Rising star, Syrian designer Nabil El-Nayal unveils his “Nabil Nayal Elizabethan Sportswear Part 2” exclusively today on Style.com/Arabia. The designer, an LVMH prize finalist, and whose label is based in London, is currently showing at Milan Fashion Week.
The Fall 2016 collection comes across as an extension of the Part 1 Spring 2016 showcase and features a creative highlight of “the ruff,” also known as the most iconic Elizabethan garment piece in history. Dating back to the 1550s, the ruff is a decorative accessory that El-Nayal re-imagines with rebellious flair, masterfully weaving the ultimate Elizabethan symbol of power and opulence to feature it as an intrinsic part of his clothes via sweeping asymmetrical cuts and puffed volumes. If his passion and dedication for archival research once again serves as the backbone to his collection, his unique and surprising fusion with current sportswear techniques is fashioned in the finishings.
Here, starched cotton organdies, tulles, shirtings, and canvases are disrupted by El-Nayal’s controled fury, which explodes to reveal a collection of garments for a woman who revels in the codes of the all-but-forgotten past, and who exhibits nothing more than a shoulder shrug for today’s trends. Indeed El-Nayal, through his exceptional focus and vision, has created a new beast—garments for a new “Elizabeth.” El-Nayal is a colossal talent and his muse is one to be revered.
Nabil Nayal Elizabethan Sportswear Part 2 at the Unicredit Pavilion, Pizza Gae Aulenti, during Milan Fashion Week, and until March 1st.
