BICHO-CARPINTEIRO
AT SEIXO
Three restless friends, a new collection and a day in the Douro that refused to slow down.
Some people can't sit still. We dressed three of them.
In Portuguese we have an expression for people who simply can't stay put: ter bicho-carpinteiro. Literally, to have the carpenter bug. They finish one project already sketching the next. Where others see a pause, they see a gap worth filling.
It's also the name of our new collection, our Portuguese take on carpenter wear. And when we asked ourselves who should wear it first, the answer took about three seconds: Vasco Coelho Santos.
Vasco is the chef and founder of Euskalduna Studio, the Michelin-starred restaurant in Porto, and one of the most loved names in Portuguese cooking. He is as good at bringing people together as he is in the kitchen. If you've eaten at Euskalduna, you'll know that's saying something.
But Vasco never does it alone. João and Rui are his partners in every opening, and a big part of why every project in the group works. Three different people, one shared habit: they never stop. Each new place is another excuse to discover something, take a risk and look after their guests a little better.
They also happen to love clothes. Which made our job very easy.
Bicho-Carpinteiro is a tribute to people like them. Workwear built to last, for those who are always building something: the entrepreneurs, the restless, the ones with a new idea before the last one has settled. A collection made one hundred percent for those with the bug. We couldn't think of anyone better.
So we went to find them at Seixo, their project in the Douro with Sandeman, from Sogrape. A place we're very fond of, and a project close to our hearts.
The light did what Douro light does. The terraces went on for as far as you could see. And the three of them wore the collection the way they wear everything else: easily, comfortably, and never standing still for very long. Asking them to hold a pose felt slightly unfair.
