like me. Except for the times when I’ve drawn total blanks that never end, it’s a relatively easy process for me. 

What do get your inspiration?
Everything and anything... 

What challenges did you face when creating the Soraya da Piedade brand?
The segmentation of the public that I wanted, the acceptance of the price that the quality of the product deserved, and the ongoing difficulties of living and producing in a country that has no fashion industry. 
«We are in a moment of rapid growth»

How would you characterise African fashion? Does it have unique characteristics?
Yes, of course it does. After creating the Bantu range, I discovered an Africa I didn't know, one that is extremely creative and unique. 

Do your creations reflect Angolan culture? Or, seeing as you trained in Brazil, is there a cross-over with Brazilian culture?
There is no specific cross-over with Brazil, because the Brazilians were amazed by my creative style. In that sense I went there already «created», but I think it’s a result of everything I’ve been through and all the countries I’ve been to... 

Is fashion an area that has been gaining prestige in Angola?
It is, thank goodness! We needed new players, new proposals and new styles... We are in a moment of rapid growth. 

Does Made in Angola go beyond the country’s borders?
Less than it should, but we’re already playing it right, here and there. It is not at all easy, but the best professionals in the market have already made it, which is good, as it opens the way and shows the new generations how to do it... 

Can you reveal to us some details of the next collection?
We have two. The Christmas collection, in the Fast Fashion 1 store, ready to be launched for some days now, and the first collection of 2023, in the Fast Fashion 2 store (Shopping Avenida), planned for January. 

We are celebrating the 13th anniversary of Villas&Golfe, in Angola. What have these last few years represented for you in your life and in the country?
Life! Hope, growth, evolution and work! A lot of work... 
T. Joana Rebelo
P. Rights Reserved