One size fits all bodies. Ester Manas, the growing fashion label

Inclusiveness. The entire fashion industry aspires to this ideal, insists, claims it. In fact, the goal is far from being realized. It is enough to see the vast majority of threadbare girls parading the catwalks to understand that taboos are far from disappearing. Curves, curve bodies, extremely arbitrary shapes are still prohibited. However, over the past few seasons, the up-and-coming independent label has brilliantly championed another fashion and women’s visionary, Esther Manas.

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The brand was founded in 2018 by the talented Franco-Belgian duo, Esther Manas and 28-year-old Balthazar Delepierre, who met on the benches of the famous La Cambre fashion school in Brussels, where they were students. In the city as well as on the stage, this couple has a simple yet revolutionary idea: to design one-size-fits-all clothing to suit all body sizes from 36 to 54. “Why is dressing a fat woman a problem in this industry?” Balthazar Delepierre is still surprised. “With my size 44, it has always been difficult for me to find nice clothes in stores,” adds Esther Manas. If luxury starts to get involved, it’s only on limited supply. I thought it a shame not to offer creativity to a body that exceeds standards.” Therefore, the committed duo decided to create inclusive and sustainable clothing that can accompany every woman throughout her life.

In an industry that too often glorifies leanness, the approach remains rare. The Esther Manas duo made it an ethical and aesthetic struggle combined with a technical challenge. Creating a piece that will suit all body types – tall, short, fat, skinny… takes skill. Applying their know-how, the two designers make their textiles stretchy with deft hand darts, while the magic works with well-placed straps, hidden pleats, inventive gathers, clever ruffles, plays of lace, sheerness and asymmetric cuts. The result is a sexy, bold, powerful wardrobe that empowers women.

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Brightness

Very quickly, the environmentally responsible label (80% of the materials are recycled or end up in storage) is supported by the public, celebrities such as singers Lizo and Iseult or supermodel Naomi Campbell, while also attracting fashionistas. . After a remarkable debut at the Hyères International Fashion and Photography Festival in 2018, they were finalists for the LVMH Prize in 2020 and the Member Award in 2021. Since then, each of their body positive fashion shows has caused a sensation and shocked an industry that is still too stereotypical; for them, inclusion is true. “A staple in the Paris Fashion Week calendar,” commented journalist Loic Prigent after their recent show in Paris. They also signed a new collection for the brand AZ Factory, which was created shortly before the death of Albert Elbaz. The result? Technical and stretch knit creations that are as close to the body as possible, with a body print, signature of the duo Ester Manas.

The clothes are cut to attract the eye, the skin is staged, the forms are sublimated. “You have to love yourself and want to show yourself to wear our clothes,” notes the designer. Their fashion is about empowerment. But it is not always easy to get rid of complexes. Including for Esther Manas, rather a fan of T-shirt jeans. “I’m fat and like all women, the gaze of others is heavy. When I see these girls proudly parading the catwalk in our clothes, happy in their outfits, loving each other for the first time, or even customers taking a picture of themselves in one of our transparent dresses while going to the supermarket, I think, “They dare. You !””

fashion history

Fashion can be a great tool for emancipation, self-affirmation, reconciliation. Esther Manas knows something about it, she lives with it every day. “During my studies, I hid a lot of things, also hidden behind the role of a designer. I told myself “it’s not important to be good in your skin, it’s important to feel beautiful, it’s important to make a beautiful piece”. Balthazar’s gaze on her contributes to changing her relationship with her body and clothing. “He has always done everything to help me find a solution, so that I feel beautiful and invited into the world where we both work. He serves the purpose of seduction and love, the way he paints is very carnal. He creates with my mind, otherwise he would only make white starched collars. This brand is me. And that’s Balthazar in love with me.”

Fashion has fused them to the point of playing a driving role in their history. “We built our private couple on it. The work requires such a sacrifice…” explains Balthazar Delepierre. If we have to look for their alchemy recipe, we can find some ingredients in the classic “opposites attract”. “I was popular in class, while Balthazar had three friends at school. On the creative side, I’m more Britney Spears, she’s Bauhaus. Bauhaus vs. Britney Spears, that’s ridiculous,” observes Esther Manas. But there is one thing that connects them from the beginning: fashion. More precisely, their distrust of fashion, which will be the source of their general approach to working with clothes. Tall, brainy, always in black and denim shirts, he talks about his perception of fashion in his youth. absolutely disgusting. I’ve hated consumer fashion for a very long time, and maybe even today.

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First steps

In Brussels, where he was born and raised, Balthazar is nourished by art and culture. The credit for clothing comes later, on his way to studying typography at La Cambre. Her esthete stature earned her a job there as a fashion show model before becoming a student. “I received a slap. I realized that fashion can be used for more than just making showmanship, he can tell stories with very different personalities and worlds.” Esther, a teacher, dreams of studying art from her hometown of Toulouse. With his bachelor’s degree in hand, he left his family to train in graphic design in Paris. Then he goes to La Cambre, Brussels, to experiment with clothes, with the idea of ​​treating them like a sculpture. These two meet, get close, and cheat. “I secretly requested Balthazar to help me prepare for my La Cambre entrance exam. We did it together, we shouldn’t have done it, Ester Manas smiles. He did it out of kindness and devotion, the way you can help in a budding relationship.” A joint professional tandem was born from this pair of lovers. “We are very much a family with Esther, this dimension is also present in our shows,” explains Balthazar Delepierre. Many of the parade girls are friends of the couple who come to lend a hand or are new to modeling. All proudly display a size 42 or larger. “They want to show themselves, take responsibility and send us crazy energy that allows us to keep the next six months, always brutal,” explains Balthazar Delpierre.

grow together

Between the two parades, reality reigns. “We’re all alone at home making Excel spreadsheets,” quips Esther Manas. In the background, with the feeling of being out of class. “When you don’t come from luxury and you get there, you have to believe that you come from it, that you have the codes,” explains the designer. The brand works with the means at hand. Understand: in pairs and self-funding. Specifically, this goes through eighty-hour weeks, nights dedicated to design, stress to spare… If the label parades in Paris, the couple has chosen to live and work in Brussels, under the fashion radar. “Brussels allowed us to build our brand, offering us more space, perspective and a solid environment,” explains Esther Manas. The entrepreneurial experience is galvanizing, but not painless. “Our parents don’t have this fiber,” explains Balthazar Delepierre. We come from a difficult background, we advance without help. For us, it’s a constant trial by fire, hoping for a general seal of approval.” So far, sales are doubling after each fashion show, business is going well. However, the young couple is on guard. He is afraid. “We have to leave now.” They have yet to make a more intimate revolution: get over the impostor syndrome…