While the world of luxury takes a closer look at up-and-coming designers from the African continent, their initiatives build bridges between cultures as presumably different as Spain and Tanzania. That’s the premise behind this ManéMané collection. The brand’s creative director, Miguel Becer, had the opportunity to collaborate with the MERVKi Collective on Kukutana, a joint collection promoted by the Spanish embassy in Tanzania. Based on the experience, Becer developed a new offering in which the traditions of the two countries talk to each other: “For ManéMané I work with codes that have to do with culture, always with an eye on the future,” Becer said. “[The Tanzanians] have the same premise—using their identity and cultural history.”
The resulting collection brings together Maasai blankets sourced from markets in Tanzania with ManéMané garments “that come from the tradition of tailoring,” explained Becer. The blazer is one of the star pieces of the proposal and can be found in cool wool and classical pinstripes, among other motifs. Corsets, which are one of the label’s specialties, are layered on top, combined with shorts or pleated skirts. “They are very traditional [European] clothes but brought to the Tanzanian world, to the vision we had of garments you want to wear for a very long time, which are fun and appealing.”
