A self-professed ‘reconstructionist’, Dina Shaker is a fearless young Egypt designer with an eye for unexpected silhouettes.
If you think you know what a blazer looks like then you probably haven’t seen Dina Shaker’s take on one. The wardrobe staple was one of 20 pieces in the designer’s AW18/19 collection, Hybrid, and it was far from conventional, fusing different materials, an oversized front and a cut-out back. Shaker’s work has a rule-defying edge that is reminiscent of Yoji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo in days gone past and she often blurs the line between masculinity and femininity, structure and shape. They say that to break the rules, first you must master them and Shaker clearly understands the principles of tailoring as well as the limits of experimentation. And it’s her ability to create a compelling tension between opposites that is perhaps her greatest gift: hard and soft, conservative and daring, serious and playful; it’s all served up in a sophistcated neutral, monochromatic palette.
The Cairo Fashion Design Centre grad is not new to the regional scene having launched her namesake label as far back as 2011. But with a growing distribution network of international points of sale (including the Paris-based Maison Pyramide) her avantgarde deconstructionist pieces are starting to gain the following they clearly deserve.
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