Meaning ‘heart’ in Arabic, the word ‘galbi’ stands at the core of Paris-based label ‘Atlal from Galbi’. Founded in 2018 by designer Lilia Yasmin, it’s an ode to the home of the Arabic language, sprawling from North Africa to the Middle East.
“I felt that North Africa and the Arab world were absent from fashion, so my experience in the fashion industry and my love of culture led me to create Atlal from Galbi, a label designed from the roots,” Yasmin explains.
Atlal, who was born in Paris to Algerian parents, began her fashion journey studying in both Italy and the United States, before embarking on a career working with Louis Vuitton alongside Virgil Abloh and at Balenciaga within their buying and strategy departments.
But while the Arab world as a whole is central to her label, it’s her native country Algeria that’s in the spotlight with her latest collection. Entitled ‘Utopia 62’, the collection takes its inspiration from 1960s and 70s Algeria, when the nation was on its quest to freedom from colonial powers.
“This utopia that I tell through this collection is a world without conflict, where countries and people would have been free to choose their own freedom, a world I would have loved to live,” says Yasmin.
The collection includes pieces featuring spoonflower and cashmere print in silk that the designer dubbed ‘the utopia print.” The flower print, according to Yasmin is a metaphor for diversity.
Photos courtesy of Atlal From Galbi
