Mai Gidah Fall/Winter 2014 Lookbook

With his FW14/15 collection, ‘In loving memories’, Alec Ali Abdulrahim reveals another layer to Mai Gidah – a solemn inner dimension, fluidity and a more nuanced colour palette.

Prompted by a time of remembrance, Alec was transported to memories of the close bond he had with the loved ones he has lost. “It was a means of processing the past”, he explains, “and in a way more a celebration of their lives rather than the anniversary of their deaths.”

The signatures of Mai Gidah remain: bold sculpted silhouettes and gentlemanly tailoring continue to shape the outerwear and shirts. But there is also a flowing maxi scarf and fluid trousers that add a more nonchalant feel.

Alec’s melancholic state of mind was influenced by an exhibition of Sudanese artist Ibrahim El-Salahi at the Tate, which led to the addition of leather patches to jumpers and tunics, shaped like tribal faces in the African Modernist style. These, and black and white flower corsages serve as a reminder of the presence of the past, both unsettling and soothing.

The introduction of layers acts as a metaphor on the workings of our memory, and combined with oversized cocoon coats provide effective armour in a present so different without those beloved departed.

New textures, fabrics and painted leathers are testimony to the underlying positive focus in this collection, one that experiences mourning as a continuation of death in life, a sense of hope that’s also symbolized by the white embroidery against sombre silhouettes.

‘In loving memories’, Alec’s third collection, reveals a matured sense of self gained by his enduring search to express the emotional force behind his creative spirit.

Model: Jon @ AMCK
Photography: Ben Cannon
Hair: Masato Inoue
Make-up: William Asare
Text by: Siska Lyssens
Styling: Thomas Sels