Oct 5, 2021
Hit the road! Cross the borders!
Borders between countries had been a stumbling block restricting communication among people in many regions in the world, for ages, making vision-sharing and coexisting almost impossible.
Since the “www.” hit this planet and the digital channels invaded, this big world suddenly became a very contained and small one. No boundaries, no geography could possibly be any barrier for us to mingle, merge and dissolve anymore.
This digital revolution is a real leap that empowered many individuals to genuinely exist, speak up, and be heard. I represent a specific population that benefited in particular: Women.
The voice of women had been suppressed and muted forever, but now in an era of the metaverse, there is no better time for us to fear anymore.
The twinning of online and offline activities has made the isolation come to an end. Amongst the areas that flourished from this are fashion, food, travel, and community service.
Fashion, this multicolored passion that allows you to inhale your inspirations via absolutely everything with no limits and no restrictions, then allows you to transfer them into wearable dreams. Fashion has always been a global ambassador, which smoothly diffuses throughout every society. Who can forget the iconic crazy wigs, miniskirts, and flare pants from the ’70s and how they widely spread around the world? It was like no one could ever dare to say no to the trend!
Fashion Design
In fact, this era of digital and social media branding allowed women to display their talent and creativity to the world and showcase their ingenuity and identity through the field of fashion.
Many female fashion designers managed to leap the social and geographical boundaries and through it wrote their names on the wall of fame. Proud to say that many of them were Middle Eastern women who unlocked the doors and stood up against all odds. African women designers lately broke new grounds to reach astonishing new heights as well. The diversity charge led to a global push for recognition of a wide range of cultural contributions and African fashion made an unprecedented leap into the spotlight.
I brought to you 3 women from different regions who took fashion design by storm.
Marmar Halim:
Marmar Halim, Egyptian fashion designer who stands out while her home country is fawning over her elegant style, the entire Middle East has recognized her talent for a while now. Many Arab celebrities have been spotted wearing her beautiful designs. American stars also picked up on Halim’s talent, singer/songwriter Skylar Grey wore Halim’s work at the premiere of Suicide Squad film.
Reem Acra
Reem Acra, this native Beirut woman has gained much attraction with her bridal gown collection. Coming from a family of academia, she decided to pursue degrees in her passion areas of business and fashion design. Before starting her own line in New York, Acra worked as a luxury interior designer for three years. She finally found her stride in bridal gowns when she was designing a dress for a friend’s wedding in three weeks. This deadline determined a bet for her friend to go through with the wedding. However, she also has a knack for evening gowns, with a plethora of stars sporting her on the red carpet.
Aisha Ayensu
Watching her grandmother, Christie Brown, whom the label is named after, craft exquisite African outfits whilst working as a seamstress, inspired founder Aisha Ayensu to create her own fashion line. From a young age, Aisha experimented with African textile, creating outfits for her dolls in Ghana. In 2008, the label Christie Brown was born.
Known for her impeccable attention to detail and structured African print outfits, Christie Brown’s collections incorporate every aspect of the contemporary African woman. Her garments range from ready-to-wear pieces to bespoke gowns. Often with a focus on waist clinching fits. Though her aesthetic is predominately luxury and high fashion, her collections are versatile and wearable, making them suitable for all.
Fashion Bloggers & Influencers
A new role that emerged in the past decade thanks to social media platforms and that became pivotal in the fashion industry is fashion blogging and influencing.
Fashion bloggers and influencers are now the ambassadors of fashion around the globe on different levels and scales. Women have almost dominated the field and excelled in representing their ideas and creativity in garments arrangement and fashion consultancy.
Three Middle Eastern fashion bloggers who made the influence.
Nour Arida: A model and a Lebanese fashion blogger who created N for Nour where she shares her inspirations in fashion, designer’s lifestyle, trends, and more with her audience.
Sara Sabry: A social media influencer who is highly popular on Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and Facebook. She also has a YouTube channel named “lifewizsara”.
Zeinab Azzam: She is an Egyptian/Turkish model and brand ambassador. She shares her love for fashion with her more than 600K followers on Instagram.
Big applause to all the women out there who pursue their dreams and challenge all barriers. If you have what it takes to stand out among those Go-Getters, don’t think twice!
Go! Go! Go!
There are no boundaries or borders in the digital age, all you need to do is to pack and hit the road!
Authored by Yasmine Deraz For Fujn
#Fujn #Hittheroad #theworldofnow
