{"id":14425,"date":"2024-07-30T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-30T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs-test.newschool.edu\/parsons-paris\/?p=14425"},"modified":"2024-07-31T12:09:16","modified_gmt":"2024-07-31T12:09:16","slug":"in-amina-galals-alley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs-test.newschool.edu\/parsons-paris\/2024\/07\/30\/in-amina-galals-alley\/","title":{"rendered":"In Amina Galal’s Alley"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Amina Galal graduated in Fashion Design from Parsons Paris in 2021. She has her own brand, Amina Galal<\/a>, with which she won the ITS Fashion Film Award<\/a>. Simultaneously, she is working at Louis Vuitton in menswear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BY IMAN SALEM<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amina, I\u2019ve known you for a while now, and I find your work \u201cintentional.\u201d How do you find purpose in an industry as controversial as the fashion industry?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actually, this is something I really struggle with. I was supposed to attend Oxford Law, until I decided to study fashion. Right now, especially in the long days, I feel that what I\u2019m doing is useless, and maybe I should have a bigger purpose. I\u2019m only making clothes, who needs more clothes? But I found meaning in making fashion, having a purpose in my clothes. This is why for my thesis, I worked with four women artists from Egypt; they gave the project a purpose, with the value of their craftsmanship. I always try to dig deep and find a story that\u2019s meaningful to me, and might resonate with other people. For my thesis, for instance, the idea was the deculturation that Arabs see in their culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One thing I loved about your work is how you glorify your roots. Your thesis collection \u201cIn Our Alleys\u201d is an ode to modern Egypt. How does your Arab heritage contribute to shaping your fashion identity?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

100%! I think being Arab is my identity, my personality trait! I feel it\u2019s the first thing you see in me. And I think it\u2019s good because we lack that in the fashion industry. We have a very distinctive and unique culture and that\u2019s our strength, our selling point. Our amazing craftsmanship and cool culture is my engine of inspiration. I would need four lifetimes to actually get through to all the stories, the subcultures, the looks of Arabic culture. The stories are so fabulous. The twists are so different. The craftsmanship, the art, the communities are so rich there\u2019s no way to get bored of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how does an Egyptian girl that lived around the world end up working in the same room as Pharrel Williams?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had my first conversation with him last week. I didn\u2019t tell him that I\u2019m Egyptian, but I really can\u2019t wait to tell him that, because his Instagram bio says \u201cSon of a Pharaoh.\u201d It\u2019s funny because his dad is actually called Pharaoh, and I really want to tell him I\u2019m the real daughter of a pharaoh. It\u2019s a really stupid joke, but it would be awesome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking about success, you graduated in May 2023, and you\u2019ve already been nominated for 2 awards. Can it be stressful to be so recognized so early in your career?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t feel I got a successful start in my career, because when those competitions were taking place I was stressed about not getting an internship. When I went to Fashion Trust Arabia, I didn\u2019t win, and the event got canceled, so I didn\u2019t really get the moment of fame. You know, it\u2019s actually funny, because my thesis jury didn\u2019t like my process. But then, I was talking with one of my professors afterwards and he told me that you\u2019ll see so much of this in fashion. \u201cPeople talk based on their own aesthetic. You have four people in the jury, four different aesthetics. Yours was not theirs.\u201d Maybe that\u2019s actually a good thing. So I never really felt like what I\u2019m doing is revolutionary because it didn\u2019t start with the best foot. You need to always feel like there\u2019s more to achieve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the awards you won is the ITS Fashion Film Award, how do you believe fashion and film complement each other as creative mediums?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s so important, especially for young designers, to show their clothes moving. When you design clothes, you imagine it on a person, and in motion. Pictures and even seeing garments on hangers is very limited.
You need to see clothing in motion, to see how they move, and react to a body. When you\u2019re a young artist, and don\u2019t necessarily have a budget, film is a very strong tool to showcase a story, and push a narrative; it allows you to handle your brand\u2019s storytelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you always known that your work was going to be socially and politically engaged?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, because I grew up in a family of diplomats. Politics have always been a very hot topic at home. I grew up traveling, which encouraged me to engage with different stories in the world and become a very socially engaged person. I always volunteered and engaged in my upbringing. So I always knew that this is something that fuels my passion and links it with my craft. \u25a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story is from the second issue of Later<\/em>, the alumni magazine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor:<\/mark> Iman Salem @imannsalem<\/mark>
Art Director:<\/mark> Giulia Tacchi @giulytacchi
Photographer:<\/mark> Demir Ramazanov @demirramazanov
Art & Photography Assistant:<\/mark> Iman Salem @imannsalem
Talent:<\/mark> Amina Galal @aminaagalal https:\/\/aminagalal.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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