He sits amid his various masterpieces with a sketch book in hand and several history encyclopaedias scattered around. Each page inspires an additional detail to further complete yet another piece of art. Over the course of several months, Sami Amin spent his days diving through the rich Pharaonic heritage in order to surprise his fans once again.
Amin is a local artist specialised in reinterpreting ancient cultures through the means of leather and brass to create his signature handbags and purses. Despite the deterioration of local hand crafts, Amin remains a courageous advocate, who regularly proves that hand-crafted creativity is far from ending.
(Photo by DNE)
After a year of intense research and immaculate sculpting, the artist launched his long-awaited 2016 collection. The outstanding pieces embodied the designer’s fascination with nature and history, each and every piece embraced the artist’s interest in the sky, stars and moon.
“The sun and moon are well-known of course; yet, I have managed to mix them in one motif to state that all humans have parallel bright and dark sides,” said Amin. “This motif was essential in the collection as it was used in many pieces.”
Ever since the early days of his journey back in 1995, Amin has always aimed to modernise local heritage. Conversely, this year he turned his admiration of Pharaonic goddess Nut into a full collection.
The goddess resembled the sky and heavens. The mythical goddess was often symbolised as a bent shape that covered the sky. Meanwhile, it was also believed that the sun was swallowed by Nut every night before being reborn at dawn.
“The collection revolves around the sky with all of its various elements, such as the sun, moon and angels. Moreover, after research I found that goddess Nut was an essential addition; she has an artistic shape that could be added to many designs,” said Amin.
Amin utilised the goddess’s signature look in his designs as he turned it into handles, necklaces and buckles. Each piece carried a different variation of Nut. With the use of hand-carved brass, the collection was embellished with symbols of the solar system, as well as the goddess.
“The collection is just over 90 pieces of accessories, belts, bags and wallets,” Amin added. “Most of our material is natural, such as brass and Egyptian leather.”
(Photo by DNE)
The renowned artist supervised the manufacturing process in his own workshop, as he tends to emphasise the importance of details and high quality. Due to the impeccable details, the collection took six extra months before reaching the threshold of completeness.
In celebration of the brand’s newest showroom in Maadi, the collection was displayed in elaborate scenery. The pieces were left dangling from the roof in a straightforward reference to the theme. Bags, wallets, belts and accessories hung in mid air like a group of galactic planets.
“So far people have been expressing extended love towards the collection, many pieces were sold already. It will also be available in all of our showrooms in Zamalek, City Stars mall, and Heliopolis,” said Amin.
The Sky collection could be categorised as modern accessories, fit for everyday fashion. However, the amount of hand-skilled detail put into each design turned the collection into a series of elaborate art.
