The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, considered this Wednesday, May 15, that fashion designer Manuel Alves, who died on Tuesday, left "in his environment and in his generation an image that defined a time and an attitude".

In a message published today on the official 'site' of the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic, the Head of State recalls that "in the last forty years, since the young talent, and then self-taught, moved to Lisbon and opened a shop in Bairro Alto, the creations of the Alves/Gonçalves atelier made a difference, innovating in the style of the pieces and announcing or celebrating a lifestyle".

Manuel Alves died on Tuesday, at the age of 72, at the Hospital da Luz, in Lisbon, due to cancer. The fashion designer died in the year that marks 40 years of partnership with José Manuel Gonçalves. "Having worked as a designer in fashion, in the night, in the theatre, and also as a teacher, Manuel Alves left in his environment and in his generation an image that defined a time and an attitude", considered Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, in the message in which he expresses condolences to José Manuel Gonçalves and to Manuel Alves' family.

Before dedicating himself to signature fashion, and after having studied Management in college, Manuel Alves had men's clothing stores in Porto. Already in Lisbon, in 1984, he opened two stores in Bairro Alto with José Manuel Gonçalves, to sell their creations for men and women.

In 1985 they presented their first fashion show together, at the Palácio do Correio Velho, in Lisbon. The duo participated in the first edition of ModaLisboa, in April 1991, at the Teatro São Luiz, where collections by Ana Salazar, Luís Buchinho, José António Tenente and Nuno Gama, among others, were also presented.

After several years of being connected to Lisbon's fashion week, the duo started to present collections at Portugal Fashion, an event held in Porto. Manuel Alves and José Manuel Gonçalves - who ended up creating the Alves/Gonçalves brand - also designed uniforms for companies such as the Portuguese airline TAP and the telephone operator Vodafone, as well as costumes for cinema, theatre and ballet, having also developed a line of ceramics and another of jewellery and accessories. In 2008 they also created a stamp for the Correios de Portugal.

Between 1991 and 2013, Manuel Alves, like José Manuel Gonçalves, was a guest professor at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Lisbon, where he taught the subject of Fashion Design.

In 2009-2010, the Museum of Design and Fashion, in Lisbon, made a retrospective on the work and career of the duo of creators, "Creative Lab: Manuel Alves and José Manuel Gonçalves", with curatorship and exhibition design by both.

The duo presented collections in several international fashion weeks, namely São Paulo and New York, with the support of Portugal Fashion.

Read Also: "Creative and visionary". The farewell of Portuguese fashion to Manuel Alves (Portuguese version)