21 FEBRUARY 27 FEBRUARY 2011

THE BUDAPEST TIMES

CULTURE

Design should be accessible to everyone

Interview with Anik Nmeth, founder of Manier Haute Couture
esign stands somewhere
between culture and business, explains Anik
Nmeth, founder of the
Hungarian fashion label
Manier Haute Couture. She spoke to
The Budapest Times about her design
philosophy, wearable fashion and the
future of Hungarian fashion.

more daring in terms of their clothing

and they use it to express their personality, their quality of life and their selfconfidence. They know that the way in
which they dress is part of how they
communicate. They want to emphasise
their individuality and take pleasure in
one-off pieces that only they will wear.
In Hungary foreigners can still buy
custom-made clothing relatively
cheaply.

How did you become a designer?

I studied interior design originally and
started designing clothes almost by
accident. For one thing I could make a
good living from clothes. At that time
there was a lack of good clothing and
people were more inclined to spend
money on clothes than on their homes.
The other reason is that to me the relationship with the person that I create
something for is very important. It
didnt appeal to me as an interior
architect to create something on the
drawing board that later I would have
no influence over. As a clothes designer
I have more freedom and can adapt
my ideas better to the person that I am
designing for.

What is the difference between your salon

and your shop?
The salon is visited by customers who
would like to have a particular item of
clothing individually designed and
made. I create a special design and it
involves several fittings and a lot of
handiwork... In the shop visitors can
find pieces sized between 38 and 42
[roughly UK size 10 to 14], which can
be tailored to the individual. If the
piece still doesnt fit it only costs an
additional 20 per cent to have an
existing design adapted.
Its surprising that you go up to size 42
[roughly UK size 14].

Do you feel that there is a connection

between interior design and clothing?

Were not all the same. And not being

slim is far from being the same thing as
being fat. In my fashion shows I always
try to have at least ten models sized 40
to 44 [roughly UK size 12 to 16]. The
problem is that model agencies only
train models sized 36 or 38 [roughly
UK size 8 or 10]. Untrained models
often stumble or dont present the
clothes well but I will find myself a few
good ones (laughs).

Yes, for me there definitely is. Both are

related to the people that live in them
and are connected to them. The city,
the district and the house that you live
in is a space that people adapt to their
needs. For me clothing is the smallest
space around a person. You can adapt
it to your personality. It is the space
that you can have the greatest influence on and use to express yourself. It
is also less of a risk because it is a
smaller, self-contained project.

How do you go about creating a new collection?

Are there any designers or artists who have

particularly influenced your work?
I admire the personality and life story
of Frieda Kahlo very much and Antoni
Gaudi. Again there is the connection
between architecture and clothing. Of
course Jean-Paul Gaultier, Vivienne
Westwood, John Galliano and others
have influenced me but there is no one
dominant figure that I would point to.
What do you particularly like about your
job?
I love materials and forms and the
way that designs in motion can create
a different effect. Thats why I also
like designing theatre costumes. I like
working with natural materials like
linen, cotton, wool, silk and leather
but Im not adverse to innovations.
There are new technologies such as
materials woven through with metal
threads that have a memory. They
adapt perfectly to the silhouette of
the wearer and their movements and
are wonderful to work with. I also
often deconstruct materials and
weave or embroider with them or
work with appliqus.

BZT/Aaron Taylor (4)

14

Anik Nmeth likes to

use natural materials
including linen, cotton,
wool, silk and leather.

salon are particu[Hungarians] who can afford it prefer to buy

larly popular with
Western brands rather than clothes made by Hungarian
the Swiss, the
Yes, Ive been designers. Their relationship to clothes is also rather different. Americans, the
successful but
Dutch and the
People from the West are more daring in terms of their Germans.
more in terms of
From
clothing and they use it to express their personality,
recognition. In
Asian countries it
1994 I won the
tends
to
be
only
the
their quality of life and their self-confidence.
Youngest Talent of the
Japanese that visit. Its
Have you also been
successful abroad?

Year award at the international IGEDO fashion market

and in 1996 I was invited to the Paris
Fashion Week. However, I have never
taken part in competitions. After the
change of system in Hungary I had
hoped that Hungary would open itself
to the world fashion market but that
hasnt happened yet. When I opened
my salon and my shop I naively
assumed that people would come. And
thankfully they do come.

Anik Nmeth

Are visitors to your shop

Hungarians or foreigners?

good for business of course

but I find it a shame that so few
Hungarians order from me.
mainly
Why do you think you dont have a greater
proportion of Hungarian customers?

I would say that 80 to 90 per cent of the

people that come to my salon and shop
are foreigners. Of course the number
of walk-in customers in the shop fluctuates but the proportion of foreigners
remains fairly constant. My shop and

Those who can afford it prefer to buy

Western brands rather than clothes
made by Hungarian designers. Their
relationship to clothes is also rather
different. People from the West are

From interior designer to fashion designer

nik Nmeth studied interior
design
at
the
Hungarian
University of Arts and Design
(now the Moholy-Nagy University of Art
and Design) from 1986 before turning
her attention to clothing. In 1990 she
showed her first collection in Vienna and
Budapest.
That was followed by fashion shows in the

Netherlands, Norway and Austria, and

the establishment of the Manier Haute
Couture Salon in 1992. Nmeth designs
theatre costumes, evening gowns for
actresses and musicians such as the
Oscar-nominated Erika Marozsn and
the singer Veronika Harcsa, and presents
her clothes on the catwalk.
For more information see www.manier.hu

It varies. I always have new ideas but

there are also recurrent themes. With
Lets Misbehave I tried to express
the development of women, their role
in society and the struggle that made
equal rights possible. I make haute
couture, which requires a lot of handiwork, but I also enjoy designing wearable clothing for everyday life. It
should be practical and comfortable
but also of good quality and make the
wearer feel good. Design should be
accessible to everyone.
What are your hopes for the future?
I would like design in Hungary to have
an established place in cultural life, in
the way people think and also in politics. There is no real design street in
Budapest. Fashion Street is an artificial
construct. Foreigners soon notice that
and have often asked me about other
designers. Politics needs to do more for
fashion. Italy, Spain and France have
shown the way that it is done: they
established fashion weeks and
supported designers. Those countries
are now fashion giants. Portugal is also
following suit. I think it would be
possible for all that to happen in
Hungary as well.
Ines Gruber