Manuel Cuevas

Manuel Cuevas
Cuevas (left) in January 2016.
Born	Manuel Arturo José Cuevas Martínez, Sr. (1933-04-23) April 23, 1933 (age 84) Coalcomán, Michoacán, Mexico
Residence	Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Education	University of Guadalajara
Occupation	Designer
Years active	1951–present
Spouse(s)	Maria Salinas Del Carmen (2014-)
Children	3

Manuel Arturo José Cuevas Martínez, Sr. or just Manuel (born April 23, 1933 in Coalcomán Michoacán, Mexico) is a designer best known for the garments he created for prominent rock and roll and country music acts.

Manuel Arturo José Cuevas Martínez, Sr was born on April 23, 1933, in Coalcomán de Vázquez Pallares in Mexico as the fifth of twelve children of Esperanza Martínez (1911) and José Guadalupe Cuevas (1901). He attended the University of Guadalajara and majored in psychology.

Manuel first learned how to sew in 1945 from his older brother, Adolfo, in Coalcoman, Michoacan, Mexico. "I started making prom dresses when I was 13," says Manuel. "You know that grandmothers and aunts made the prom dresses for all the kids. But I started making prom dresses that were pretty expensive, and all the girls said, 'Mommy I don't want you to make my prom dress. I want Manuel to make my prom dress!' I continued making prom dresses and in one year I made 77 dresses, then the next year I made 110, and from then on I hired people to help me sew. I made a fortune."

After his success in making prom dresses in Mexico, Manuel moved to Los Angeles in 1951 and worked for several tailors. He was soon referred to and started working for Sy Devore, tailor to The Rat Pack. Manuel was offered $55 a fitting, which would often only take 15 minutes. Soon he was tailoring suits for elite members of the Los Angeles community including Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Bob Hope, Don Rickles, and Joey Bishop.

Not long after starting to work with Sy Devore, Manuel attended the Pasadena Tournament of the Roses (commonly known as the Rose Parade). He was inspired by the elaborate and flamboyant clothing. Upon learning that the pieces were designed by Nathan Turk, Manuel visited the designer to ask him who was responsible for the embroidery on his clothing. It turned out the embroidery was created by master embroiderer Viola Grae. While still working as the fitter at Sy Devore's, Manuel bartered his sewing expertise with Grae, saying he would cut the shirts and pants for her in return for teaching him the "craft of embroidery."