Rainy or Not

Hardly anyone likes to dress up for rainy days. We feel limited in the choice of pieces, uncomfortable and eager for shelter. Fortunately, there is a new Portuguese brand, Caiágua, which promises to make us forget the “greyism”, with comfortable, attractive and very colourful pieces.

It’s a beautiful sunny day in Ribeira do Porto. Despite the fact that Caiágua is, by definition, a brand for the rain, Tomás Lobo and José Cabral are wearing the bright red and yellow raincoats. «This is a very four seasons product, which is not very warm, nor is it very cold», states José Cabral as he runs his hands along the waterproof fabric.

José Cabral is the face behind the well-known and renowned street style blog “O Alfaiate Lisboeta” and also founder of the online store J.Lisbon and Tomás Lobo is a designer. They met in the summer of 2010 on St. João night, a traditional festivity of the city of Porto. Their shared interests and rather similar aesthetic vision quickly made them good friends.

The compatibility is evident between the creative pair. Therefore, in a short time, the creation of a common project was assured. Even before defining the product they would end up producing, they ventured throughout the country searching for factories and references which could sharpen their inspiration. And it was on one of those trips that they passed through a road called ‘Cai Água’ (Water is Falling), in the north of Portugal. The discovery of the name was the incentive which had been missing for the brand’s awareness.

Inspired by the rainy landscapes of Minho and by the fishing tradition of the Portuguese coast, the colourful line of waterproofs was born in 2016. «We launched the #0 collection in a pilot test and we quickly realised that the consumer had identified with it and that the product created empathy», they tell. «It’s a very catchy product, people stop to see it and they feel they have to take it home», share both.

In this new collection, raincoats are available in black, white, dry green, yellow, orange, red and blue. Besides being gender free, the brand’s versatile products do not impose limitations or restrains regarding age, style or even the weather. Furthermore, we can already find some of them on the streets of countries such as France, England, Denmark or Brazil, which are currently the brand’s main markets.

Caiágua is produced in the north of Portugal, but the ambition is to continue conquering new markets and achieve worldwide notoriety. Whilst maintaining the functional, minimalist and timeless aesthetics that characterise their work, José Cabral and Tomás Lobo are preparing the introduction of new rain resistant products, such as suitcases and hats, which have already been included in their next collections.

«Why shouldn’t we feel as comfortable and attractive in a rainy day as we do in a sunny one?», they question.