ABDEL EL TAYEB
The womenswear designer uses conscious design to redefine the meaning of home within the context of globalization and to create a dialogue between Sudanese and European fashion.
The Sudanese-born, French-raised designer studied textile at Oliviers de Serres school in Paris, and later joined La Cambre Mode in Brussels. During those eight years of studies, Abdel El Tayeb developed skills in knitting, weaving and Shibori, a Japanese dying technique. Using fashion as a medium to connect textile, bodies, and ideas together, Abdel El Tayeb addresses societal problems, while creating a festive representation of Afro-descendants in Europe.
With his collection titled “My Nation Bears Your Name”, Abdel El Tayeb imagines a nation of his own, exploring his dual heritage and paying homage to his father. The collection captures moments of patriotism in the “El Tayeb Nation” by visualizing a national holiday set like a ceremony of the Olympics.
The uniqueness of this collection comes from the combination of ancestral Arabic-African craftsmanship with codes of European know-how. Sculpted silhouettes in the likes of Alaïa’s and Thierry Mugler’s meet Sudanese basketry learned from the designer’s grandmother to create his “archetypal body”.
The heavy sculptural elements in this collection were inspired by Alberto Giacometti’s “Spoon Woman” which represents the notion of fertility and how a mother country transmits culture to a child.
With a 2020 254 Forest Prize win and a Fashion Trust Arabia 2021 Debut Talent Award nomination, Abdel El Tayeb is making a statement in the fashion industry and bridging the gap between modern tailoring and Sudanese craftsmanship.
Image credits
Art direction : Pierre Daras
Photography : Gretar Gunnlaugsson for 254Forest
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