Flair Magazine Out of ten of the top-grade African designers, the international award-winning sustainable lifestyle Egyptian brand Reform was handpicked by IKEA, along with four others, to design and launch their latest African-inspired collection, öVERALLT. To learn more about the contemporary African design scene, IKEA had joined forces with Design Indaba to pioneer the unique collaboration, where a selection of designers from five African countries within the fields of fashion, textile, architecture and furniture design, each teamed up with an in-house IKEA designer to create the new collection.
A limited edition IKEA collection, öVERALLT is all about building bridges instead of walls to ultimately create room for better relations. Featuring a variety of products ranging from furniture, tableware and textiles to fashionable sustainable tote bags, the African collection stems from the cultural concept of reusing in Africa. In Egypt, for example, it comes naturally for most people to reuse products in different forms, whether it’s reusing jars or boxes for an entire lifetime or constantly feeling the need to revive a piece of furniture.
Reform created four unique pieces out of the collection; a fashion tote that comes in two sizes, a rug and a cushion. The öVERALLT tote which is ideal for the beach or a city stroll, is a tote on a sustainable mission, making a statement that you can be fashionable and ecofriendly at the same time.
Believe it or not, the shimmery woven strips of thread-like material are actually made from waste material of crispy packaging production found in chocolate bars or chips’ bags. Although considered one of the toughest and most stubborn materials to recycle, Reform defeated all odds and found a way to reuse the material to design the totes and the cushion. The packaging waste comes in the form of long threads, which are then weaved on handlooms to create intricate designs.
In making the rug, Reform used the same packaging waste and included hemp material, a textile that gives you that tough and bristly texture. As for the gorgeous cushions, they’re designed in aquatic colors perfect for outdoor summer furniture, especially if paired with the authentic flat woven rug.
Aiming to break the common stereotypes and limited perspective people have about Africa and African creativity, the collection tells the stories of African pioneering designers and how their different cultural traditions and craftsmanship techniques are reflected in their creations.
Hend and Mariam, the fierce female duo behind Reform Studio, are the minds constantly working to fabricate new eco-materials to be implemented in different applications. “We believe that design can solve stubborn problems. Reform is an umbrella of many ‘Re’s’- a recreation of an existing idea, a redevelopment of objects, a reusing of materials, a reviving of cultures and reforming of our world,” they said.
The brand launched after the 2011 revolution in Egypt when the cofounders were excited to be part of the change around them and eager to make a stand and make a difference. With the motivation to solve some of Egypt’s major problems, they invented Plastex, a brand new material made from reused plastic bags. The idea is to prolong the life cycle of plastic bags before they are labeled ‘trash’. Promoting ethical design, all their products are handmade and ecofriendly made out of upcycled plastic bags and high-end materials.
