The next big thing

On the plus side, Brussels-based fashion label Ester Manas is designing clothes for everywoman

- By Jack Moss

‘One size fits all’ is the maxim of Brussels-based label Ester Manas, which comprises the eponymous designer and her co-founder Balthazar Delepierre (the couple are partners in both life and work, and share equal responsibility for each collection’s design).

Where this phrase might have once suggested restriction – a singular size no matter your body shape – Manas and Delepierre use it in a more expansive manner, creating a clothing label that spans 34-50 in European sizing, or S-3XL, often in a single adjustable garment. ‘I wanted to do something for myself, because I am plus-size,’ says Manas. ‘When we started, back in 2016, it was not so cool to be big. It was an issue. We thought we needed to address that.’

To do so, the designers – who met at Brussels’ La Cambre art school – approach each item of clothing like a technical puzzle. Since first showing a size-inclusive collection as part of Manas’ graduate show, they have employed various design tricks to ensure each garment can be adapted to the endless variations of the human body (straps might adjust under the clothing; fabrics chosen for their particular stretch; ruffles utilised for their ability to expand or contract). ‘With my tutor, it was a bit of a fight, because it was new. It was the first time a big girl had walked on the runway in the graduate show,’ says Manas. ‘And when something is new, it’s not always easy for people to digest.’