F Luxury recalls the interview with the Portuguese designer duo known as the “Manéis”, of which Manuel Alves was a member. The national fashion scene loses a great name, with a timeless legacy and an impeccable journey.
They joined forces in Porto in the 80s, when everything was so new and euphoric. Over time, they went from being part of a flamboyant upstart group to becoming an unavoidable reference in national fashion. They’re both called Manuel, one Gonçalves, the other Alves. That’s why everyone – and everyone else who would like to belong to them – affectionately and intimately calls them the ‘Manéis. Their impressive career includes winning a Golden Globe for “Fashion Personality”, designing uniforms for various companies, costumes for cinema, theatre and ballet, creating a ceramics line and another for jewelry and accessories. To name a few… The 80s in Portugal – and throughout Europe – saw the birth of fashion as we know it today. By the end of the decade, there were already a dozen names that drew the meagre but enthusiastic group of modanti to the still few fashion events, the FIL, the Manoeuvres of May and a few others. Of these dozen, some disappeared, others changed focus or direction. The ‘Manéis’, or rather Manuel Alves and José Manuel Gonçalves, carried on. Always on the edge of fashion and any other art, good fashion is fashion like this. And the talent paid off. After all this time it still pays off. In a business as volatile and ephemeral as fashion, and as fragile in the face of adversity, it’s a source of pride to speak to this duo who, in the face of a business-decimating pandemic, reply: “Of course it’s affected us, but we’re here!” But this is the now and we wanted to know what it was like at the beginning, when fashion met the Alves/Gonçalves duo. Or was it the other way round, when the ‘Manéis’ met Fashion? “Both situations are true,” they tell us.
The short interview, below:
Do you have an idealised type of woman that you create for?
There is no such thing as a type of woman, we always have in mind a thought about women, in social terms, at the present time. And we create for that specific woman.
What is your creative process like? In the duo, who does what?
We don’t have rules, there’s a plan that we both follow.
Can you define your style?
We prefer others to identify it for us, we just do what we like best.
How have you been influenced by this “new paradigm” of fashion, involving new timings, eco-consciousness, a new informal “press”…?
Easily, and I’m glad it happened that way! One of the fundamental things in fashion is renewal, and that happens quickly!
Do you feel that, like everything else, Portuguese fashion has always been somewhat peripheral?
We’ve never believed in national fashion. We believe in people whose work is of interest regardless of nationality. We believe that there is peripheral work, and when you bring together peripheries of different nationalities, you get a great body of work.
