Spring 2023: Show Notes

The Siwa Oasis (Arabic: واحة سيوة, WāḥatSīwah, IPA: ([ˈwæːħet ˈsiːwæ]) is a 50-mile stretch of palm trees and grasslands found deep in Egypt’s northern Sahara Desert, between the Qattara Depression and the Great Sand Sea. Surrounded by rolling dunes of golden sand and pale colored light, the oasis itself is a deep aquamarine blue that extends to the horizon. Its spirit stayed with me while I worked through this collection and will remain through my lifetime. 

We drew the country’s flowers, including lotus blossom, rose, jasmine, anemone, chrysanthemum, cornflower and poppy, in chalk and pencil, and printed them by hand on dry cotton poplins and twills sourced from Hesni, the oldest and finest cotton mill in Egypt. The threadwork embroideries, on loose loomed linen, cotton pique and double charmeuse, were developed with Threads of Hope, a Cairo based social enterprise that trains and employs marginalized Egyptian women and refugees.

Fabrics further include silk-wool and crepe tailoring in ivory, plaster and aquamarine; silk crepon in deep brown and spring green; double face charmeuse in butter; khaki Scottish mac twill with hand embroidered pencil florals; cotton faille in khaki, navy and white, one with a distressed black embroidery; cotton voile in pale apricot; our “Nile” jacquard woven of cotton, lurex and silk; and a new take on denim, woven in linen and tussah silk.

Our crochets, in deep brown and rouge organic cotton, were handknit in Nakuru, Kenya with Bebe Ravi. Their artisans form a cooperative which trains and employs 100 local women and supports the Patrick Chege Memorial Orphanage.

The silhouettes remain firmly sportswear. Our trouser shapes include full leg cuffed trousers, pleated and slouchy menswear shapes, and tailored knit styles. Last season’s bralettes have evolved into midriff grazing tanks, paired with skirts that are full, gathered and pleated, and dresses imbue fluid movement and softness. The hats are a collaboration with New York milliner Esenshel and shoes with Manolo Blahnik.

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