Students from Helwan University present a new approach to fashion design. Yasmine Fathy reports from their fashion show On 10 June, in the garden of the Goethe Institute in Dokki, students from the Faculty of Applied Arts at Helwan University organised a fashion show exhibiting 50 dresses exploring design beyond technique, surmounting the limitations imposed by culture and social conservatism. "It wasn't like other fashion shows I've done," model Lubna Ahmed told Al-Ahram Weekly. "I didn't feel that I was just modelling a dress. I felt like I was expressing an emotion, someone's inner feelings." Of course, this is not unique, for the world of design and style is inherently fashioned by the imagination, and driven by passion. To these 40 young women students of fashion design, management and technology, however, the programme offered them scope to explore expression beyond the bounds of socially-constructed norms. "Who am I within me, and who am I presenting to the world and other people? That is the theme of our fashion show," said Suzanne Kumper, manager of the project, explaining that the designs were inspired by the motto "Cover & Uncover, Young Fashion -- Made in Egypt." The programme, Kumper said, was all about giving the students a chance to express how they feel about their garments, or so-called covers. "By cover I mean many things. A business suit is a cover, for example. But since many of our students are veiled, their creations are an expression of how they feel about their veils," she said. "Many of the girls told me they feel protected with the veil. This would not apply to me as a German Christian woman. So they have been brainstorming, scribbling, illustrating and turning personal feelings towards their covers into a garment." The show, accompanied by the popular local band Wist Al- Balad, began with fundamentals -- the first dress was simple, and in white cotton. "This cotton is usually used to try out a pattern, but in this case the girls were focussing on the shape of the garments so we wanted it to be as simple as possible to show off the design," explained Kumper. The pace escalated a notch in the second of four "visions", with the same dresses presented, but this time in colour. The third featured dresses inspired by pieces by international fashion designers. The fourth focussed on more trend-oriented as the source. The show was far from subdued. The designers expressed themselves boldly, and with little apprehension. "I had a student who always wore a long grey veil," Kumper said. "You would never even notice her in the street." When she was given the space in which to express other elements of herself, however, Kumper pointed to the outcome: a show- stopping orange gown. "Inside that grey veil there was a whole world of rainbow colours," Kumoer says. "This is how she feels about herself, but you would never guess looking at her." One dress in particular stunned the audience -- it featured a head-coveringthat resembled a bee mask. Despite the stunned expression of the audience, to the students it was nothing bizarre. "That head cover was just a reflection of how protected we feel behind the veil," explained designer Amany Hasan. "It's a barrier between us and the evils of the outside world." Samar Hanafy, another designer, agreed: "We wanted to tell the people that a veiled woman is like a precious stone. From outside she might appear very plain, but from inside she shines." Of course, perceptions on the subject vary. On one level, the lack of choice in the market limits how far a veiled woman can truly express herself through her clothes -- a stroll through Cairo's streets will reveal just how homogenous the Egyptian female population's clothing is. The young designers spoke of reaching beyond that, "going as far as we can", as Amira Reda said, with their creative expression. But then look a little more closely in the street, and suddenly experimentation is everywhere: knee-length tunics of different shapes and fabrics are worn with brightly coloured trousers. Three-layered hijabs mix cotton and chiffon. The show provided the designers with a platform they may well not be afforded again -- after graduation they will be restricted by both financial and cultural constraints. "Students are hindered by a set of limitations at the start of their careers," Kumper said, explaining that one of the aims of the programme is to allow these young women -- and the odd man -- the chance to fully explore and express, for maybe the one and only time in their lives. "Every semester, when I explain to the students the meaning of a trend, they just stare at me," Kumper laughs, reflecting on how far the designers have come. "In the West we have a street fashion scene: fashion students have been to 1960s and 1970s parties, so they have a feel for fashion," she explains. "However, in Egypt what is fashionable is defined vaguely through old movies, and more recently through the Internet. That has to change if Egyptian designers want to make it to the international scene." Outlets such as this show, Kumper stresses, are pivotal in the development of the industry, helping to equip young designers with the ability to creatively express themselves. "Egyptian textile managers pay more to get a foreign designer or to get the design made abroad because they trust the quality," she said. "It will take some time for them to be able to trust Egyptian designers. And that is a shame because they are just as talented as Western designers. All they need is a chance." The battle, she predicts, will be long -- entailing not only acceptance by local manufacturers, but also creative self- criticism and creative investment.
