Manuel Arturo José Cuevas Martínez Sr. (born April 23, 1933 in Coalcomán Michoacán) is a Mexican fashion designer best known for the garments he created for prominent rock and roll and country music acts.
Early life
Manuel Arturo José Cuevas Martínez was born on April 23, 1933, in Coalcomán de Vázquez Pallares in Mexico as the fifth of twelve children of Esperanza Martínez (1911) and José Guadalupe Cuevas (1901). He attended the University of Guadalajara and majored in psychology.
Manuel first learned how to sew in 1945 from his older brother, Adolfo, in Coalcoman, Michoacan, Mexico. He stated, "I started making prom dresses when I was 13. You know that grandmothers and aunts made the prom dresses for all the kids. But I started making prom dresses that were pretty expensive, and all the girls said, 'Mommy I don't want you to make my prom dress. I want Manuel to make my prom dress!' I continued making prom dresses and in one year I made 77 dresses, then the next year I made 110, and from then on I hired people to help me sew. I made a fortune."
Los Angeles
After success in making prom dresses in Mexico, Manuel moved to Los Angeles in 1951 and worked for several tailors. He was soon referred to and started working for Sy Devore, tailor to The Rat Pack. Manuel was offered $55 a fitting, which would often only take 15 minutes. Soon he was tailoring suits for elite members of the Los Angeles community including Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Bob Hope, Don Rickles, and Joey Bishop.
Not long after starting to work with Sy Devore, Manuel attended the Pasadena Tournament of the Roses (commonly known as the Rose Parade). He was inspired by the elaborate and flamboyant clothing. Upon learning that the pieces were designed by Nathan Turk, Manuel visited the designer to ask him who was responsible for the embroidery on his clothing. The embroidery was created by master tailor Viola Grae. While still working as the fitter at Sy Devore's, Manuel bartered his sewing expertise with Grae, saying he would cut the shirts and pants for her in return for teaching him the craft of embroidery.
It was through Grae that Manuel met Nudie Cohn, famous for his grand, rhinestone-embellished "Nudie Suits." At first, Manuel made shirts for Nudie. Actor Audie Murphy came into Nudie's Rodeo Tailors one day about the fit of some the suits that were being made for his latest film, concerned whether they would be done in time for filming Monday. Manuel worked all weekend tailoring the suits, and Monday morning delivered all the outfits to Murphy. Nudie then offered Manuel a full-time job. Working alongside Nudie, Manuel later became head tailor, head designer, and eventually partner of Nudie's Rodeo Tailors in North Hollywood.
Clients knew Manuel as the quiet tailor in the back at Nudie's who also did all of the fittings. Manuel designed and created many of the suits that Nudie's Rodeo Tailors became famous for in the late '50s, '60s, and early '70s. Though Nudie encouraged Manuel to make repeat "copies" of designs that sold well, Manuel refused. It was at Nudie's Rodeo Tailors that Manuel became known for his one-of-a-kind designs, making each piece unique.
In September 1965 Manuel married Nudie's only daughter, Barbara L. Cohn. They had one daughter, Morelia (born in 1968). In 1975, after Manuel and Barbara were divorced, Manuel opened his own shop, Manuel Couture, just down the street from Nudie's Rodeo Tailors in North Hollywood. Many of the friends and clients that Manuel made while working with Nudie, including Johnny Cash, Marty Stuart, and George Jones, supported Manuel and his new shop.
From 1975 till 1988, Manuel Couture became a go-to designer and image maker for up-and-coming musicians in Los Angeles. "His customers seem to place a near-blind faith in Manuel putting their professional images in his hands, believing that what he whips up for them will be right. 'That's partly why I have survived as a designer all these years. People put their trust in me to create something truly unique,' he says." Throughout his North Hollywood career, Manuel worked with famed costumer Edith Head and made costumes for over 90 movies and 13 television shows, including the jeans James Dean wore in the movie Giant, and the Lone Ranger's famous mask.
Nashville
After nearly 40 years in Los Angeles, Manuel moved his business and family (second wife Susan, and three children Morelia, Manny Jr., and Jesse-Justin) to Nashville, Tennessee. "I wanted to see the kids grow healthy and safe, and L.A. started to get a little too tight for me, and too complicated. I am thankful for my time there though because that was the place where I made my career flourish."