An unconventional, slow-fashion brand taking Manchester Fashion Week by storm.
By Gena Aspinall-Martin
Mancunia Ugly at Manchester Fashion Week - Photography by Molly Britton.
Day Two of Manchester Fashion Week saw a collection curated by Janey Cribbin, a young Mancunian designer with an overt desire to curate pieces inspired by classic car culture. Her work incorporates the “ugly”, unapologetically bold, raw and emotive; transporting customers to a vintage-British race track mixed with Japanese car culture. To say her designs are innovative would be an understatement. Janey uses repurposes materials such as car leather interiors and airbags to create wearable art. As a classic car is a luxury collectable; Mancunia Ugly creates garments that evoke a desire to be accumulated, appreciated and discussed. Her SS/26 collection was inspired by classic automotives and her love for grit. Mixing the raw with what is conventionally appealing.
Where did you take inspiration from when designing your SS/26 collection?
“This season, I drew from both the maximalism of Japanese car culture and Manchester’s unapologetic spirit, celebrating all that Mancunia Ugly is about. The first ever of “Mancunia Ugly” collection reclaims the idea of luxury; not as something pristine, but as something rebuilt, worn, and powerful”.
As a slow fashion brand, Sourcing unconventional materials for clothing conducts unique challenges. For instance, supply vs demand and sourcing quality materials that evoke a brand image is no easy feat. Finding enough time to manufacture orders and enough of the same raw material can be a challenge. As can knowing where to source raw materials for quality purposes.
Mancunia Ugly at Manchester Fashion Week - Photography by Molly Britton.
As a slow fashion brand that repurposes using such innovative materials; what are some challenges you’ve faced in your product pipeline and how have you overcome them?
“No two airbags, leathers, or upholstery fabrics are ever quite the same. Each material arrives with its own history, marked by wear, unique textures, and sometimes even chemical traces from years of use. This means my design process has to remain highly adaptable; instead of simply ordering rolls of uniform fabric, I often engineer each piece around the specific materials I’ve sourced. Another challenge is technical: automotive textiles weren’t designed to be cut, stitched, or worn on the body. We’ve had to develop new finishing methods, specialist treatments, and ways of working with leather paints and coatings usually reserved for body shops”.
This can limit how many pieces Mancunia Ugly can manufacture and thus, increases their brand value as the collections are limited and unique. These constraints also reinforce Mancunia Ugly’s philosophy: “to value what’s available, to embrace rarity, and to create products that embody a fleeting uniqueness you may never encounter again”.
The production process is a testament to the value of her designs; and the craftmanship and dedication Janey puts into every piece. Her customers are not just simply buying into Mancunia, they are buying into her dream, ideologies and hours of dedication. Her Brand name reflects her passion for her roots and appreciating the versatility of modern fashion. Being born and raised in Manchester shaped her identity and ideologies of her self-image. Manchester is a city that was built upon the boom of the cotton industry; and in modern day, has since been the heart of LGBTQ+ Pride, music innovation, fashion subcultures and global fast-fashion business. It is a city at the forefront of change, and a very fitting home for Janey's brand.
Mancunia Ugly at Manchester Fashion Week - Photography by Molly Britton.
Your brand name “Mancunia ugly” definitely mirrors your brand image. That of a young 90s subculture; unapologetic, unconventional and edgy. With a nod to the city of Manchester. What influences led you to land on such an emotive brand name?
“Identity. A city built on the best music, shit weather, working-class grit, and textile innovation. My family worked in the Manchester textile mills, and that history of handcraft and British woven textiles is in my DNA. ‘Ugly’ isn’t about being unappealing; It’s about rejecting polished perfection.” Mancunia Ugly” holds my heritage, my city, and the brand’s attitude all in one. It’s about finding luxury in the overlooked, pride in the imperfect, and turning that into something bold, collectible, and unapologetically MANC UGLY. I wanted the name to carry both that legacy and the unapologetic energy of the city I grew up in. It’s a love letter to the best city in the world.”
Mancunia Ugly at Manchester Fashion Week - Photography by Molly Britton.
A luxury brand that acknowledges its carbon footprint, it’s founding cities heritage and offers everyday innovation, is a brand that deserves to be recognised. “Mancunia Ugly” will certainly continue to turn heads.