It's not easy to find stylish clothes when you're over size 44. It is to answer this expectation that the young fashion label Ester Manas creates clothes in one size that fit all silhouettes. We invite you to discover two young designers who make fashion truly inclusive.
The Ester Manas fashion brand is fairly new, but it's been on the rise for a few years.
It was founded in 2018 by two young people who met at La Cambre, the fashion school in Brussels where they were students Ester Manas and Balthazar Delepierre.
The duo made a successful debut at the 2018 Hyères International Fashion and Photography Festival. It was also a finalist for the LVMH prize in 2020.
This couple in the city as well as on the catwalk lives and works in Brussels and creates clothes according to a revolutionary principle: designing one size fits all silhouettes from 36 to 54! One size fits all women has become the DNA of the brand.
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Even though the fashion world claims inclusivity, this goal is far from being achieved on the catwalks where we still see skinny models on parade. As a rule, designer pieces are not designed for women with curves and voluptuous shapes.
The label Ester Manas is an exception to the rule by designing clothes for all bodies. The founder explains, 'With my size 44, it was always complicated for me to find beautiful pieces in stores. [...] I thought it was a shame not to offer creativity to a body that exceeds the standards.'
Thus, this talented duo came up with the idea of creating inclusive clothing that is meant to last because it can accompany every woman throughout her life, even when she gains or loses weight.
This new way of conceiving fashion leads to much less waste during production and for customers who will be able to keep their clothes for the long term.
As you can see, at Ester Manas, inclusivity is not just a word or a trend, but a real credo. The 'one size fits all' principle championed by this label is a real revolution in the very standardized world of fashion. This new idea is being talked about even in Vogue France magazine.
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For the brand Ester Manas, creating clothes for all women is first a committed approach, a fight against the diktat of thinness.
But it is also a real technical challenge that this duo of designers takes up with brio. To make pieces that fit all morphologies, Ester and Balthazar must deploy a bluffing know-how.
All their creations are extendable thanks to clever tricks like hidden pleats, gathers, draping, lacing games, buttonhole systems, well-placed straps or asymmetrical cuts.
These clever garments use special materials, elastic seams, specific cuts and ingenious tightening systems so that the same top, for example, can fit a woman with small breasts or lots of them...
In the end, the style is there and these bold and sexy pieces highlight all women. These clothes in one size can even help some women to reconcile with their body.
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In addition to this very body positive approach with models proudly displaying a size 42 and up, Ester Manas is an eco-responsible label that uses 80% recycled or end of stock materials.
With such arguments, this aesthetically pleasing and ethical brand has quickly met its audience and won the hearts of celebrities like Naomi Campbell and singer Yseult.
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