Sukeina (Q9238)
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Sukeina is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Sukeina |
Sukeina is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
Foregoing a slot on the New York Fashion Week calendar, Sukeina’s Omar Salam took his show on the road for spring 2024, presenting his collection—by invitation—in Africa and the Middle East, where his intricately worked, and dressed-up, designs have enthusiastic followings.The designer works from a Brooklyn high-rise with huge windows that give the space a floating-in-the-air feeling, making the nominal theme of the collection, the sky’s transformation from dawn to dusk, a natural fit. But the truth is the only time these pieces would see the early light is if the wearer stayed up all night. Sukeina clothes aren’t for a just-rolled-out-of-bed schlep to the bodega; rather they are meticulously crafted designs that encourage, almost demand, that the wearer put her main character energy on full display. It would be impossible to wear the super-wide legged, feather-trimmed jumpsuit, for example, with anything but flair.Salam is as committed on his end: “If you are designing and you are taking on people that are working for you, cutting fabric, all of that, there must be some level of responsibility, some level of commitment. It cannot be halfway done. It cannot be 80% done,” he said with passion. “You deserve to surround yourself with things that inspire you, move you, touch you, and make you feel such a way that every time you have it on you or around you, you deliver your best, you express your most, you are your most essential,” he continued.Among the stunners in the collection were a linear, body-con wiggle dress with a folded neckline and “tabbed” waist and a collapsed cocoon-shaped coat dress with a deliberately caught up hem that fell in a wave around the body. Salam showed his mesh pieces over bodysuits, which emphasized their transparency rather than delivering modesty, a concept that doesn’t have much traction in fashion these days. Most unexpected were the slight early ’60s (deliberate or not) references, such as modular “diaper” shorts and miniskirts. Traditional smocking was changed out for Sukeina’s signature fringe on a baby-doll dress that was both sassy and sweet.
17 November 2023
At the close of the Sukeina show, Coco Rocha—dressed in a black and fuschia confectionery dress —was doing her best dramatic impression of John Singer Sargent’s painting El Jaleo. Someone has to wear it to the Met Gala, but it’s high white collar à la Karl Lagerfeld wasn’t the only aspect of Omar Salam’s fall collection that seemed to vibe with the upcoming exhibition’s theme; it too revealed “a line of beauty.” The models, all legs and small neat heads, looked like croquis (or fashion sketches) come to life. Salam’s work has another connection to paper; one of the brand’s signatures is an origami-like construction technique, seen in the first look, a sculptural color-blocked coat.The Sukeina founder is preoccupied with spaces in between, or more accurately in the fold. (The first look was a good example of this, as the construction created a silhouette around the body.) Called “You,” the show expanded that idea as Sukeina was considering the effect that a woman’s presence has on those around her, that gap between how the self is presented and perceived. His use of outsized zippers played with this idea of access, what you choose to share or not.The Sukeina woman clearly is one who has mastered the art of making an entrance. She’s elegant and she’s daring and she is precise, as is Salam’s tailoring. The suspender dresses might have had something of a school girl vibe if they weren’t worn over sheer tops or sequined tops that fit like a second skin.Besides zippers, the main decorative element here wasn’t the brand’s signature knotting, but multicolored zig zag patterns that crescendoed into feathers. There were many iterations of this idea, which started to feel repetitive, despite the admirable craftsmanship. Salam was laser focused this season on selected techniques, and body type (the living croquis); it would be nice to see an expansion on both fronts because the unfolding of his talent, season after season, is a revelation and a delight.
11 February 2023
Just as Omar Salam precision-folds and knots his designs in beguiling new ways, so he introduces unexpected perspectives through his concepts and symbolism. The Sukeina spring collection was rendered almost entirely in red, for example, but the designer wanted us to see beyond that proud and powerful hue. “Though the color is dramatic,” Salam said of his lineup, “it’s really not about the color at all. It’s more about the nonconforming nature of it.”The male cardinal inspired the palette of the collection and its meaning (the female is brown and red). Unlike most species, who adapt to blend into their surroundings, these birds, which are named after Catholic bishops (who wear red robes), do not. As Salam sees it, the cardinal “is so focused and loyal to its belief, that it cares not how it is perceived”—what the designer referred to as “radical acceptance,” based on trust in a “creator that creates well” that motivated this collection.These clothes were stimulating even without the backstory. There would be no escaping attention in them—but not because they are especially body revealing. Salam stayed true to his body-con aesthetic and signature craft techniques. The hard angles of last season were replaced by softer and more feminine touches. Inserts of lace framed the mesh on one slender sheath; chiffon bows fluttered from either end of a boatneck collar.The fashion eye has adjusted to the mini length, and Salam used it to great graphic effect for a skirt, strapless party dresses, and coat. He also raised the bustline; a dress with a handkerchief hem and a strap just under the bust managed to look sexy and sporty at once. Another one-two punch of sorts came from what looked like a pair of puffed cargo shorts worn over leggings but was in fact a single garment. “They are like buffoon pants…with almost cartoon-level exaggeration,” the designer said. Shown with a box coat, they were OTT, but they looked smashing with a vest.As effective as Sukeina’s total look is, the pairing of intricately worked skirts with a simple turtleneck or button-down showed how these special pieces could have a “day life.” Others of Salam’s adaptations were less obvious. To avoid his chosen color becoming repetitive, the designer said he used 32 different fabrications to make sure that the red “felt consistent but ever changing”—which also neatly describes what Sukeina as a brand is all about.
14 September 2022
When Sukeina’s Omar Salam, presenting an anthracite tweed coat tailored to reveal a glimpse of its floral lining, said that he was aiming “to really create this feeling of flowers growing out of rocks,” the image that instantly came to my mind was not that of an artful ikebana but of a scrappy plant pushing its way through cracked concrete. This had nothing to do with the design, which was extremely sophisticated, and everything to do with the state of New York and the world. Both feel dangerous and backwards—who could believe that women’s right to control what happens to their own bodies would be threatened in 2022?Salam’s persistent optimism and long-sightedness could provide an antidote to anxiety. His covered-up and space-taking clothes are empowering; his tailoring requires an adjustment in posture to a confident stance. But he doesn’t aim to be all things to all women: “We promised ourselves that if we go into fashion, we will not do one thing that is being done by anyone else,” he said.To that end he’s focused on two specialties, an origami tailoring technique and exquisite knotting. It’s the latter that came to the fore here. The exaggerated and graphic curves of his tweeds carve into the negative space around them and sculpt the body. Unlike Christian Dior’s New Look curves, which were created through inner supports that reformed a body to suit the dress, in Salam’s inventive patterns boning becomes part of the outerseaming. The result is that when a woman pulls on these clothes, she takes on the shape of the garment rather than submitting to its form.With a miniskirt and cropped jacket in a furry texture Salam achieved his goal of bringing hard and soft together. He did so as well with a pair of beautifully cut cropped pants made of a substantial wool that allowed for movement. A floral sheath felt like an outlier save for its boatneck, a motif that ran throughout the collection. “It’s very difficult for us to detach ourselves from balance,” Salam said. The neckline was a way of “getting to a place of peace; that straight neckline just felt clean and cleansing to us.”Boatnecks aside, what’s most consistent in Salam’s work is his origami technique. He describes these folds as being like fortune cookies, which is an interesting metaphor that might be applied to the brand as a whole. Sukeina creates garments that allow women to carve out their own space in the world.
25 May 2022
The Sukeina woman is going places, and not just because designer Omar Salam decided to show uptown in a modern salon on Central Park South. Before bombastic runway shows were the norm, fashion was previewed in intimate settings, where editors and clients could connect with the designer one-on-one.In the era of Zoom and FaceTime, it’s rare for creators and consumers to haveactualface time, but Salam wanted to preserve the real-world rapport that has been integral to his brand from the beginning. “I keep telling my customers that this is a moment to engage in the playfulness and joy of life,” he says. “This [season] is a bit of a departure; shapes are softer, the rhythm is joyous, and Sukeina’s woman feels different. Of course, she’s still doing big things, but she’s having fun too.”The season’s story was dubbed Hue, a word with multiple meanings that make their way onto the clothes. “You can define it as a color or a tint as in paint, but I loved the idea of it also representing humanity,” shared Salam. “The unity of all hues is what humanity truly ought to be, and the beauty of that concept moved me.” Salam’s exploration of the subject led to research on Bantu peoples of sub-Saharan Africa and their distinctive traditional dress, the patterns of which inspired the lively shades that feature within the collection. “They take disparate pieces of fabric and merge them to create patterns that are a symphony of color,” he explained. “They just exude joy, but beauty is also a form of escapism and repurposing; a way to take things that others have perceived as valueless and transform them.”In the past, Salam has kept his palette restrained, saving the bright colors for monochromatic looks or color-blocked pieces that feature his signature weaving. There are several new propositions this time around, including semitransparent tunics and matching pants, drop-waist dresses with playful pleats, and modish minis that would make Mary Quant proud. The sense of joy that Salam sought to create comes through, especially in the look book images featuring Coco Rocha.Rocha looks like a flapper with her bobbed hair and knee socks, and that jazzy Roaring Twenties vibe is reflected in the eveningwear. The mood is light, with feathered embellishments decorating ball gowns and tuxedo dresses revealing a hint of thigh as she leaps off the page.
9 September 2021
Cozymay be one of the season’s buzzwords, but it comes at a cost. Moving toward a sensibility that prioritizes ease of wear is a choice some designers can’t make lightly, and for Sukeina’s Omar Salam, exploring the causal has been a learning experience. Until recently, his label focused on demi-couture pieces with an artistic flourish—the kind of fashion one reserves for special occasions. Sculptural dresses and intricately folded jackets are too grand for a trip to Costco or an evening spent browsing Netflix, but the supermodels and CCOs who’d embraced Salam’s work usually lead lives less ordinary. 2020’s global reset meant that even alpha-females had to slow things down, and Salam used his time in lockdown to adapt accordingly. With a work-from-home focused capsule collection released in December he expanded into basics, a pivot that broadened his audience.After the warm response to those limited-edition pieces, Salam felt ready to tackle quotidian dressing on a larger scale, so his vision for fall centered on ready-to-wear that felt effortless. “Until now, Sukeina was so elevated. We’re celebratory of women, their psyches, bodies, and emotions, but we’re [also] in the midst of a world that needs changing,” said Salam via Zoom. “I called this collection Grace because it’s about finding a balance—taking our brand’s DNA and merging that aesthetic with functionality to create clothes that are practical and comfortable, but still inspiring.”Combining those elements was a tall order, but Salam managed it. The precision folds and intricate weaving that have become his signatures were present, but this time he paired them with American sportswear standards and athletic references. The striped cuffs and collars found on classic letterman jackets served as a recurring motif, making their way onto unexpected pieces like turtleneck dresses and transparent blouses worn with pleated midi-skirts. At times Salam leaned into varsity sports symbols—the red-and-white sweater and structured skirt combination will make you wish your high school team’s uniforms had been cooler—but the lines became more interesting as they were blurred. On several looks, the stripes transformed into ruffles that coiled around the necks of models or jutted out from the midriff like mini-peplums, a simple touch that maximized visual impact. “I was happy to incorporate these elements that were fun as long as somewhere there was a sense of order,” said Salam.
“You can take a fabric that looks super put-together then offset it with a ribbed detail or these almost industrial looking zippers. In the middle of all the sportiness, there is still a sense of symmetry.”
18 February 2021
A lot can happen in a year, just ask Sukeina’s Omar Salam. In the last 12 months, the designer has made his New York Fashion Week debut, released his first campaign, and been appointed creative director of the Frallain Group, a platform for luxury brands produced on the African continent. The series of wins helped raise Salam’s profile, but like many designers he found himself having to adapt once the coronavirus pandemic began. The addition of items like a roomy boyfriend sweater offered in multiple colorways expanded the scope of things, but eveningwear remains Salam’s focus.Spring’s theme connects with many of the issues currently facing fashion and culture at large. Dubbed “miracle,” it centers on the idea of having a seat at the table, something Black creators have continuously struggled to receive. In Salam’s view, the industry’s tendency toward gatekeeping limits its creative potential. “If one color is missing, the picture can’t be complete,” he shared on the phone from Brooklyn. “They might not [explicitly] say that someone isn’t allowed in the room, but when all that is necessary to get into those rooms excludes an entire group, the message is clear.”To counter that idea, he delved into cross-cultural reference points, looking to traditional Malian dress, Kenya’s Maasai tribe, and the Bassari people of the West African region. When European designers draw from indigenous cultures, the result is often literal or (much worse) stereotypical. In utilizing techniques specific to the African continent—primarily the intricate braiding and weaving used throughout the collection—Salam hoped to create something new by tapping into tradition. “These elements are what inspired Michael Jackson in music, Beyoncé in dance, Jean Paul Gaultier in fashion, and Yves Saint Laurent throughout the ’70s,” explains Salam. “Africa has had such a profound influence.”The context adds to the season’s story, but Salam’s output is eye-catching even without it. This season’s recurring motifs—neon marabou, lace woven into mesh, and layered fringe—are tricky, but the strongest looks used them to great effect. Why settle for a plain LBD when you can have one detailed to the max with mesh and lacework? Dresses taken to their abstract limit with folds of fabric at the shoulders to exaggerate their width and ruffles that bend like flower petals are a lot of look, but they fit with Salam’s powerhouse muses.
Clients like Naomi Campbell and Netflix CMO Bozoma Saint John, who lends her name to a dramatic finale gown with puffed sleeves and a mermaid-worthy fish tail, are looking for wow factor, and these pieces deliver it.
14 September 2020