“I’m questioning social class, culture, religion and gender. I’m into questioning things so that anyone looking at my work will start to question, too,” says Ahmed Serour. “I’m not here to give knowledge, I don’t believe that anyone has the right to say what is right and what is wrong. You can only draw attention to certain points and raise the question.”

We’re talking to the brilliantly inventive Egyptian designer who graduated from the London College of Fashion’s Menswear MA earlier this year and is now based in Cairo. His work has already caught the attention of the fashion pack and it’s no small wonder. Serour’s conceptual menswear is not just striking, it is packed with historical references and philosophical ideas, with recent inspiration drawn from the contrast between Egypt’s Effendi and male belly dancers while blurring the boundary between high and low brow.

Taking his cues from lower-middle class kitsch aesthetics – known in Egypt as being ‘trashy’ – his MA collection, entitled NonEGYboi, was an exquisite cacophony of colour, pattern, embroidery and of course, plenty of gold. Think fluid looks comprising shocks of pink and yellow paired with metallic lime green and floral print. Heavy jewellery was made to look like brass from the souk but which was, in fact, finely crafted by fellow Egyptian designer Farah Abdelhamid. Meanwhile shoe designer Jayda Hany created the bespoke midas booties.

“The collection was inspired by what gets called trash but is not actually trash because who has the authority to say what is good and bad taste?” Serour asks. “In Egypt the upper classes would look down on those who wear a printed veil and use a bag in another colour with everything layered on top of each other. Maybe it isn’t a brand or it’s a bit cheap but that doesn’t make it trash.”

The collection also explores North African masculinity, which, from a Western perspective, can seem quite contradictory. While gender roles are more rigid, behaviours and wardrobes are less-so. “The gallibaya [traditional robe] is just a dress,” he explains. “Also the bromances in Arab countries mean that guys walk down the street holding hands and we kiss each other on the cheek to to say ’hi’. This is what my work is all about, it’s looking at the culture clash between how we perceive masculinity and how it’s seen by the rest of the world.”

So who exactly is this NonEGYboi? “He’s not a typical Egyptian boy… I have created my own dreamy version of a boy who is non-binary and non-conforming.” Traditional tailored silhouettes (a nod to the noble effendi) are paired with a bra and luxuriously spooling trousers (hello male belly dancer). “You’ll find the lace jacket falling off the shoulder, the high necked top and harem pants; it’s unzipping forced masculinity.”

It’s little wonder that his brave and slinky designs are receiving a mixed reaction at home. “My generation or younger appreciate it because they’re going towards the idea of being more free but the older generation are a bit terrified. It’s not really to do with religion, it’s more about culture,” he reflects.

A stylist and art director as well as a designer, Serour has also shocked with his Bride of Arabia series commissioned by Pride of Arabia, a London-based platform for queers from the MENA region. The photographs make light of the anxiety attached to getting married. “I had this idea of a runaway bride who wants more. You’ll see a girl in a suit who’s asking, ‘What if I’m the groom and not the bride?’; another one who goes McDonalds; two brides helping each other to escape over a wall; a bride drowning in her dress and one - played by me - who is running away in flip flops!”

Photography and video direction Eliška Kyselková
Videography Harry Nedler
Styling Ahmed Serour, Katherine Nixon
Performers Samir Tahan, Ahmed Al-Masri, Michael Moon
Shoes Jayda Hany
Jewellery Farah Abdelhamid

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Published on 04/09/2019