This project, created by Gonçalo Marques and Miguel Lopes, two childhood friends, “uses environmentally friendly materials, such as recycled cork, synthetic leather and a 100 percent recyclable sole”, explains the UPTEC statement.

The brand also wants to “offset the production's carbon footprint” by planting a tree for every pair sold. With its first collection, Shoevenir wants to combine “tourism, art and sustainability”, launching the first models inspired in the cities of Porto and Lisbon and in the regions of the Azores, Algarve and Madeira, “through their colours and details”.

There is also a sixth model, the 'Cloud', which is all white, and was “designed for all those who want to create their own memory”. So that "the memories of a particular place are immortalised in a 'sneaker', which makes us remember places, people and stories", the company invited "some of the best national artists in the field of 'street art', fine arts and design, to create an illustration for each place”, explains co-founder Gonçalo Marques, quoted in the statement.

This illustration will be applied inside the sneakers and complementary products. The idea for Shoevenir was born in 2019 and materialised with the registration of the brand in Portugal and in the European Union and with the partnership with the JOVAN factory. The company was selected, in 2020, for the StartUP Voucher program, for Tourism Explorers, co-organised by Turismo de Portugal and for the UPTEC Startup School. A 'crowdfunding' campaign will be launched on the 15 September, but pre-reservations of the product can already be made on the brand's website.