NASHVILLE, TN.-He is one of the last practitioners of a distinctly American tradition of costume design. He is the designer who dressed Johnny Cash in black. An artist with needle, thread and rhinestone, he has been sought by musicians ranging from Bob Dylan to the Grateful Dead, from Keith Richards to the Byrds.

He is known by a single name, Manuel, and a comprehensive selection of his textile-art creations will be displayed for the first time in a magnificent exhibition titled Manuel: Star-Spangled Couture at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts from December 17, 2004 through March 13, 2005.

Manuel: Star-Spangled Couture invites visitors to explore the complex methods Manuel uses to create his dazzling garments. The exhibition begins with a number of dazzling performance costumes worn by some of America’s greatest musical talents, including Johnny Cash, Marty Stuart, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Mike Mills of R.E.M. and Joe Perry of Aerosmith. Located by exhibition co-curator Katie Delmez Welborn, the performance ensembles range in date from around 1960 — when Manuel began working at Nudie Cohn’s legendary North Hollywood shop — to 2001, 12 years after he moved his own business to Nashville.

The exhibition continues with a stunning collection of 50 red, white or blue jackets, one for each of the nation’s states. The series was created over a period of ten years as an expression of gratitude to the United States, the country where Manuel has lived and worked since the mid 1950s. Seen together, the performance garments and the state jacket series, along with a video that provides a peek into Manuel’s atelier, or workroom, illustrate the breadth of this master clothier’s talent and skill.

In keeping with the “melting pot” notion of the United States and building upon the innovations set forth by his predecessors in Western wear design, Manuel draws his vocabulary from Native American, Hispanic and Anglo cultures. In addition to his inspired designs and excellent tailoring, he is particularly celebrated for his trademark use of energetic piping, embroidered arrowheads and fine topstitching.

The exhibition is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue with essays by fashion curator and historian Patricia Mears, Western wear specialist Holly George-Warren and a foreword by performer and collector Marty Stuart. Contributing sponsor is SunTrust. Media sponsor is Music Row Magazine.

The general trajectory of Manuel’s accomplishments follows the classic tale of the young man who leaves his home, immigrates to America, and finds fame and fortune. Born Manuel Arturo José Cuevas Martinez on April 23, 1938 in the tiny village of Coalcomán in Michoacán, he was the fifth of eleven children born to grain and cattle merchant José Guadalupe Cuevas and his wife and assistant, Esperanza. Manuel learned how to sew from his brother and to hand-embroider from his mother, and by the time he was eight, he was creating his own flamboyant clothes. He later learned leather-working, silver-smithing and both hat- and boot-making, mastering a wide scope of the clothier’s art before leaving his native Mexico for Los Angeles in the mid 1950s.

While in Los Angeles, Manuel honed his skills working with “Hollywood Tailor to the Stars” Sy Devore, Rose Bowl costumer and master embroiderer Viola Grae and, for fourteen years, cowboy couturier extraordinaire Nudie Cohn. While at Nudie’s shop, Manuel quickly became head designer and primary creator of many clients’ lavishly embellished commissions. He opened his own business in North Hollywood in the mid-1970s.

By the late 1980s, Manuel left southern California for Nashville, Tennessee, the home of the country music industry where many of his important clients lived and worked. Manuel continues to craft high-quality, one-of-a-kind couture garments at his shop on Broadway in Nashville.