"Born and raised in the world of fashion", he points to Vila Nova de Famalicão as the "beginning of it all”, recalling his parents' first shop, which opened in the 1970s: Galerias Gold, in Rua Adriano Pinto Basto, one of the city's most central locations.

With over 40 years' experience, the designer from Famalicão is today the face of the 'national leader in the supply of groom suits', with a range of clients arriving every day from all over the country.

"Today our main market is the party, ceremonial market. Above all, our clients are looking for diversity, fashion, average price and versatility," he says, with the certainty that "no two clients are the same, each suit is a suit".

"The João Vilas Boas brand has a vast team behind it, but everything goes through me. From production, to drawing up the model, to researching fabrics, buttons, threads, linings, interlinings, everything," says the Famalicense who believes that the big secret is to "study the market" and "not wait for the customer to knock on the door".

"I get all kinds of customers in my shops, but the street trading has to reinvent itself and get out of its comfort zone. That's what I've done by meeting the customer and growing the brand nationwide," he added.

The career of the fashion designer from Famalicão, who has created a network of national shops from Vila Nova de Famalicão, has earned the attention of the mayor, Mário Passos, who described him as an "ambassador for Famalicão" and, inevitably, one of the Faces of Famalicão European Entrepreneurial Region.

It's worth remembering that throughout this year and through the "Faces of the EER" Roadmap, Mário Passos will be making the acquaintance of many of the names that help position Vila Nova de Famalicão as one of the country's largest and most thriving economies and boost the municipality's entrepreneurial DNA.