English Version | Backstage: The Butterfly Effect

What happens backstage at Vogue Portugal, doesn't stay backstage at Vogue Portugal. Here's your all access to the Butterfly Effect issue, from October 2022.

Behind the scenes

It's not quite a kaleidoscope (butterfly collective), it's more a hive of working bees what happens in a fashion shooting. And this testimony, signed by Raquel Barbosa, from behind the scenes at Cocoon, on p. 262, mirrors that professional hustle. With an inside look at a dedicated team, this making of the editorial with Olivia Arben, photographed by Branislav Simoncik, shows that magic happens both in front of and behind the lens. And even on paper: if you point your smartphone camera at some of these images, you can see them come to life.

Did you know that…

…butterfly wings are covered in scales? It is the superposition of these tiny elements (each butterfly has between 200 and 600 scales per square millimeter) that allow its structure and the firmness they need to fly. That's why you shouldn't touch a butterfly's wings, as it may be removing essential scales for its flight.

…butterflies are ectothermic animals? Their body temperature is obtained through heat from an external source, such as the Sun, and the scales on their wings help regulate body temperature, reflecting or absorbing sunlight, which gives them energy to fly. It’s not randomly that we see them more in the warmer months and, therefore, in the colder seasons they hide in natural hiding places. And if you see a butterfly perched with open wings, don't bother it: it's doing its "sun salutation".

…butterflies adapt to the environment? They use their designs on the wings to camouflage themselves and adjust to temperature, humidity, vegetation, altitude…

…there are species of butterflies that only last three weeks? But there are also those that have a life cycle of about one year and there are still those that can spend two or more years in the chrysalis stage, which is the transition to adulthood.

…there are diurnal and nocturnal butterflies? Nocturnal, also called moths, usually fly at night, but there are species that also fly during the day - and can also display vibrant colors.

…butterflies are also very important to the environment, as pollinating insects? They feed on the nectar of flowers, transporting pollen to promote fertilization.

…butterflies taste with their feet? They have chemical “flavor” receivers on their feet to help them find host plants, landing and stamping their paws to release their nectar.

…expectably, butterflies are not immune to climate change? Intensive pesticide farming, habitat destruction and food shortages mean an unusual decrease in butterflies from year to year.

Word on the street

It is not only in the expression “butterfly effect” that the insect has been used as a reference. There are other quotes and sayings that choose the poetic animal as a metaphor.

“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” - Muhammad Ali

“The flower said to the little prince: I must tolerate two or three larvae if I want to know butterflies. They say they are beautiful.” - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

“I like the immense night,

sad, black, like this strange butterfly

That I always feel coming back to me!…” - Florbela Espanca

“Happiness is like a butterfly: when we chase it, it escapes us; when we give up chasing it, it lands on us.” - Chinese proverb

“I believe that those who understand happiness the most are butterflies and soap bubbles.” - Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra

Translated from the original on The Butterfly Effect issue from Vogue Portugal, published October 2022.Full story and credits on the print issue.