Fashion lovers, be inspired!
You do not need to wear hijab, long dresses with long sleeves or sit on a camel with the pyramids in the background to be a fashion designer in Egypt – far from it!
With this talented and creative new collection from Ferf, you could definitely find something for New Year’s Eve or for your daily fashion revelation. Inspired by the ‘circus’ style, Fareeda Abolnour just launched her latest collection FW19 It’s a Circus for her own fashion brand Ferf. The style is dark and mysterious and gives you a taste of nostalgia and enigma.
The collection includes modern, strong pieces in dark, mysterious materials, mixing styles from different centuries.
| The Spectator Blazer
Power shoulders, the 80s trend is back. When wearing a piece like this it all comes down to the waist. Belting the waist on this blazer, the fit itself, balance the volume, so the overall look is streamlined and feminine, which is striking. Allow yourself to float around the hallway in this metallic, puffing shoulder blazer as a goddess owning it for a night. You’ll capture the attention of anyone who will pass your way. |
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Fareeda has had a unique eye for design and a curious mind ever since she was a child. She graduated from Istituto Marangoni Paris in 2015, a fashion university in France.
She went back to her hometown Maadi, Cairo in Egypt where she launched Ferf in 2017. Since then she has created remarkable looks that deconstruct conventional silhouettes and shapes.
Her SS19 collection took inspiration from mermaids with mysterious elegance and intriguing character in every piece. The simplicity and distinctiveness make it easier to put the pieces together with contrasting clothes and style them to someone’s own personal tastes.
Her latest collection launched in November 2019. FW19 is inspired by the circus. “I think my style is innate. I do have an eclectic style, as my ideas and themes come very randomly. Sometimes it’s super easy and something just inspires me and other times it takes me days of thinking and a lot of research to know what my upcoming collection will be inspired by.”
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The Performer
The cut-out shoulders shirt and the waist belt brings a new definition to the figure and when it comes to after-dark accessorising, a waist belt could be your ultimate plus-one. The black leggings are a shortcut to everyday elegance and perfectly highlights a contemporary cool-girl look. Imagine yourself in this sexy, performer outside as if you just pulled a rabbit out of the hat. What else would you perform that evening? Life is full of mystery, allow your appearance and personality to be as well. |
Fareeda’s collection SS Sirens, the mermaid collection, is more an exotic choice and wouldn’t disappoint at an evening party. The collection is influenced by art, nature, fairytales and each and single look exudes real-world elegance with an elevated twist.
“It was not entering the fashion world that was the hardest thing, it was starting a business! It’s very hard and you don’t know what to expect, how to enter and be perceived as planned. It’s a trial and error and an ongoing learning experience.” she explained.
Fareeda explains that she has always been interested in fashion since she was a little girl: “I don’t feel like it has been challenging to start my business because of my gender, in fact my parents were the ones seeing my creativity and decided to send me to Italy for a fashion course, whereafter I went to Paris to do my degree.”
She expressed that the most challenging part of her business is the increasing competition and the connectivity of our world today: “Everything has become fast-paced, you need to be aware all the time of what’s happening in order to succeed.”
Back in the day, clothes were used solely to keep us warm but slowly fashion developed into different class systems. Today, fashion is a part of every individual’s life. Even when people say they don’t care much about what they wear, that too is a choice as well. It is easy to be overwhelmed in today’s fashion world as it is very fast-paced and trends are staying for an increasingly shorter amount of time mainly because of the digital world.
“The way someone dresses is a reflection on his or her upbringing, where the person was raised, the surroundings, education, etcetera, that will eventually make up the personality,” Fareeda believes.
| Pink Frill Siren Dress
This beautiful piece of art has been reworked through a modernist lens, resulting in directional, supple silk beauty and brings a bohemian spirit with strength and femininity. The collection is still available on the website Ferf Official. |
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At the moment, Ferf targets women aged 20-45 that like to stand out and wear very distinctive styles. “The collections originally always included men, but for now because production is such a hassle in Egypt, I’m focusing on women until I can finally include men,” she said.
As Cairo isn’t the place for trying out new styles like crop tops and short skirts, particularly on the streets, I asked Fareeda who would be able to buy her clothes in Egypt.
“While it is true that not everything goes on the streets of Egypt in terms of clothes, nevertheless at this time we have become much more diverse and open. And what’s more, my styles are for special occasions where it’s ok to wear whatever you want.”
When you are at private parties or at events in Egypt, you will enter another era where often there will be alcohol served and women will dance freely, just like we know it in Europe.
As Ferf is a very new brand, it is only sold online at the moment. Fareeda said that she occasionally displays her clothes in pop-up stores around Cairo and will soon be taking orders overseas.
“In the next year, I would like to widen my market to foreign countries. I would also want to have my own showroom and in house production,” she said.
In search of newness for autumn and winter, Fareeda found herself back in the creative mystery with nostalgia at heart and women as her muse. Ferf has generated a well-considered collection that will never go out of style.
You can follow Ferf on Instagram @ferfofficial
Featured image courtesy of Ferf on Instagram.
Edited by Livia Likurti, Emil Brierley & Kesia Evans.