Manuel Cortez has sworn off chasing trends. Instead, the stylist calls for consumerism to be thrown overboard.
Manuel Cortez (41) has not dealt with fashion trends for the respective season for a long time. The actor and stylist revealed this at the FaceClub talk on "Styling as the secret of success" with presenter Ilka Peemöller ("Bunte") on Friday (October 30) at the Radisson Blu in Berlin. Model Victoria Jancke and Alexander Gutierrez Diaz (CEO watch manufacturer Lang & Heyne) were invited as experts to the dinner event organized by Sören Bauer with cosmetics retailer Point Rouge. "There is just good fashion. And the constant 'but that's in' just doesn't interest me," said Cortez.
Instead, he asks himself questions like "Is this a good piece of clothing? What do I want? Is it a sustainable piece of clothing? How is the piece of clothing produced? Where does it come from?" The consumerism associated with seasonal clothing is no longer up to date for him, said Cortez. "We should rather think about what kind of responsibility we take on with the fashion we wear!" And nobody should do without an accessory at the moment: "I would say a mask – everything else is probably secondary this year."
Cortez: "Fashion can help you find the right words"
Once the right clothes have been found, the styling can also influence the external effect: "Fashion can always help us to find the right words. So if I know what I want to say, in this case 'success' for example, then fashion can help us help to express that ", explained the stylist and immediately gave tips on how a self-confident appearance can succeed.
"When a man, regardless of his body type, wears a really well-fitting suit, preferably made to measure, of course, then he looks well-dressed," says Cortez. The look is complete with a pocket square, watch and shoes. Even in a woman, "a properly chosen and well-fitting dress or suit" can increase self-confidence.
Apart from choosing the right clothes, "the attitude behind it" is crucial, emphasized the 41-year-old. "What I can't stand is when someone simply has no self-worth. So not someone who doesn't focus on styling out of an understatement, but when someone stands across from me who just doesn't care and is practically self-neglect." For Cortez this is a kind of "giving up" and therefore a "no-go".