Conference Cycle Great Artists on Campus #5: Eduarda Abbondanza

Eduarda Abbondanza (b. 1962, Lisbon) is a central figure in the history of Portuguese fashion. She grew up with a strong artistic sensibility, having practised ballet and developed an early contact with classical music. After a period in Milan, where she developed a true obsession with fashion, she returned to Lisbon and graduated in Fashion Design at CITEM, later completing internships with Ana Salazar and Rafaella Curriel.

In 1984, she began a professional partnership with Mário Matos Ribeiro, with whom she created the Abbondanza/Matos Ribeiro brand and developed several projects across fashion, cinema and theatre. She participated in initiatives such as costume design for productions by the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian and the Biennial of Young Creators of the Mediterranean in Barcelona.

In 1991, at the invitation of Lisbon City Council, she founded ModaLisboa, an event dedicated to showcasing the creativity of Portuguese fashion. After a hiatus between 1993 and 1996, the project returned with the creation of the ModaLisboa Association, expanding to include photography, illustration and multimedia. From 2000 onwards, the platform consolidated its role in supporting and promoting emerging designers.

Abbondanza currently presides over the ModaLisboa Association, has been a lecturer at the Faculty of Architecture since 1993 and works as a design consultant. She was awarded the AMEEA Excellence Award for “Fashion and Social Transformation”, recognising her role in promoting new designers and her commitment to generational change and sustainability in Portuguese fashion.

Programme

Artist talk followed by Q&A