Even if you are almost entirely housebound, there should still be space for a little couture in your life.
That's the premise behind a new campaign from Dubai designer Rami Al Ali. He invited local creatives to be photographed in their homes, wearing designs from his latest collection. And he challenged them to express themselves using the limited tools they had around them.
“There were no instructions. We gave full freedom to each artist to express themselves, wearing the gown in the way that would inspire them,” Al Ali explains.
“I wanted to show that fashion can have a very positive impact on us, even in difficult situations, and that it could also be very hopeful. Wearing couture pieces at home is also quite decadent, especially at this time, so it was also a new way to escape,” he says.
The participants – all residents of Dubai – include Lana Albeik, a Syrian-Palestinian fashion model; Prod Antzoulis, a photographer who has worked on shoots for international fashion brands such as Gucci and Saint Laurent; and Parvane Barret, a French-Iranian DJ.
“I have been following these three Dubai-based artists for a while and I really like their work,” Al Ali says. “I believe they represent a new wave of modern creators and I thought about reaching out to them for this campaign as I was curious to provoke their imagination and see what would be their interpretation of a new cool.”
“The most important aspect was for the gown to inspire them and talk to them so they could connect on a creative level and build a story through images,” he says. “We gave them a few options to choose from so they could select what would provoke the best their creativity and let their inspiration talk.”
For Barret, the experience was an opportunity to view her home from an alternative perspective.
“As easy as it is to perceive this situation as negative, it is also interesting to see what you can do with the resources that are around you,” she says.
“My house has always been just my house, yet now I’ve done an entire shoot in the corners of my living room; somewhere that I spend most of my time in every day has now become a place for me to create. Even during times like these, you can still tell your story and express yourself through creativity. It just demands more from your imagination.”
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