first feature will be:
"From the beginning of western speculation about the Orient, the one thing the Orient could not do was to represent itself." Said. E.
Ever since I had the initial urge or need to look into the idea of my identity , what has being an “other” meant in terms of how I view myself and culture; there has been an awakening. There has been a sort of movement, this urgent call to decolonize, reinvent, rediscover, to belong to become authentic and true. This brought me to decolonisation theories and imperialist legacies. In turn this introduced me to Bayart’s Imaginaire. The idea that all our identities, authenticity, tradition, fashion ,is mutable,it is simply an imagined persona or set of rules that is not tangible.
I was set the task of explaining “why there is an urgent need to decolonize fashion?” The truth is , It shall take me longer than a lifetime to discover the reasons driving this global phenomena. I cannot do this justice at present, in-fact the more I delve into the realm of colonial discourse ,identities, orientalism art and fashion, the more I am shocked and riveted by my findings.
I concluded that the only way to express the urgency of this issue is by looking at what drives it through history. Identity politics and the megatrends of political unrest have brought these issues to light again. With African Americans calling for equal rights and African American celebrities embracing their African roots, trying to identify with their pasts. Black lives Matter and the trend and hot topic of cultural appropriation vs appreciation. What is woke? How it became a cliche?
So where to start?
Well, I cannot tell you where to look for your self, but all I can do is start. So I did I started this collective so in our combined lifetimes, we could try and leave a legacy of freedom, tradition, invigorating and authentic design. This is not just aimed at propelling change in our region. The idea is to rewrite our histories, regain ownership of our culture and design by us for us, to empower US. We are not other, or divided, we are one, North Africans, artists, designers philosophers all with multiple identities. This is a change that has rippled across the oceans of time. One day we shall showcase the wonders of our region alongside our international brothers and sisters ,and all shall coexist in a truly authentic decolonized world.
Be The change , Join the Movement
Salam,Nada Koreish, Founder
Comentarios