Word: macdonald
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...pair could be a poster couple for cross-cultural understanding. The motherly Fahmy is passionate about Cairo's old souk and its Islamic motifs. In his white jacket, satin shirt and suede shoes, Macdonald looks ready for a night of clubbing. Eager to push herself as an artist, Fahmy approached Macdonald with the idea of working together in 2006. Macdonald jumped at the chance. Since then, Fahmy has released two Azza Fahmy for Julien Macdonald collections in London and the pair are discussing further collaborations. "It was ambition," Fahmy explains above the music. "For me, jewelry is a love affair...
Both say the partnership has helped stretch their creative abilities. Macdonald has learned to appreciate a tradition he knew little about, while Fahmy says that working with Macdonald has forced her to think in new ways. "I am challenged to design something that fits in Europe but has our touch in it," she says...
...fashion line with Macdonald, Fahmy scales back the ethnic touches and concentrates instead on large and flashy pieces. Macdonald says the jewelry is the perfect accompaniment to his silky, sparkly dresses. "It's the taste of the unexpected that people want," he says. "The women who wear my clothes are the stars of the party." For last year's collaboration, Macdonald asked Fahmy if she could design a glamorous bangle in the form of a common nail. The result: a gold-encrusted hybrid between a village wedding armlet and a biker bracelet...
...memory of Fahmy's widowed mother, who once had to sell her wedding jewelry to make ends meet. That memory prompted Fahmy to turn her skills to jewelry, and she set out to learn the trade from a craftsman in a cramped and dirty workshop of the Cairo souk. Macdonald's road to fame was more straightforward. After leaving his native Wales for design school, Macdonald began working for Chanel and at 28 was appointed Givenchy's chief designer...
...change the world's image of the Middle East. "The West has not understood us well," Fahmy says. "We didn't sell ourselves and gave them the façade of terrorism instead. Those of us involved in culture have a duty to help repair misunderstandings." And she and Macdonald are doing just that, one accessory at a time...