Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Bahraini fashion designer Hind Matar is narrating her island’s rich heritage and culture through silky fabrics and stylish apparel at Expo Milano 2015, a world-class fair, staged in Italy.
For the past three months the 35-year-old fashionista, known for her contemporary womenswear brand MATAR, has been representing the kingdom at the Milan exhibition themed ‘Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life’ which showcases the traditional food, archaeology, technology, beauty and history of 140 countries all under one roof.
Hind was invited by the Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities to design a special collection to be featured at the Bahrain Pavilion which boasts fruit gardens, archaeological artefacts and a conference space in a bid to promote the kingdom.
Her daring designs, called Archaeologies of Green after the pavilion initiative, are being modelled by Bahrain-based ambassadors and volunteers that are helping to run the stunning structure until October 31 when the expo comes to an end.
Hind, who lives and works between London and Bahrain, said: “It’s a great privilege and honour to work on this project and be part of the team that represents Bahrain.
“I was commissioned by the authority to design a capsule collection to be worn by the staff and ambassadors of the Bahrain Pavilion and the garments include jumpers, skirts, shirts and a cape top. The designs reference the architectural design of the Bahrain Pavilion that is made of circular segments and straight lines.
“The shirts I have designed have detachable cuffs and collars to emulate the pavilion’s structure that will be dismantled and reassembled back in Bahrain.”
Inspired by the kingdom’s agricultural heritage, the pavilion’s architectural design and old photographs and drawings of Bahrain’s indigenous fruits, Hind collaborated with one of the leading textile manufacturers in the world based in Italy, Clerici Tessuto, to develop an exclusive jacquard, a fabric with an intricately woven pattern, for this collection in 3D form.
The designs were hand-rendered, painted and digitised. She said: “The shapes were abstracted to produce organic formations, like a narrative tapestry, weaving all these different elements of Bahrain’s heritage into a dynamic and unique jacquard.
“The fabric is a silk/polyester blend and it comes in three different colours. The colour palette of the fabric was also born from the rich colours of the fruit, using accents of pale gold, mid tones of mauve and cerulean blue with dark shades of burgundy, violet and navy.”
Hind, who characterises her style as kitsch-glamour with masculine undertones, always had an interest in fashion but it didn’t resurface until later on in her life. She graduated from the University of Virginia in economics and philosophy and even dabbled in advertising. It wasn’t until after moving to London that she became inspired to change her career path to fashion and started studying at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design.
Moved by designers such as Alexander McQueen, Nicholas Ghesquire and John Galliano, Hind founded her brand in 2013 and since then has presented three collections at the Designer Showrooms in Somerset House during London Fashion Week.
While she currently designs womenswear, she does plan on expanding into accessories and shoes in the future.
The Expo Milano capsule collection ranges in price from £475-£585 (BD280-BD344).
For further details, visit www.hindmatar.co.uk
