By Heba Elkayal
In a city where upstart brands are a dime a dozen, and many young designers are trying to carve out a niche in the local market, there is a solid handful of designers who may be on to something. Some more than others.
Dina Said is the designer behind Nana’s Closet, a brand based and produced in Cairo in a workshop in the designer’s home. Causing heads to stir with her elegant designs, pieces are being snapped up by women eager for her unique creations.
A navy colored jacket with exaggerated shoulder detailing in spring, lined in stripes with nautical buttons, rivaled similar designer jackets. When exhibiting at the fashion event “Luxury for a Cause,” someone asked the model wearing it, “Balenciaga?” No. It was Nana’s Closet.
Every collection debuted thus far has had an interesting variety of silhouettes, shapes and detailing. Focusing on cocktail wear and statement pieces, Nana’s Closet is in a league of its own, which is why Dina Said takes the title for Egypt’s designer of the year.
Daily News Egypt spoke to the designer about the challenges she faced and where she’s hoping to take the brand.
How did Nana’s Closet start?
It started four years ago when I came back from Lebanon after I competed on a show [similar to Project Runway]. I made it onto the show despite my not having a lot of experience designing, cutting patterns or sewing. I made it to four rounds which was great considering I had little experience in comparison to some of the other competitors.
It started off with t-shirts embellished with tulle and really big puffy sleeves and people didn’t get what I was doing. I decided to put Nana’s Closet on hold and get some real experience, so I went to Mobaco and got two years of design experience, and experience with textiles, production lines, learning how to build a collection.
I got to design for the Paris stores as well as here, and that’s when I got introduced to the prêt-a-porter trade shows in Paris. Then after Mobaco I got into brand management for stores including Sfera, and then after two years went to Zara and stayed there for a year.
I hated the fact that every time I got into a job I wanted to concentrate on product management more than anything because I loved the clothes. It wasn’t about managing stores or marketing strategy, I only cared about styling so I quit Zara and started up Nana’s Closet again a little over a year ago.
What is Nana’s Closet inspired by?
It’s inspired by clothes that will last in your closet for more than a season or two; something that’s timeless. Whenever I open my grandmother’s closet, you’ll always find pieces you can still relate to now, not only is it relevant but also it’s still in very good condition. If you look at the finishing of the product you can tell that it’s handmade and that it’s been made to sustain time and washing and trends, worn by multiple generations of women in a family.
So I’m inspired by clothes that are well made and that have great taste and I know when to stop when it comes to [embellishing] clothes. I know when to stop from putting too much or too little. I want to put just the right amount of details on a product to last.
How would you define the taste of Nana’s Closet?
It’s definitely not my grandmother’s taste! I would say that it’s sophisticated, and I think it’s very body-conscious. When I design things I’m very conscious of a woman’s figure in the sense that I don’t want someone to look too revealing, less is more, we’re a well-balanced brand.
I think it’s classy, timeless, and I think it’s also done with a lot of love regarding the detailing. It’s rich, not only in the quality of the products [and textiles] but rich in the time and effort that’s put in the piece. Sometimes in the workshop my mom would be sewing on a button, my grandmother would be doing something, it’s a very personal brand and I want to keep it that way.
I want to go against mass production and I want people to feel that they’re wearing something that is literally only being worn by either themselves or a few people.
Is such a business model sustainable?
On the long run, you’re going to reach a point where you’re at a crossroads and you need to expand and find another equation, or you stay as you are, a small business that caters to the people that love it. Every country has one little shop or brand that is known that’s not internationally available. I know of stores in various countries that are like that, and when I travel to them I have to go and get something from there.
I don’t know what exact direction I want to take that in, I do know that I want to expand and do this on a more international level, just out of curiosity to see whether such a concept like Nana’s Closet could be accepted abroad. Just how I’m going to maintain this exclusivity and way of producing, I don’t know yet. It’s just something that’s going to come with time but I never want to jeopardize quality so I can expand.
The only reason you’re successful at the beginning is because of these charms that you have and as soon as you lose that, it isn’t the same anymore and you become a sudden “pop up” brand and I don’t want to be that.
What is this year’s winter collection inspired by?
Inspiration actually came last this collection. The winter and summer collections before were created based on things that I was inspired by.
This winter was the first winter collection where I had to stop and constrain myself because we basically don’t have a winter here in Cairo and nobody starts shopping until the end of November, or December for the Christmas parties and New Year’s so I wanted to focus on cocktails.
I didn’t want to focus on prêt-a-porter. Secondly, the fabrics I found were a turning point, they helped me shape the collection.
I saw a lot of fabrics made in leather and gold, rich and with a punk rock aesthetic. I love the combination of feminine and masculine, I don’t like things that are too prissy or too masculine, I like things that are balanced between both.
It was all about fabrics, pure satins, pure silks, leathers, and really decadent detailing. The inspiration was a very confident masculine yet feminine woman; someone that’s really strong. It’s a very strong bold collection.
I wanted something that had a wow factor to it and something that was also timeless. The dresses are expensive for something that is ready to wear so I wanted to do something that was really special so when people see it they won’t hesitate. I wanted that kind of thing.
It was very scientific how I did this collection, it wasn’t a whimsical creation. In my personal style, I don’t have one constant style it’s always changing day to day so I needed to train myself to do something that was consistent.
For an appointment to view the collection call: 010 341 9317 or email: [email protected].
