Duration: 30 minutes
The ‘Dior x GIU Lab’ started with the ambition to initiate a cultural dialogue between our Egyptian students at GIU and one of the most iconic Parisian heritage Haute Couture houses, Christian Dior. We aimed to establish a Laboratory; a rigorous space for experimentation, reflection and exploration; a platform which stresses on the process rather than the result, embracing all the trials and errors in effort to learn and unlearn, in order to relearn. Through our engagement with the Dior universe as well as other topics which extend beyond fashion practice like Egyptian history, feminism, civil rights, botany, Egyptology, craftsmanship and situated identity, we aimed to cultivate our own angles and perspectives in the subject at stake. For the main project of this collaboration, we celebrated a seminal Egyptian figure, Doria Shafik. Dr. Shafik was an exceptional Egyptian intellectual, feminist, activist, editor, poet, writer and a style icon in her own right. She embodied the pioneering empowerment of the modern woman globally, and truly exemplified the power of femininity and feminism combined. Doria Shafik is the muse for the fashion capsule collections created by the students. Their mission was to engage with her story, achievements and legacy in order to find their own perspective and narrative to create a collection which pays tribute to her, all while conversing with the codes of la maison Dior. Each student realized one of their designs into a physical as well as a digital prototype. What we present is a work in progress rather than a finality.
