Backstage chat with Mans’ founder Jaime Álvarez at MBFWMadrid

Immaculate tailoring with freedom from aesthetic constraints. That’s how Sevillian designer Jaime Álvarez defines the identity of his brand Mans, which, ever since its foundation in 2017, has been shaking up the local menswear scene by combining the extremely elegant tradition of Spanish men with the playfulness and daringness that perfectly fits within the country’s modern pop culture. Fucking Young! had a quick chat with the designer backstage at his award-winning Fall-Winter 26/27 show at the Palácio Fernán Núñez during the latest edition of MBFW Madrid.

What were the starting points for this collection?
This collection is based on three points. The first is the life of my grandfather, whose surname, ‘DEMANS’, originated the name and is at the core identity of the brand. For this collection, I looked back at how he used to dress for work, as he was a pharmacist. For example, we took inspiration from the white pharmacist’s lab coat he used to wear, reworked it, and integrated it into an actual suit that can be worn during the day, because, you know, in Spain, men are very elegant and everyone wears suits and ties during the day.

There are other elements too, like the pinned tie. That is something we took from the way he used to dress. His very dandy style was always in the back of our minds, but we wanted to rework it so it doesn’t just look vintage, but modern and cool, with a new edge to tailoring, because that’s what Mans is all about.

Another point of inspiration was also the work of Cristóbal Balenciaga. You can see it very clearly, I think, in the crocodile-embossed leather jackets we created, which have extra volume in the back that gives them an architectural structure and a sculptural shape, my favorite aspect of Balenciaga’s work.

And the third main point of this collection is the traditional way people dress during Semana Santa, Easter, or Holy Week, in Andalusia. Our moodboard was filled with images of the processions that take place in Seville, with people dressed in typical Nazareno suits. So we integrated a lot of this culture, which is where both I and the brand come from, into this collection. What intrigued me the most about it was the mix of cultural elements.

For example, you can see a sort of Japanese obi sash, and I think the mix of these elements, combined with Seville and Easter traditions, creates something that just makes sense for who we are as a brand. Mans is about bringing tradition and traditional clothing into a wardrobe that’s cool and works for today.

So, as both you and the brand are from there, are Seville and Andalusia constant starting points for your collections?
I love tradition. I want to make tradition cool again, but not in a conservative way, in a modern way. Modern and cool. This search for a new way of looking at things is my objective with the brand; they are all part of our universe.

But I also always love to pay respect to other designers I admire and to the history of fashion. Like in this collection, for example, where you can find some elements of Balenciaga’s work, but there is also a little bit of Tom Ford’s Gucci in there… It’s all a mix of everything!

I think young designers like me need to have references of what has come before us in fashion, and we have to acknowledge our inspirations, both as a sign of respect, but also with the awareness that their path has been amazing in leading us to where we are. Our mission is to keep evolving it.

And how do you see the style of the Spanish man nowadays? Do you see a big evolution from tradition to modernity in how men here are dressing today?
I think we’re having a good moment in Spanish menswear right now. I see men becoming more and more daring with fashion and escaping a bit from tradition and that classic way of dressing. We now have a lot of cool Spanish brands that are really pushing masculinity forward, creating a new identity, and men are very accepting of that.

Within Mans as well, we create made-to-measure orders, and I see in our clients that there is a real change in mindset. Before, they would gravitate towards more basic and classic pieces, being a little more restrained. But now, they are more playful, more daring with shapes, colors, and details.

It’s a good moment for menswear fashion in Spain, I think men are finally allowing themselves to have a bit more fun with fashion.

How would you define Spanish fashion today in three words?
Traditional, rich, and very modern also I’d say.