© ifa Galerie Berlin

Mit:

Najia Abadi
milia m
Majida Khattari
Mohamed Lakhdar
Adiba Al Mahboub
Khaled Al Masri

“Oriental Nights” was the title of a Dubai fashion show held in late 2003, where the most important fashion designers of the Arab world were presented. Models paraded down the runway in gauzy silk dresses, knee-length harem pants and revealing bustiers, or in minidresses under jalabias in rainbow colors, demonstrating the fusion of current international trends with Arab beauty ideals.

In our world, which is strongly oriented towards visual stimuli, fashion and advertising represent the greatest and most effective communicators. Therefore we thought it was time to offer some insights into the fashion capitals of the Arab world, an incredibly vibrant scene that has hitherto been completely unknown in Germany. The exhibition presents milia m and Khaled Al Masri from Beirut, Adiba Al Mahboub from Kuwait, and Najia Abadi and Mohamed Lakhdar from Casablanca, five young designers. Meanwhile the Paris-based Moroccan artist Majida Khattari addresses the issue of exposure and concealment in her garment sculptures and performances.

© ifa Galerie Berlin