TODAY IN 532 1788 1817 1871 HISTORY Nika uprising against Emperor First elements of the First Fleet José de San Martín leads a rev- Second German Empire pro - Justinian in Constantinople fails, carrying 736 convicts from Eng- olutionary army over the claimed by Kaiser Wilhelm I and 30,000 killed by troops loyal to the land to Australia arrives at Botany Andes to attack Spanish Otto von Bismarck Emperor in the Hippodrome Bay to set up a penal colony royalists in Chile

among some of the most influen- rejected in early 2012. tial young cultural players in the It wasn’t until she moved to , the wider Muslim a couple of years ago Nour Hage’s Zero One col- world, and beyond. that she decided to switch to lection takes clothes tra- In September, for example, When I was designing menswear. Emmy-winning British actor the collection, I was “I wanted to rebrand com - ditionally associated with and rapper Riz Ahmed was on thinking about who pletely,” she says. “I felt the need the Middle East — abayas, the cover of GQ in the UK. On my target audience to bring out Arab culture and thobes, et cetera — and the inside pages he was pictured is. The brand is about the traditional clothing that I wearing two items from Hage’s think is beautiful, but was over- gives them a distinct and collection; an abaya and Satra expressing pride in looked in the last few decades. (a jacket inspired by traditional Arab culture and There’s something really proud contemporary feel Levantine wrapped coats). putting Arab identity about the way Arab men dress, Other prominent artists to at the forefront of especially in the Gulf and North wear Hage’s designs include Ira- the global market. Africa. I started researching and qi-Canadian rapper Narcy and It’s about bringing it sparked something inside me. Kuwaiti multimedia artist Zahed unique high-quality I think it’s the best decision I’ve Sultan, while Firas Abou Fakher ever made for the brand.” — guitarist and keyboardist with Arab design to the It wasn’t an easy choice, the seminal Lebanese indie band world. I want people though. “Menswear is much Mashrou’ Leila — has performed who aren’t Arabs more challenging,” Hage says. in a striking blue abaya from to experience Arab A model wearing a dress designed by Nour Hage “Men tend to buy for comfort Zero One. design fit as well. only just started out in mens- more than aesthetics, whereas that challenge, the primary in- These ‘brand ambassadors’ “So I’d basically narrowed it wear. Hage launched her own women tend to buy something fluence on Zero One has been (not in the ‘paid-social-influ- down to a group of people and womenswear brand in 2013, out because it looks nice rather than Hage’s research. “When you NOUR HAGE encer’ sense, importantly) have it turns out that not only did of , having returned to because it’s comfortable. But I look at how men in the (MENA) been of great value to Hage. Not (that association) make sense in her homeland when her French like that challenge of designing region used to dress, their taste just because they’ve helped raise my head, it made sense in their work permit (she was working something new and avant-garde in clothes was very soft. They the profile of her work, but be- heads.” She laughs. “So it all for Paris-based German designer and innovative, but in the frame also wore a lot of colors. So it’s cause they’ve proved that the who my target audience is,” she worked out.” Damir Doma, who at the time, of it being comfortable and prac- not like I’m doing something people who she wanted to wear says. “The brand is about ex- It’s an impressive roster of she says, was “kind of the dar- tical.” insanely new. It all comes from her clothes also want to wear pressing pride in Arab culture supporters for someone who’s ling of the fashion scene”) was Alongside the desire to meet research.”Take what Hage de- them. and putting Arab identity at scribes as the “key element” of “When I was designing the the forefront of the global mar- her collection: the abaya. “Dec- collection, I was thinking about ket. It’s about bringing unique ades ago, farmers, merchants high-quality Arab design to the and landowners would all wear world. I want people who aren’t it. But depending on your social Arabs to experience Arab design. class you wore it in different “So I looked at who represents types of fabrics and colors. So Arab culture in the best way pos- farmers and shepherds would sible — looking at, like, the ‘new wear it, but they’d also use it as a type’ of Arab men. For me, Narcy bag to carry food for animals, or is one of them, Zahed Sultan is as shelter when it rained. It was one of them, Mashrou’ Leila… an overgarment that was also a They’ve had such an impact on practical thing. When you first the new generation all over the look at it, you might think you Arab world, and on me person- wouldn’t wear it every day. But ally and on my work,” she con- it’s actually really easy to wear. tinues. “And Riz Ahmed, he’s an You just throw it on.” activist about representation in Her research also influenced the media — having non-white smaller details too. Her shirts people represented in big mov- don’t have folded collars “be- A model wearing a dress designed by ies and TV shows, but not being cause Arab men didn’t tend to Nour Hage stereotyped. So he was a perfect A look from Nour Hage’s lookbook wear ties.” They don’t have

SPREADING HAPPINESS Saudi artist leaves portraits as gifts for strangers at cafe Some of Fatima’s portrait drawings are characterized by sloping rectangle faces, wistful eyes, long necks and coloured hair with a thank you note,” she said. Some of Fatima’s portrait drawings are characterized by sloping rectangle faces, wistful eyes, long necks and coloured hair. “This is a style of drawing I first adopted five years ago. The human face is the part of one’s body that expresses personality and feelings the most. Complementing it tends to be cou- pled with unrealistic facial expressions. This way, we see them in a different light and are able to express feelings,” she said.

I get a great feeling every time I do something like this and leave a part of myself behind. I also want to convey a message not to stick to the things that we love. When you get used to not owning it, leaving the worked on with hours of energy to make others happy makes you feel good FATIMA AL-DAOUD Painting left behind as a gift by Fatima al-Daoud at a cafe

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