Rationale

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Without memory, there is no culture. Without memory, there would be no civilization, no society and no future. - Elie Wiesel

My collection revolves around a Journey down the Nile taken by a woman, in the 1940’s, as she travels through, what is consid- ered by the concept of orientalism as the “Timeless” Egypt. My muse is a well-traveled, cosmopolitan, cultured young lady. She is the de nition of allure- from attitude to looks. As she stops into the cities, each out t she wears is expressive of the different cities within Egypt and carries different cultures that have not been fully investigated by the west nor, by Egyptians themselves. Through intricate research I discover the origin of each city on that the Nile cruise will stop on and juxtapose it with the “modern 1940’s” in Egypt. This is the Golden Age of Cinema and when the British were based in Egypt – seemingly “everything in Egypt was desirable by the west

Most of my collection will be using materials that encompass what we see as Egyptian “dying art”, or arts that are not necessarily promoted within the culture and the demand for these crafts are weak. These arts are beautifully crafted and carry the Egyptian history and by using them in my collection I am able to promote these arts in a different way so that other designers in all different elds may incorporate these textiles/crafts and create the demand for it once again Each art/craft that I will be using carries a different unique story, some of their revival and others of their extinction. The arts in- clude; Tulle bel Telli, Tent-making, glass-blowing, Sadaf Jewelry boxes technique, shnets, and more

By helping revive these arts, it will be helping a portion of the 22 million Egyptians living in poverty, and the 49 percent of upper Egypt that cannot provide the basic needs of food, non the less necessities. It will be helping women’s position in the Egyptian society and breaking extremist social norms and many of these crafts are “women appropriate