Grace Wales Bonner and her vision of Africa

Grace Wales Bonner is an emerging menswear designer who recently graduated from Central Saint Martins in London, United Kingdom.

What makes her stand out from the millions of artists that are nowadays working in the fashion industry is the fact that she takes inspiration from meaningful concepts and themes when creating those beautifully crafted pieces.

Her Spring Summer 2015 graduate collection is named Afrique and it is inspired by Nigerian culture, celebrating black self-representation, and “working inside established frames of reference to create something new”.
It deals with real people who are proud of their heritage, who are not ashamed to show themselves, who fight to preserve their own individuality.
Her capacity and skills were rewarded soon after its launch, indeed she won the 2014 L’Oreal Professional Designer of the Year prize.

Her talent in design alongside with her determination to work hard and succeed were additionally confirmed in January, when she presented her Fall Winter 2015 collection – entitled Ebonics – at Fashion East, which is known for announcing next British prodigies.
Her reputation was furthermore increased after the presentation of her creations at the Victoria and Albert museum on April 2015 as part of the “Fashion in Motion” series.

 

 

The initial stimulus comes again from black visual culture and African crafts: being born by an English mother and a Jamaican father, she in fact loves exploring her origins and crossing cultural hybridity. As she announced in one of the interviews, the V&A felt like the perfect space to present her works.
More precisely, she was this time influenced by African luxury fashion and its couture techniques. Her works are characterized by a meticulous attention to details and the presence of numerous embellishements comprising Swarovski crystals and intricate pieces of jewellery.

As a result she presents very high quality garments with beautiful handcrafted embroideries while the style ends up being super ethnical and without any exact inclination of gender – which makes the collection more wearable for a wider public.

Elie Saab and the Lebanese Republic

Elie Saab is a Lebanese fashion designer and, as many others do, he loves taking inspiration from his fatherland.
For his Spring 2007 couture show he based his collection on “the colors of dawn over Beirut” and his compatriots’ ability “to make beautiful things in the face of adversity.”

Lebanon, officially known as the Lebanese Republic, is the smallest recognized country on the entire mainland Asian continent. Because of its location between the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland, it is characterized by a diverse population – composed of different ethnicities and religions.

Being taken as an inspiration for the Spring 2007 collection is not a chance: indeed the country had recently come out from the Lebanon War, a 34-day military conflict (started in July 2006) between Hezbollah Paramilitary Forces and the Israel Defense Forces. The fight ended in September: presenting the relative fashion show in January was a way for Mr Saab to refuse any setback.

Elie Saab collection

Elie Saab collection

Elie Saab collection

 

The show was mainly composed by evening dresses having different lenghts and shapes, but all very feminine and sensual. Big volumes, soft shapes and embellishments characterized this collection.
The most relevant colours were white, black, lilac, turquoise, gold and silver but all in very light shades. The materials used were semi-transparent and fluffy alongside shiny and embroidered ones. Crystals, bows and rouches are used to finish the look.

As declared on Vogue runway, the designer was still learning: indeed this was one of his first collections, however it was very appreciated by the public.

Nowadays the brand is well known worlwide and its garments are frequently worn by celebrities.
His main workshop is in Lebanon, with additional workshops in Italy (Milan and Paris). The first atelier, which was founded in the early 1980s, specialized in Bridal Couture that is still very successful.