In the heart of a small design studio, under the light of a fluorescent lamp, two artists spent nights and days to bring together two parallel words. Each morning, tens of nail-polish bottles arrived to the studio, but every night the artists demanded more colour!
Tarek Abdelkawi is a prominent local graphic designer and illustrator, who always adds a glimpse of his soul to his work to create the simplest visual masterpieces. Meanwhile, Deana Shaaban’s garments are the perfect representation for the concept “Out of the box”. The young designer is an enthusiastic traveller, who roams the globe to source the most eye-catching fabrics and patterns.
Public relations agency, Ego Communicate, did the local fashion and art scenes a major favour when it introduced the two artists for the first time. Shabaan and Abdelkawi were sent on a mission to create a piece of wearable art.
Not long ago, American nail-polish brand Essie entered the Egyptian market. However, for their summer “Colour of the Season” array of vibrant shades, the brand aspired to dominate more than common nails.
Ego Communicate completed the jigsaw by providing hundreds of nail-polish bottles for the artists to bring their wildest imaginations to reality. Abdelkawi had the task of turning plain white fabric into a vibrant and summery pattern, while Shaaban handled turning this like-a-painting material into a dress.
“Our main vision was to ensure that we could stay true to each of our crafts, design and artistic styles while still maintaining the brand’s [Essie’s] identity throughout the whole process,” Shaaban said.
Even though the three figures never met before this particular project, they all had one thing in common – uniqueness and dynamism.
“Essie is all about colour and is full of life and vibrancy, and it was important to the both of us, while designing the dress and illustrating with nail polish on the fabric, to ensure that both the artists and the brand could be seen through the work,” Shaaban explained.
The final dress might look brilliantly effortless, due to the way colours and cuts fit perfectly, yet the two artists may beg to differ. According to Shaaban, both she and Abdelkawi categorise the “Ddressie” as the most challenging project they have ever worked on.
“For Tarek, it was his first time to use nail polish as a medium to create art-work and because we had a fixed supply, he wasn’t free to experiment as he pleased with the nail polish. For me, it was difficult to design a dress that was structured and could be painted on while at the same time expressing the freedom that colours represent, all while bearing in mind that it had to represent the brand and harmoniously complement the artwork that Tarek was to do,” Shabaan explained.
Shabaan and Abdelkawi had the opportunity to be the first in Egypt to tackle the concept of wearable art, yet this novelty was both an edgy and a difficulty. While the two artists had an endless margin for creativity, they did not have any references of similar previous projects.
“The first time we met in my studio we both looked at each other and said ‘What on earth are we going to do?’ But then again, I believe that’s how all great projects start,” Shaaban revealed.
After much anticipation, the dress finally came to light through the lens of local photographer Mahmoud Abdelsalam, who chose to let the dress stand out against a plain background. With the picture leaving everyone amazed by the garment’s brilliance, Ego Communicate plans on further sharing the marvellous piece of art with everyone.
The dress is set to be treated like a real piece of art, by being exhibited in three of the city’s hot spots – Left Bank, Lemon Tree & Co. and ABn’G Zamalek. During the tour, the crowd will get a chance to regard it closely, in order to experience the vibrancy of Essie’s colours, Abdelkawi’s modern art and Shaaban’s ability to build on great patterns.
After the tour, the garment will break yet another stereotypical process. Instead of being displayed along with Shaaban’s dresses in one of Cairo’s popular boutiques, the dress will again be treated as a painting, and will be auctioned to the highest bidder.
At this point, no one is more proud and satisfied than Shaaban and Abdelkawi for creating a true milestone on Egypt’s creative scene.
“The experience has taught us both a great deal with regards to our own crafts and about how to create a successful project with three entities all in vastly different fields. I have learnt a great deal from Tarek about world of illustration and how one’s hands can be used to experiment with different mediums. This has truly been one of the greatest experiences in my career and I look forward to pushing my own artistic limits with innovative and challenging projects like these,” Shaaban concluded.
