A FASHION SHOW

A FASHION SHOW


Last night we went to the first fashion show ever to be held in Syria, which, in itself, is quite remarkable.  ESMOD, the first fashion design school, which was founded in Paris in 1841 by Alexis Lavigne the inventor of the measuring tape and dressmaker’s dummy, has a number of schools throughout the world, and three years ago the Syrian centre was founded because the president’s sister wanted to set one up as her own daughter wished to study fashion design. The first wave of students will graduate this year, and last night they presented their collections at the fashion show. Earlier in the day Robert had been involved as a member of the jury which had been chosen to study not only the final product but also the students’ portfolios, where they showed the development of their designs, the patterns made to turn the fantasy into a real garment and explained the theme underlying the collection.  The jury was made up of the Director of the Paris school, other fashion designers invited from France for the purpose, business men involved in the textile industry in Syria and “outsiders” to give their view.  Robert was there as the representative of the Syrian European Business Centre

The place chosen for the event was a marvel in itself, the Khan Assad Pasha.  This caravanserai was designed and built by the same Ottoman governor of Damascus who built the Azem Palace, and it was his wish that this should be the most magnificent caravanserai in the whole region.  Like the palace, the khan is built of alternating horizontal layers of white limestone and black basalt.  It had a large central dome surrounded by eight smaller domes.  However, the main dome has collapsed and the building is now open to the sky, which was quite an advantage last night as it helped keep the place cool.  

Getting into the khan in the first place was quite a feat because, over the last few days, as the catwalk, lighting and sound equipment were all installed, curiosity reached fever pitch in the surrounding spices souq.  What was this?  Modern clothes?  What would this be?  Preparations were very professional and no effort was spared to ensure that this would be a real fashion show.  A ring of spotlights had been erected around the central dome over the central area of the catwalk with two parallel lighting tracks mirroring the rest of the catwalk from the changing rooms.  Loudspeakers made sure that the music reached every corner of the room. That is an understatement!

The show itself was most interesting.  Each graduating student had a base theme which inspired his/her collection.  In some cases one student did both the design and the pattern-making and, in others, one student did the design and another the pattern-making.  The themes were very diverse, from the androgynous “subway” to Byblos, Nefertiti, Chocolate (a potential Paco Rabanne), and Painted Desert.  A great deal of imagination was evident.  Transparencies were greatly in evidence, but subtly so, and this was one of the incongruities which  attracted my attention.  Many of the girl students were veiled but their collections were daring and modern.  Is this what they would dream of for themselves? Or only for other people on another dimension? Some designers tried to  marry west and east with more daring underdresses topped by fine overdresses and garments witih sleeves.  Others had hot pants with face veils!!  

The prizes were awarded.  The first prize for design went to a young Lebanese boy, Ghassan Hoyek, whose underlying theme was the bronze and gold statues of Byblos.  First prize for technical skill in pattern-making, transferring the concept of his own designs into workable patterns, went to a young Armenian boy, Hagop Sheumelian, whose designs were based on gypsy themes but highly sophisticated and very wearable.  Another prize was awarded for the student with best all-round command of modern technologies in the design field and another prize was given to the student who showed good technical skills but at the same time  the best all-round team spirit.  This went to a young Syrian, Mohammad Alsalwadi,  who had formed part of the pattern-making team for a number of designers.  

All in all, the show was an unprecedented  success and showed that the tuition provided by the school is solid and professional.  Before the graduating students’ collections were shown, the first and second year students had a chance to show their work.  The progression was remarkable, from the simple garments of the first year, to the command of tailored garments in the second year and then to the all-round competence of the final year.  

July 8th 1998