Street vendors set for success - 5th July 2021

After years of selling cheap copies of designer shoes and handbags, Barcelona's street vendors have founded a cooperative and released a line of trainers under the brand name Top Manta.

Originating from the Senegalese Wolof language spoken by many of the vendors, the word 'manta', translated as 'blanket', is a nod to the cloth used by sellers to carry and lay out their merchandise. The effort is a far cry from an earlier attempt to establish a brand in 2017 by stamping a logo on shoes imported from China. By contrast, the cooperative's trainers are custom-designed and manufactured in the Iberian cities of Alicante and Porto.

"We have always been criticised and persecuted for selling copies, but now we have our own brand," Lamine Sarr, a Top Manta spokesman commented, reflecting on the history of retailing designer knock-offs along Barcelona's bustling streets.

The cooperative's launch presented their first trainer line, 'Ande Dem', a Wolof term meaning "walking together". Its logo fittingly features a stylised blanket, curved into the shape of a wave. This pays homage to the treacherous passage these people undertook to reach Spain aboard overloaded inflatable dinghies.

The design of the trainers incorporates colours reminiscent of Africa. Their robust construction makes them sturdy enough to be worn on building sites or other rugged terrain rather than merely for sports pursuits.

When challenged to justify consumers choosing Top Manta trainers over big label products, Sarr spoke directly to consumers' wider social conscience: "Instead of supporting a multinational that exploits desperate people in the developing world, you are helping a community that is discriminated against in every way. You are helping people to become legal and work for a decent wage."

Top Mantra has produced 400 pairs so far, retailing at €115. Available both from the cooperative's Barcelona shop and online, the profits will fund brand building and directly support the city's "manteros" community.