Fashion Bazaar Showcases Egyptian Talent

Hundreds of fashion enthusiasts took over City Centre Alexandria from November 18^th – 21^st to attend the Fall/Winter Fashion Bazaar, hosted by Majid Al Futtaim, the leading shopping mall in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Highlighting the unique new work of emerging Egyptian fashion talent, the bazaar showcased over twenty fashion icons and their newest collections.

The Fashion Bazaar was hosted in collaboration with star fashion designers, including Sarah Onsi, Maison Saédi, Vivian Moawad, Yosra El Barkouky, Shahira Lasheen, Malak El Ezzawy, Nada Akram, Meema, Mazoura, Georges Sara & Co, Alicia Arts and Nahla El Alfy, who discussed their style insights and inspiration with guests, giving attendees an exclusive preview of up and coming global fashion trends. Here are some of the designers we talked to…

After pursuing his lifelong passion to work in fashion, Ahmed Saèdi started his first brand Plush and eventually developed it into the popular Maison Saèdi that we know now. Not only that, but he is also a fashion director at other brand entities. “Here, I’m showcasing a haute couture selection from my FW collection coming out this month and my latest SS collection. My style usually leans toward embroidery and the concept of making designs that haven’t been seen before. I want my clients to feel different while wearing my dresses,” Saèdi told us.

Starting her journey as a designer by studying at Marangoni, London, Vivian Moawad worked on becoming better until her first collection made it to Cairo Fashion Festival four years ago. After that, she opened a store in Alexandria first and then Cairo. “My identity as a designer hasn’t changed since day one. That was my purpose because I wanted people to notice my style, whether in terms of the cut, the structure, the symmetry or the feminine, edgy vibe,” Vivian said.

Finally, we talked to the Halawany sisters, who had interestingly enough started out individually and then decided to merge into one business. Describing their style as mainly casual, they told us that their newest collection is all about sweatshirts and sweatshirt dresses in bright colours like greens and fuchsias. “It’s time to shift towards “Made in Egypt” now more than ever. We can’t afford to do fashion the same way we used to before. We have really good factories and materials in Egypt. It’s time to let Egyptian designers prove themselves and I don’t think we’ll have a problem competing with imported goods,” Maha El Halawany said.

“Egyptian fashion designers have taken the local industry to an international level in recent years, and I am really impressed with the quality, the creativity and the inspiring new collections that were exhibited here,” said stylist and fashion industry expert Ghadir Al Agabany.

At the end of the day, this year’s Fall/Winter Fashion Bazaar proved to be the perfect opportunity for designers to showcase their work in a prime retail destination.

By Sarah Guirguis