Brexit: the end of the UK in the EU was the beginning of Manili. But why does Manili exist and how did it all begin? A brief story.
Elias attaches an EU flag to a flagpole
In 2021, a large EU flag was needed for a video shoot for Manili.
So, why does Manili exist and how did it all start? Read here a short history of Manili.
2016 - The Idea
When the UK voted to leave the EU in 2016, I went with many friends and acquaintances to pro-EU demonstrations in Munich (I grew up in Munich). At that time we wanted to wear EU fashion on these demos, but we couldn't find any nice designs.
So we had to do it ourselves. I agreed to create a few designs - the idea of Manili was born.
When the demonstrations died down, I didn't pursue the idea any further and it was somewhat forgotten.
2018 - First Attempot
Two years later I made a trip through Italy. In Naples, I met a girl named Mayra from Mannheim. She was very interested in founding in general. I told her about the EU fashion idea and we decided to start together.
We started a company and called it "European Laurel". About a year later we started a crowdfunding campaign to finance our first product: EU socks.
Unfortunately, the crowdfunding campaign failed. We had collected about 3,000€ of the 10,000€ needed. As a result, Mayra decided to drop out of the venture and pursue her own projects.
2020 - Second Attempt
In the meantime, I had started studying at Zeppelin University in the south of Germany. That's where I met Adrian Bär. We quickly realised that we could work well together. So he joined the company.
We renamed European Laurel to Manili and started another crowdfunding campaign. This time it was successful. We opened our own online store and sold EU denim jackets.
Unfortunately, the project came to a standstill after a while, as we worked a lot for our studies and part-time jobs.
2023 - Third Attempt
Adrian and I successfully completed our studies at Zeppelin University in the summer of 2022 and finally had time for our private projects.
Adrian has decided to work full-time for another company. He is now only active as an investor at Manili and assists me with important questions and decisions.
I decided to try my luck as an entrepreneur and make Manili big. I moved to Brussels - THE city to pursue such an idea. Here I work part-time to finance my life and work on Manili the rest of the time.
Now we're really getting started! We're happy if you follow us on Instagram or even buy one of our products.
Celebrate European Style!