Omer Asim has always approached design from an architectural viewpoint. The Sudanese born architect turned designer became a fashion designer the organic way; interning his way up. With stints at Savile Row and a collaboration that ended up in the adaptation of beloved children’s book Harry Potter, Asim has a varied base of experience to draw from for his label.
Asim’s work is hard to pigeonhole. He is unconcerned with gender, preferring to work with a black template when he makes his pieces, pieces he is in complete creative control of. Asim cuts and sews his sample pieces himself, something practically unheard of in this age of pattern cutters and armies of interns. The Spring 16 collection is full of contrasts set against a monochromatic background. His cuts are sharp and unexpected, but still manage to incorporate volume. There is nary an Omer Asim piece that stifles the wearer. He colour blocks the pieces, sweetening the pot by his interesting use of different fabrics to conjure different textures, in a way that reminds you of collage, but astronomically better.
The true masterpiece of Asim’s new collection is a two-tone tube dress with a folded bodice and pleated skirt, hewn from metal and the softest crinoline. It is a paradox, distinctly futuristic yet a treatise on the transcendental nature of ancient greco-Roman design. It elevates the wearer from mortal to goddess.
This is the power of Omer Asim, creating pieces that transcendental but understated.
Photo Credits: Annacofone.com/vraimagazine.com