Blogs The Team
Made in England
Tala Tayara October 27th 2008
I watched a fabulous programme on the BBC a few days ago called BRITISH STYLE GENIUS; taking you through the iconic moments of fashion change in England and what and who brought about the way we view and wear fashion in this country. The fashion rebels of Vivienne Westwood with her punk rock, pirate collections, John Galliano who changed the face (and profits) of Dior and Mr. Alexander Mcqueen, the black sheep of the fashion industry and the guy who went from elegant Givenchy to his own infamous eponymous label; he who dares, wins was the mantra of this show. It delved into the analytics of fashion versus style versus art imitating life aswell as the ins and outs of the fashion world as industry touching upon investment in its talent.
So, it got me thinking. Who are our MSG's (no, not what they put in Chinese Food) but our very own homegrown, Middle East Style Geniuses? And im not talking the generic Lebanese couturiers we all know and love, but the pioneering, street fashion gurus and cutters that have paved the way for the Midde Easterners to cultivate and lead their own fashion pack on the streets, or should i say desert plains of arabia?
To be honest i cant think of any. Is that bad? But then i think some more. Is it different for us because of our culture, geography, religion? Is our pioneering, cutting edge iconic fashion item the abaya?? Or, is it the designer who came along after the abaya and offered a complete, radical over-haul of the traditional garment? Do we actually have street fashion in the desert or is it all about protection from the heat and dust so style goes out the window??
No doubt that the abaya is becoming its own fashion statement especially with the creation of fabulous labels like Conservative Couture: now thats a statement and complete genius too.
So i ask myself, do we have a Vivienne Westwood, John Galliano or Alexander McQueen in our repertoire or is our time now? are we IN our pioneering stage as we type? I think so. It might sound strange but we as a fashion nation are too young to have cultivated our own street fashion and translated that onto shop floors. I think only now are our desigenrs beginning to use their genius and apply culture, religion, weather and geography into our fashion labels to create something truly unique and applicable to the eastern end of the globe. Not only that, Middle East designers are beginning to turn their hand to eastern cuts with western sympathies for todays collections - look at Rami Kashou, Tahir Sultan, Lamia Asudari and Ziad Ghanem: young, cutting edge designers making a name for themselves in an avant garde western world while using their eastern upbringings and ingenuity. Keep an eye on them - our time has come methinks..
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How about Made in Paris?
There are actually several Middle Eastern-born designers who are in the thick of the Paris fashion scene. But the average person on the street isn’t going to necessarily know of them or make those connections.
At the top of that list (or any other for that matter) is the Tunisian born designer Azzedine Alaïa. He dropped out of the regular round of seasonal shows over a decade ago, yet he still manages to influence fashion and exerts a cult like following amongst editors and his faithful clients alike. They make the trek down to his atelier/showroom in the Marais to see first hand his body conscious clothes.
When you visit him you get a sense of what fashion really means. He’s less a designer than a master technician and couturier; who insists on cutting and sewing each one of his samples by hand. Furthermore he will spend years perfecting a printing technique or conceiving new ways to create knits that mold on the body like a second skin. Even his shoes have attracted a cult like following amongst fashion’s insiders.
When YSL closed down his couture atelier most of his talented petite mains went to work for Alaïa, where the designer said he had to “un-teach” them everything they had learnt at Saint Laurent.
But there are other notables of Arab heritage in Paris as well, such as Leila Mencharie, the Tunisian creative director at Hermès who for over 30 years has been responsible for creating the fantastical window displays at the house’s Faubourg Saint-Honoré store, as well as designing several of its iconic scarves.
Then there is the great French/Algerian Farida Khelfa, whom Lou Lou de la Falaise called the “chicest woman in Paris.” In her 20’s she was a famous fashion model and muse to designers like Alaïa and Jean Paul Gaultier. She was also a muse to the famous art director Jean-Paul Goude who created all those ground breaking Chanel No.5 ad campaigns. Later she went on to become the directrice of Gaultier’s haute couture salon and was one of a handful of witnesses at the Élysée Palace to Nicolas Sarkozy’s wedding to Carla Bruni.
”Changing perceptions…
Then there is the Lebanese transplant to London Ziad Ghanem who has a huge following in Japan. He designed a limited-edition collection for Celux, the LVMH-owned shop and members-only club at the top of the glittering Louis Vuitton Omotesando building in Tokyo, where membership costs a mere $1850 plus hefty annual dues. It includes, however, priceless access to Ghanem's's one-off punk-inspired collection—among the racks of Louis Vuitton, Dior, Givenchy, Kenzo, Pucci—unavailable in the other dozen or so Japanese shops where his regular women's and men's line is stocked.
Ghanem even comes with a hefty fashion pedigree. His mother (and muse) was a model in Lebanon during its heyday in the 60s and 70s, who apparently never stopped wearing couture, even while pregnant, and who still maintains an unequaled vintage couture collection. His clothes can be found at the exclusive cult Paris store Surface to Air.
The challenge for any Middle Eastern designer in the Arab world is changing people’s perceptions of what a designer is. For years being a designer was frowned upon as a less than acceptable career choice (with doctor’s, lawyers, and the more broad reaching title of “businessman” being at the top of the desirable list). One would argue that to create strong designers, one also needs a culture that promotes them and creates an environment where design is seen less as an end product and more as a process. Until we reach that stage the best talent will feel compelled to leave for the West were they may get better recognition for their work.
”Ziad Ghanem is a...