MANOLA’S first collection is sustainably made with Econyl Nylon materials, which are created from different kinds of nylon wastes such as fishing nets, carpets, and industrial plastics. The pieces have a minimalistic aesthetic and compose functional monochrome looks adapted to trends whose objective is that women feel comfortable wearing them. They offer a versatile and ecological proposal full of open backs, pronounced necklines, and neutral tones. “Classic shapes are the main motivation for the line, but always with small distinctive details that make our proposals different, like our label ”, thus advocating for a more environmentally friendly industry
We try to take care of all the processes that are in our hands to be sustainable as possible, prioritizing the quality and ethics of the materials used. We believe that society and fashion have to go in that direction, and we want to set an example”. In this way, the brand only produces the quantities requested to avoid excess stock.
Before the pandemic started, I was traveling a lot for work. I am passionate about sports, and I love dedicating that little time to myself in my daily routine, so no matter how much I was traveling, nothing stopped me from going for a run, trying studies in different cities, and disconnecting. As a result of this, I began to consume a lot of sportswear, most of which I bought when I was in the United States, where I saw brands and concepts that I could not find here in Europe and buying it from Spain cost me due to having to pay customs or tariffs. I had always wanted to start my own project, something that went beyond my figure as an influencer. Until now my work was my own image and I wanted something that would separate me from it but at the same time identify me. From there MANOLA was born from a passion, from a need, from the desire to undertake and learn.
Manola is a sustainable sportswear firm
On a personal level, I think that is where everything, in general, must be focused. I try to be as sustainable as possible in my daily life, although I am not perfect and many times I leave my cloth bags at home, I try to be more and more demanding in terms of recycling. Everything is a process, but we have to take care of our planet and the environment, because in the end we are made of its food, its air, its waters, its fauna, and we have to contribute to a better world. So, sustainability was an essential point to be fulfilled in MANOLA from the first moment.
Why 'Manola' as the name of the firm?
One of my favorite names is Manuela, even so, I don't really like brands that have their own name. I also didn't want to marry a feminine name, you never know how MANOLA can develop in a few years, that's why we combined Manuela and Manolo and MANOLA came out, which in fact in the north Manuela is called MANOLA. Finally, at the symphonic level, especially in English, MANOLA was much more organic and that's how it stayed.
How would you define the firm on an aesthetic level?
MANOLA is the definition of minimalism but at the same time design, we focus on creating classic and basic silhouettes but with a twist as we say. Also, in the comfort of all the garments and versatility, we like the claim that you can wear it to go to the gym, train or practice your favorite sport as well as for your day-to-day, with a blazer, sneaker and a braided sweater/ sweatshirt to match now that the cold arrives.
Where and how are the garments produced?
Factories are in Portugal and at the moment the fabrics are imported from Italy because we want everything to be local, thus minimizing the impact of production and transport. We work under a pre-order system. We produce some samples with which we create our shootings and campaigns, from there we launch the product and open our pre-order for a period of two weeks. In this way, they can collect information that will help them later to make our final order, such as colors that are most liked, sizes most in demand, and best sellers, this helps us not to produce more, have less unnecessary stock, and be more sustainable. After that pre-order, we make the order to the factory and in 3-4 weeks we receive the product and send it to our buyers, in addition to having a small stock on our website ready to ship.
