Miguel Gigante | Atelier de Burel

Miguel Gigante is a skilful fashion designer based in the innovative New Hand Lab, in the city of Covilhã, who works only with the so-called “burel” wool, the one that it is used by the shepherds of Serra da Estrela Mountain and he makes art pieces out of wool!

He was born in Covilhã and his family worked in the wool industry, so it was quite natural that the world of wool has always fascinated him. He studied the whole wool-producing process: design, modelling, cutting and drawing. This is why we can clearly fell a passion for detail on his works.
He opened his first shop in Covilhã in 1992. A year later, he opened Cool Natura Atelier de Burel studio. Since then he began to sell his collections not only in Portugal, but also abroad, namely in Spain, France, Germany and Italy. He now works in New Hand Lab and he has designed the first collection for the Historical Villages of Portugal.

He is a witty artisan, but also a forward-thinking designer. Miguel Gigante creates true masterpieces out of burel wool – the wool used by the shepherds of Serra da Estrela – and he knows how to capture the essence of the feminine soul!

“I hope in the future to control the whole process of wool production, continue to develop new products, and work with people who share my conceptual and aesthetic viewpoints.”
Miguel Gigante