DesignKSA

STITCH

Bringing the designer’s knit together “It’s art if it can’t be explained. It’s fashion if no one asks for an explanation. It’s design if it doesn’t need explanation.” (Wouter Stokkel) A joint collaboration between Sawani, Jeddah Youth Business Committee (JYB) and DESIGN magazine culminated in the organization of the first STITCH event, on May 10th 2011 at Sawani department store in Red sea mall.

The first round of the bi-monthly rotation of STITCH participating designers will bring these young talents to the forefront of Jeddah’s creative landscape by introducing their original creations to guests. The diverse creations from Mashael Al Faris, Lama Taher, Salma Radwan, Lina Malaika, Khalid Zahid, Samah Khashoggi, Soha Taher and Rawan Baaqeel, which range from jewelry, prêt-a-porter, abayas, and T-shirts to portraits and furniture, were on display at Sawani until the mid of July following h a new round of young designers will be ushered in to exhibit their talents at the end of July.

Jewelry designer Rowan Baaqeel who has been creating hand-made intricate silver and gold-plated motifs since 2007 and insists on making single pieces for each client to maintain uniqueness and personality, displayed her latest summer 2011 collection of pearls and silver.

“This particular jewelry line suites every distinct taste and ranges from affordable pieces to highend and exquisite,” she said. Her designs are inspired by nature and from “everything else” that piques her interest.


Khalid Zahid, a man of many faces, displayed his French furniture -chairs and portraits – and his fashion line, JIN APPAREL. With a day job as national collection manager at BUDGET car rental, in his down-time he pushes his creative limits into unchartered waters consumed with aspirations of opening a concept furniture store. His print-on-canvas, portrait series titled JUNK, is a self- confession of “REBELLION AGAINST THE RULES OF ART.”

His work is an amalgamation of uniting both eastern and western elements of cultural identity.

The unfinished wooden, Loraine dell called VANDALISM is a dedication to post paper/magazineread doodling and street poster-caricature culture, complete with moustaches and facial mutilation of the most beautiful pin-up icons in the likes of Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe. “I wanted to combine art with furniture. Instead of just having plain furniture around, it could double as art pieces,” he said.


Suha Mohammed Taher, presented pieces from her clothing line T ﺳﻬﺎ Fashion, that aims at encouraging the Muslim woman to wear the Islamic Hijab by providing contemporary and elegant fashion designs to complement her modern lifestyle. “It is a brand of clothing that allows the muslim woman to express her creativity wherever she goes, whether at her office, with her friends or even on the beach. Because of my desire to make a nice Hijab style, I’ve studied fashion designing so I can give the best I can. And STITCH was a great opportunity to showcase my collection to the public”,


Lama Taher, a PhD student and a hobby-indulgent fashion designer finds inspiration in the simplicity and elegance of Audrey Hepburn. Her clothing line offers a classic yet contemporary twist, evident in her collection of T-shirts, abayas and cocktail dresses called “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” The entire line of eveningwear shared a common theme resplendent with a feel of femininity, endowed with lace and ruffles in black, brown, beige and peach. Taher’s abayas range from simple to ornate and are available in navy, beige and dark brown in addition to black.

Taher launched her ecommerce site making her clothing line, LUM, available to consumers through her facebook page in Jeddah, Riyadh and Al-khobar, with plans on expanding business further by retailing in Qatar. Her next collection will be stocked by the end of June at Sawani, having sold out in the first week of display.


Riyadh-based designer, Mashael Al Faris, graduated from Arts and Skills Institute, Riyadh, found inspiration from Victorian styled porcelain dolls for her spring-summer collection 2011. She displayed casual chic and evening dresses in black and white, beige, peach and neutral colours.

“We need events like these for young professional men and women of our generation who are new into this field. We don’t have such events in Riyadh. I especially came to present my collection in Jeddah as a designer,”

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