DALEI Paris is a ready-to-wear brand by young designer Ahmed el Dalei, who in the past has worked with Yves Salomon Homme, as well as with stylist Udo Edling. Ahmed is inspired by an eclectic variety of sources and inspirations from around the world while his roots lie in Egypt. He sees himself as a world-traveler who brings different cultures, traditions, and superstitions out into clothing design. The current collection SS16 that BDMOTP witnessed in Paris last month was specifically based and inspired upon the hidden treasures and oracles of the hidden secret societies in the western world from the 1920’s. Since all hermetic thought and action eventually dates back to ancient Egypt, for the treatment of the occult arts as they would appear in clothing design, we could not imagine a better interpreter than Ahmed as a designer inspired by the mystic arts for this current day and age. And the looks and style he creates are therefore truly remarkable – and aye, even futuristic.
There is a strange urban dark chic to Ahmed’s creations and many pieces feature the long wear djellaba look that we know well from the middle-east. But if you then mix those items with mesh and other rare materials in exotic colors, forms and shapes, all of a sudden the style becomes very futuristic – as if you are walking onto the latest set of a Star Wars movie, build up for the deserts of some galaxy far, far away.
Princess Leia by DALEI. Photo by Mous.
Urban street wear or sporty casual chic? Maybe, but this mysterious collection inspired by old secret societies could easily go further than that. It has the whiff of a clothing collection fit for ancient dance rituals engaged in to bring mummies back to life – or perhaps to guarantee someone a safe passage to the hereafter after they have departed. And in this way strangely the style of the far future beckons and seduces us as much as the style of the distant past. And that is as odd and mysterious as the design was probably meant to incorporate. A mystery of sorts. A conundrum which could not be explained – not even by a Sphinx.
Some of the mysterious inspirations of DALEI. Photo by Mous.
On a final note we must say we loved the DALEI collection very much. And that we believe that Ahmed will go very far with this if he keeps on tapping into the various superstitions and sub-cultures of the other side as a source of inspiration in clothing design. For who does not love – or has a secret fear of – the world of hidden rituals and dreams long gone eons ago – or those of eons hence to come? When deep underneath the deserts sands death is only the beginning!
Posted by Sandro and photos by designer except those by Mous where credited.
