Michele Manz graduated from London’s prestigious Royal College of Art in 1997 and was immediately appointed to assist Alberta Ferretti in Italy. Coming up through the ranks to become Head Designer of the ultra feminine Italian house, Michele introduced a direction of romantic ease and wearability through draping directly on the mannequin and working closely with an inhouse atelier of seamstresses. Michele worked on 13 collections shown at Milan Fashion week.
In 2004, Michele joined John Varvatos in New York as Creative Director of Women’s where she began her fascination with genderless clothing and overlays of masculine/feminine showcasing the collection at New York Fashion week. In 2005 she went on to launch Converse by John Varvatos and created Converse’s first premium jeans, thus beginning a love affair with denim.
In 2010 Michele moved to Los Angeles as Creative Director for 7 For All Mankind, repositioning the brand to be at the forefront of denim innovation and leading initiatives such as Slim Illusion and Luxe Performance. Michele worked on several iconic campaigns with James Franco and Arianne Phillips.
Most recently as VP of Design at Current/Elliott, Michele was able to capture her 20 years of industry experience within Premium Denim and fashion ready to wear. Michele launched several new iconic fits to the assortment including The Crossover, The Easy Stiletto, The Barrel, The Corset and The His Jean. She also oversaw the 125 Year anniversary collaboration with Cone Denim Mills in partnership with Wonderland Concepts.