Among the many international and local designers that showcased their collections at Egypt’s inaugural fashion week on May 12 at the Agricultural Museum was Daniela Ashba. The up-and-coming Egyptian-German designer takes us through her very first collection, titled كما كان which translates to “As it Was” — and weaves in elements of ancient Egypt, references to her own grandma, and the North African country’s whimsical white desert.
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“My idea behind the collection was, how can I combine things from the past to create the future of garments in Egypt, which is initially why I named my collection كما كان; to imagine the future of Egypt, you really don’t have to look so far,” Ashba told Mille.
Some of the stand out pieces of her collection were the cleverly-constructed jackets and outerwear, which were as intrinsically loud and powerful as the figure that inspired them— Egypt’s first female Pharaoh, Hatshepsut. “She was the brain behind what we now know as imports and exports, and created the first army, so basically she was amazing,” mused the designer.
Her second reference point for the collection was a personal nod to both her grandma and Egyptian fashion in the 70’s. “My grandma used to always tell me stories about her wearing mini skirts, and she showed me some pictures that felt really modern and fresh to me. That’s initially where the name of the collection came from. You don’t have to imagine a new world for Egypt sometimes, it just takes a look back in the past,” says Ashba.
The womenswear designer also drew inspiration from looking at Egypt’s alien landscape. “As I child I was always fascinated by the pattern the wind created in the sands of the White Desert, which was where I got the idea to use the plisse fabric to create manipulations in the fabric,” she explained of her creative process.
To sum up the collection, Asbha gave us three words: “feminine, loud, and effortlessly cool.”
