Emma Manley
Emma Manley was born in Dublin, Ireland. Following graduation, Emma moved to New York. There she interned with luxury sportswear label VPL, heading up designs for a number of New York Fashion Week S/S and A/W shows. A move to Alexander McQueen, London, saw Emma hone her skills in embellishment and design. There she worked on collections, including Alexander McQueen’s final show. From there, Emma made the move to launch Manley in 2010.
Manley is play on words, juxtaposed by romantic femininity and urban streetwear, coming together for an individualistic whole. The Manley line includes contemporary separates and alternative eveningwear.
Working with an unusual mix of fabrics, Manley’s current collection is a combination of luxury jerseys, wools, chiffon and pigskin. “For this collection my initial inspiration was Bauhaus art, the big and basic shapes mixed with bold colours. The Manley aesthetic is quite romantic so for me the big challenge was making something beautiful using tough fabrics, hard shapes and strong lines.
I introduced terribly feminine fabrics to balance out the pig skin. Essentially i softened my inspiration and hardened my garments basic structure”.
This current collection is available now available at Bow, The Powerscourt Townhouse, Dublin.
Emma’s creativity and vision has captured the hearts of press, influential bloggers and a burgeoning client base.