Part 1
Sublime Subtlety
Modest, beautiful and excruciatingly well crafted, Haider Ackermann is one of my favourite designers. His designs are always edgy and always graceful a melting pot of delicious flavours and textures. From a hijab perspective there is so much to choose from, his softly draped jackets and leather work rival Rick Owens. And not only are the pieces beautiful in themselves he knows how to put an outfit together, layering textures and different colour notes of the same tone. There is so much inspiration for Islamic fashion.
I honestly tried to put this all in one post but there was just too much I wanted to show you. I could easily have done a week of posts, but I did try to restrain myself, honest
For Future Reference
Fall 2009 was my favourite collection. There was the rich beautiful red, blacks and greys that were exciting without a hint of being dull. Fabrics that make my heart flutter slightly especially when he drapes them the way he does. The Asymmetric shapes look so exquisite, but you can tell that these were clothes designed to be worn, the fit is perfect. From maxi dresses to beautiful separates there is so much to love, the long line maxi skirts are simple but so chic.
History
His biography may hint at the unique aesthetic that is a part of him, he is a Colombian-born, Antwerp-trained Frenchman. That’s why I found this interview with Elisabetta Maze for noname-magazine so interesting, I’ve taken a few highlights. You can find the whole interview here.
INTERVIEW WITH HAIDER ACKERMANN
by Elisabetta Maze
He has known many ports, beside the one of the town in which he lives and works today: Antwerp. Born in Santa Fe’, Bogotá, in 1971, the designer Haider Ackermann was adopted by a French family. He grew up living in various cities throughout Europe and Africa. Due to his father’s work as a cartographer, the family moved several times during his childhood, living in places such as Ethiopia, Chad, France and Algeria, before finally settling in the Netherlands… Ackermann’s distinctive essence takes shape in a mix of high and low culture, elegance and street life. He is intrigued by cultural differences and cultural force: the purity and simple aesthetic of forms mixed with the activity and vitality of life itself.
You were born in Santa Fe’ de Bogotá, Columbia. With French parents, you grew up in various cities, spending your childhood in Europe and Africa, before fina settling in the Netherlands. Is there any episode from your childhood which has marked and influenced your creative development?
How much have your origins and travels influenced your collections? And in what way?
Those memories of Africa, they are all in you as a vague dream…it fades away, but is nevertheless present. It’s simply a part of you and your references. And unconsciously, when you draw or fantasize the images of chadors, djellabas, kaftans, sarouels, they are clearing up.
In 1994, at the end of high school, you decided to move to Belgium to attend the prestigious Academy of Antwerp. When did you really understand that fashion would be your future?
I didn’t know if it would be my future, but I knew I had to try. Why else would I have played with fabrics in my childhood and observed all those African ‘Giacometti’ women in their metres of cotton.
Would you define yourself as an avant-garde designer? Which adjectives would you use to describe your style and yourself?
It has never been my goal to be an avant-garde designer and it certainly would not reflect my personality. My aesthetics are certainly not revolutionary and eye-catching. It’s more about discreet, muted colours, about searching for a certain luxury of not caring, but also trying to respect and not take away the attention from the woman’s face with clothes or decoration…
I can’t and don’t want to define what I do, I’d rather leave it open for people to interpret it as they feel.
Do you consider yourself “revolutionary” in fashion? Can fashion still have a political ambition?
It is not up to me to send out messages, I just try to make nice clothes.
In Part 2
Highlights of his past collections
His Celebrity Following
How to recreate the look for a Muslimah if you aren’t famous of wealthy!
