Fashion designer Yousef Akbar, born in Saudi Arabia and schooled in London moved to Australia in 2003 to study logistics at university in Adelaide and then on to Sydney. The designer is certainly making a name for himself now, but it wasn’t all that easy starting out, he was forced to ignore his real passions – arts and fashion – when the scholarship offered to him by the Saudi Arabian government limited a recipients academic choices to professions «in demand» , he said.
Unfortunately in Saudi Arabia with fashion, they look at it as fun and games and not a real career. It’s very traditional, every parent wants their child to be a lawyer or a doctor. Eventually Yousef found his way back to his passion when he enrolled in Sydney TAFE’s advanced fashion diploma, which later became accredited as a bachelor degree in fashion design. The designer says » I always wanted to be involved in fashion or arts, I loved art but fashion was that thing where i could really express myself the most.» Always wanting distinctive clothing like pink trousers, silver jackets and never being able to find it he would design it himself. From then on he has started his own fashion label, creating most pieces by hand from the living room of his girlfriend’s parents house.
I always wanted to be involved in fashion or arts, I loved art but fashion was that thing where i could really express myself the most.
He has now completed his first collection which includes both ready-to-wear and couture women’s wear. Describing his designs as dramatic, strong and colourful. For the inspiration side Yousef looks to strong women around the world, these women ranged from celebrities like Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lawrence and Rita Ora. He also looks to others around the world going through tough times including refugees in Syria or women attacked in India, he said. He is fascinated by really strong women, even trying really hard to think of what he would wear if he was a woman. Recently he designed a piece for Kelly Osbourne to be featured on Australia’s Got Talent. So it’s safe to say that Yousef Akbar is working his way up and up.
Yourself says his aim was to design outfits that surprise you from every angle, while still maintaining wearability, femininity and elegance. Creating draped and twisted looks by investigating the interaction between draped fabric and gravity which symbolise tension, and struggle of the journey that these women embark on. The pieces he has deigned are amazing in my opinion and I am super excited for what else he designs, I will most definitely be keeping an eye on this designer and potentially investing in 1 or 2 things…
To check out the full collection follow the link below – http://www.yousefakbar.com/collection/ Thank you for reading.
Todd Hodson
