Top Manta
“Legal clothing made by illegal people”
Barcelona’s Popular Union of Street Vendors
“It’s not about just doing it, it’s about doing it right.”
Barcelona’s street sellers wove together the city’s first union of its kind, the Popular Union of Street Vendors (Sindicato Popular de Vendedores Ambulantes in Spanish) and launched their own fashion brand, Top Manta. The label clearly stands against big brand culture by “benefiting hundreds of people, not just one” and denounces the “racism, persecution, and punishment” that vendors suffer every day.
The cooperative’s name rebrands the large blankets (manta in Spanish) street sellers use to carry and showcase their products. Their logo resembles both the manta and the boats that many board to cross the Mediterranean. Top Manta helped 120 vendors leave the street and created 25+ jobs. Their new line of trainers is out now.