Friday, august 19, 2011

Friday, august 19, 2011

26

27

Its art!
velvet. The next costume to take the audience by surprise was a gorgeous silk gown with bold black polka dots on pastel lemon silk. Sihams virtuosity Sihams inventive mix of Moroccan and European design motifs results in startlingly beautiful creations, haute couture hybrids that seem more exotic than the East and more sophisticated than the West. She has taken the fundamentals of the khaftan; and, in virtuosic variations on a theme, turned this age-old costume into an endless kaleidoscope of brilliant new classics. The haut couture collection featured strong colours Mediterranean orange, marine blues, indigo, lime green, purple, black and gold with sudden shifts to soft pastels delicate pink, light almond beige, creamy white. Sihams modernization of the khaftan included opening the ensemble to show the stunning platform stilettos that are in vogue at the moment. After the first model navigated with ease, no-one in the audience again held her breath as the models walked down steep stairs in skyscraper shoes and long skirts. Gauze overskirts or cloaks were a recurrent theme, sometimes accentuated with glitter or embroidery. Sleeves could be classic and flared, or fitted, flounced and even cuffed. The iconic Moroccan cumber band or belt (hzam) appeared empire-style, or at the waist, and sometimes as a complete form-fitting bodice in the fashion of the formal costume of Europes mediaeval royalty. Jeweled lace, silver and gold Perhaps the most beautiful piece was a fairytale gown of jeweled lace in the lightest virgin pink, the colour glimpsed deep inside rose petals. The underskirt was pleated in silk, the light cloak made of shimmering gauze with subtle patterns in sequins marbled like the surface of a lake in the breeze. The signature gown appeared in the second collection, a more casual presentation of long robes, perhaps for late afternoon or an informal evening. This gown, a favourite of Siham and with the audience, features a short-sleeved khaftan in cobalt blue, open from the bodice and encrusted with a floral design in embroidery, sequins and jewels. The under-dress is rendered in fresh lime green silk, bordered, as is the khaftan, in light lemon-yellow sfifa made with interwoven threads of gold and silver. The beauty of this ensemble lies not just in the artistically placed hand-embroidered adornment, but in the elegant simplicity of the lines and the juxtaposition of primary colours blue with red; green with yellow. The artist and her influences The next afternoon I found Siham and her collection in the upstairs gallery rooms at Bait Muzna which she had transformed into a temporary boutique. Many of the gowns had already been sold, including some of my favourites, but no matter - Siham will custom design something similar, but different. Something perhaps more suited to me or any other lady who came late and would otherwise be disappointed - as of course each piece in the collection is one of a kind. It gives Siham great satisfaction to help women discover themselves through clothes and no doubt this will be an exciting Eid for the ladies who found dresses just right for them. Siham said one of the things she loves about life in Morocco is the astonishing transformation of unassuming women when they dress up for special occasions. These women, who normally wear practical, modest clothes and can barely be distinguished from one another as they go to the market or tend to their children, proudly emerge out of their mundane chrysalises, sparkling with fresh new glamour. The green of emeralds The bright, pure colours in Sihams collections came to her as a revelation when she was meditating on the Moroccan palette. These colours were derived from jewels! I realised I had been seeing the green of emeralds, sapphire blues, ruby red, the purple and violet of amethysts, topaz yellow, and the glittering white of diamonds! And when I thought of how jewels are set in gold and silver, I understood the origin of Moroccan cording and sfifa trim. Jewels have long provided the colours of royal pageantry, of world civilizations. Her sources of inspiration are manifold in everything all around her the beauty of the women she encounters in the Netherlands, France, Italy, North Africa; the ever-changing colours of nature; historical costume; art and daydreams. Siham mentions how a glimpse of flowers in fields against a deep blue sky led to an ensemble sprayed with cornelian flowers in turquoise formations that seemed like underwater currents in a cerulean sea. This was one of the gowns that hushed the audience at Bait Muzna - and will soon be seen somewhere in Muscat at Eid. A boutique, not a bank Siham was educated as an economist and on track for a career in Business when she chose to take an internship in a high fashion boutique rather than at a bank which she thought would have been too boring. She came into her element in the enchanting world of the boutique and established a second one with the owner. It was not long before Siham had her own atelier. The emotional impetus for Sihams career came from wanting to do her wedding in her own way, instead of according to the dictates of the zianas or ladies who arrange Moroccan weddings, including make-up, gowns, flowers and staging. Sihams self-styled wedding was a huge success, as well as a great boost to her personal confidence and her growing sense of individuality and independence. Siham mentioned Coco Chanel as her only influence from the world of fashion. She admires the sheer elegance of Chanels fashions, the timelessness of her designs. Of course, every young woman who dreams of designing clothes must learn the technical skills, normally in the trade or at college. But Siham had a mentor close to home. To this day, Sihams Grandmother creates the clothes that Siham wears and is the person who taught her the essentials of materials, cutting, and stitching. More than that, Siham learned from her Grandmother that creating clothes is about love - not just love of the art, but of those who are to be dressed. My Grandmother never disappoints me because the clothes that she makes for me express her love. When I asked Siham what message she would like to give to our readers, she remarked on how clothes can bring out our true character and make us feel more satisfied with life and with ourselves. I would love it if women in general would put more of themselves into what they wear.

hen Siham Tib, the DutchMoroccan fashion designer, appeared on the balcony at Bait Muzna for the curtain call at the end of the show, she said: It has been an honour and a challenge to put on a fashion show in a space full of art I hope you like my art as well! Wearing jeans, stilettos, and a gauzy hot pink top rimmed with rhinestones, the young designer was radiant with energy and enthusiasm. She seemed every bit as beautiful as her creations. The show begins Seated on the ground level courtyard at Bait Muzna with no catwalk in sight, we were wondering where backstage might be and where the models would walk. No-one guessed that they would come from above. As the music began, a figure appeared like an apparition at the top of the stairs above the terrace balcony. Holding aloft the overskirts of her khaftan as if they might be wings and as if she had come from somewhere celestial, the model glided down a few steps to the balcony which became the first catwalk. Then, making a grand entrance as if in a 1940s movie, she walked down the long staircase to the courtyard, and it became the second catwalk. Sumptuous in fine silk with black and white stripes, a red glitter underskirt and a sequined belt with tassels, the model seemed a vision out of a nineteenth Orientalist painting, in the spirit of Delacroix, or Ingres. We were to see more eye-catching stripes dramatic, aristocratic and topped by an embroidered bolero jacket in dark

Friday, august 19, 2011

Friday, august 19, 2011

28

29

The arT of sTyle

D
utch-Moroccan fashion designer Siham Tibs inventive mix of Moroccan and European design motifs results in startlingly beautiful creations, haute couture hybrids that seem more exotic than the East and more sophisticated than the West. She has taken the fundamentals of the khaftan; and, in virtuosic variations on a theme, turned this age-old costume into an endless kaleidoscope of brilliant new classics. Photos by O.K. Mohammed Ali