2015 has been Hussein Bazaza's year. We speak with the rising design star about the year's highlights, challenges and what we can expect from him next.
By Natalie Trevis
Hussein Bazaza is on a roll. Best Emerging Designer at the Middle East Fashion Awards this year, recipient of a Who Is On Next? award from Vogue Italia in Dubai (earning him a spot on the Alta Roma programme next season), and winner of the style.com/Arabia and the Dubai Design and Fashion Council’s inaugural Fashion Prize, including a retail opportunity on Farfetch.com, mentoring and a financial grant, valued at $250,000. With support like that, Bazaza’s creative progression can only accelerate, his youthfully elegant designs already a firm fixture on red carpets both at home and abroad. We meet the cool and collected Beirut-based designer, never without a twinkle in his eye, who has worked with Maison Rabih Kayrouz and designed for Elie Saab, to digest the challenges, highlights and fashion moments of 2015.
Congratulations on the awards this year, what do they mean to you?
It’s great publicity and exposure and it’s great motivation personally. It’s added value for the brand. These kinds of awards influence the clients and the press. It was a nice journey with the Vogue Italia team particularly - it’s the first time they’ve presented the award here in the Middle East - we spent four days between jury presentations and workshops and a gala dinner. As part of the prize, I’m going to show a couture collection at Alta Roma for the first time, so I am pretty excited. I’m thinking about making an edgy kind of couture with geometric cuts and patterns rather than embroidery and beading.
From a personal perspective, what’s been a highlight?
Personally, I had a mentor during my journey but this year we are no longer working together. In a way this was the highlight because I thought I was dependent on this person in my business but I was really happy to discover that I can depend on myself.
What have been some of the challenges of the year?
It’s a challenge for me to be able to balance business, creativity and being commercial at the same time. I am the kind of person who doesn’t trust anyone when it comes to my work. It’s like my baby, I have to take care of everything!
How has your vision evolved this year?
When I first started I had this vision that I wanted to do something a little different than what we currently have in the market, especially here in the Middle East. I don’t want to go typically European or typically Middle Eastern, I want to do this mix of both styles. My clients’ choices really help, what they like and what they don’t like. People love the mix and match between pieces, like the mix between couture and ready to wear, the sports-chic mix, the way I do couture in a young and modern way. I get so many requests from clients who are looking for a dress to wear to a wedding but they don’t want something typical. And at the same time they want something fancy and original.
Who has worn your designs well recently?
I think it’s Queen Rania. Her stylist contacted me and said 'her Highness is really interested in your pieces and she would like to try some if you have any sample pieces?' I put all the pieces in the box! She loved them and kept them all and made orders from other collections as well, so now we are working on them for her. I’m going to meet her next month. She sent me an invitation and I will take her orders out to her and she wants to create some special couture pieces for events. That was really a highlight of my year. Queen Rania has been my muse for years and it’s a dream to dress her.
How have you handled the pressure of constantly producing new collections this year?
Don’t ask me! It’s a lot of pressure but as long as you’re organised it’s much easier. I am really calm, I don’t get stressed easily.
We’re planning our event wardrobes for the festive season, which Hussein Bazaza pieces would you choose for us?
I would pick something from my fall/winter collection, there are lots of these short geometrical layering pieces with dark, warming colours, I think they would be perfect for this season. I love to mix and match something really elegant with something sporty, like a t-shirt with a beaded skirt.
What would you love to see more of when it comes to red carpet dressing?
More effortless looks on the red carpet, not simply the hair styled in a bun and the strapless mermaid dress. Couture pants with asymmetrical tops are really cool: I love this on the red carpet.
Tell us a bit about the spring/summer 2016 collection.
I wanted something that was really oriental-inspired, so I did some research and I was impressed by Persian arts and culture. I love to add some drama to every collection, so I came across the idea of the nuclear bomb of Persia and thought this was something interesting. I created this story about a princess whose dad created the bomb, but he didn’t have control of it and it exploded by mistake, killing everyone in the country. Except for the princess, because she lived in the highest tower in the castle of Persia so she didn’t die but she got a virus, which she lived with for ten years, with minerals and flowers growing inside of her body and organs from the fallout. I wanted to show something really beautiful but in a dramatic way. I studied costume design, not ready to wear or couture, and my dream is to create a movie with my theatrical costumes.
