To speak of the Egyptian style is to immerse oneself in the history of humanity, in a magical world that has set guidelines to follow through the centuries. It is to remember characters from famous movies such as Cleopatra, starring the famous Elizabeth Taylor, that actress who impacted the world with her unique eye color and that sensual and elegant style, which has been imitated by thousands of women around the world. .
Egypt with its customs, lifestyles, clothing, jewelry, history and culture, it has been a source of inspiration for countless archaeologists, architects, filmmakers, designers and professionals from different areas, since it has been a people who love nature and the air free, of styling and art, extremely rich in plastic expression, which has given this civilization a strong and coherent personality in its way of thinking and acting, and that is characterized by its courtesy, kindness, sense of reverence and above all all for the talent they possess in various disciplines, within which fashion is in its important seat.
For this reason, knowledge of the Egyptian historical context in the world of fashion is essential to achieve the design and development of new ideas, considering that every designer must have extensive knowledge about history, because otherwise they could not be called a designer. In every sense of the word.
This is how, Egypt represents one of the civilizations that makes the most contributions to fashion collections, with its large number of details that have nurtured creative designs during the 20th century and obviously continue to do so in the 21st century, because it reached throughout its history a high enough level to make significant contributions to the evolution of its peculiar clothing, its jewelry, makeup and hairstyles, which today continue to be a reference for designers around the world.
In this sense, to learn about the history of ancient Egyptian clothing and its influence on the world of current fashion, it must be understood that the importance that linen has had for the Egyptians, since for three millennia almost all their clothes were made of this fabric, which was made using the plant that was grown in the Nile River, because it is a very soft and manageable fabric that allows you to create exquisite and varied garments.
It should be noted that the main characteristic for which the Egyptians used it was its freshness, considering that it is very hot in Egypt and this fabric helped them to make garments in simple cuts to withstand climatic conditions. Thus, while the men wore a piece that wrapped around their hips and hung in folds in front, which they called squeentithe women wore the calasiris, which a kind of tube-cut dress, which was sometimes accompanied by detachable sleeves.
But the designers of the modern age have not only taken into consideration the fabrics, but also the colors, the simple styles and cuts of their garments, the details, embroidery, accessories, etc., which have made Egyptian clothing and style It has been and is a reference for many famous design houses, as well as new designers who have emerged in the magical world of fashion.
For these reasons, it has been possible to maintain that admiration, respect and fascination for this great and powerful culture, a source of inspiration not only for designers but for millions of women around the world who dress and make up using the Egyptian style as a reference, and who designers take the opportunity to guide themselves during the creative process of their garments and jewelry, using basic aspects as a reference, such as: sheer dresses, muslins, golden fabrics, capes, tunics, precious stones, among others.
Without a doubt, we are in the presence of a fresh style that bases most of its garments on wide and straight cuts, where the silhouette was the result of two key factors: the fineness and finish of the linen, which the designers exploit to the maximum in creations where the wrinkled or natural pleating stand out with clear marked folds, which are reinforced with the use of decorative necklaces and belts in various colors and textures, which were typical of this culture.
As for jewelry, the use of jewelry by men and women of Egyptian high society was a deeply rooted custom, which was characterized by being very colorful, and designed in gold from Nubia, present-day Ethiopia, with natural motifs, such as: yellow mandrake fruits, green palm leaves, white lotus flowers.
In addition, many semi-precious stones were used, especially lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, amethyst, turquoise, quartz, carnelian, red and green jasper, as well as glass and glass paste that was used to imitate precious stones, or steotite, which is a soft stone. that was carved to make small garments, such as necklaces, bracelets and pins.
All this series of details of clothing, as well as jewelry, makeup, hairstyles and other accessories, have been frequently used by great designers when making their collections that later take them to the world’s great catwalks.
In this context, we have as one of the main exponents of Egyptian fashion, the Christian Dior house, which showed off its spring collection of 2004, which was mainly responsible for John Galliano, who was the creative director of the house of Dior, and decided to be inspired by Egyptian culture to present a fabulous parade in the heart of Paris on one of the most famous catwalks in the world, where he brought together gods, mummies and sphinxes, who achieved a perfect combination to impact the world of fashion in such a way that the details of said collection are still remembered today.
This is how Galliano brought to the French catwalks the glamor and splendid luxury of his pharaonic tombs, which evoked the famous Egyptian character «Tutankhamun» who lived in the fourteenth century before Christ, in addition to the great beauty of his legendary goddesses and female figures such as Cleopatra, who has been one of the most recognized female icons in history, wrapped in golden tones that emulate her gold, as well as pleats, her striking makeup and the freshness of her turquoise and coral.
In this way, the House of Dior, under the direction of Galliano, took advantage of the use of inverted volumes that manages to increase the torso of a model, while minimizing the lower part of the figure, or vice versa, reinforcing them with enveloping ribbons that achieved a fresh effect, typical of the Egyptian style, transferred to the 21st century, where the lights of Paris were combined with the Egyptian robes to make Galliano’s spring-summer 2004 collection a high impact.
This impact was demonstrated through multiple positive comments from celebrities such as Hillary Alexander, who described the parade as a return to life, adding that not since Elizabeth Taylor played the mythical Cleopatra had there been so much extravagance, luxury and excess; while Sarah Mower, representative of the fashion portal style.com, highlighted the majesty and luxury of the collection and cataloged the event as a waste of elegance and good taste.
Also, Sarah Jessica Parker, who was in Paris in those days, recording some episodes of the famous television series «Sex in New York”, attended the parade and stated the following: “I knew that John Galliano was capable of building elegance, fantasy and history, but this goes beyond the fantastic; beyond belief. I have never seen anything like this in my life.»
Another of the famous fashion houses is Givenchy, which has also been characterized by making fabulous catwalks, which has positioned it as one of the favorites of the fashion week held in Paris, which the designer has taken advantage of very well. Riccardo Tisci, representative of this fashion house, who made an Autumn-Winter 2016/2017 collection, where he opted for risky prints with daring mixes, which were reinforced with details, makeup and accessories inspired by Egyptian fashion, worn by famous models such as Mariacarla Bosconou and Candice Swanepoel, model of El Secreto de Victoria.
The show attracted a lot of attention and had a very positive impact, due to the use of eye-catching garments specially made in abstract and ethnic Egyptian-inspired prints, as well as various versions of prints of snakes that gave the catwalk a special and magical touch that most of the attendees liked, generating many positive comments.
To conclude, it is important to highlight the work of the Lebanese designer Elie Saab, who according to Digital Vogue Magazine (2017) «manifests his art with the design of exquisite dresses that are an ode to the Egyptian heritage, a sample of the golden years of the world Arabic where”, and adds words of the designer where it expresses that «People were free to express themselves and their creative talents in theatre, art, journalism, music and film, transforming Egypt into a mecca of progress and allowing Arab culture to flourish.»
Elie Saab makes her designs combining brocades, embroidery and lace, which are meticulously worked, using impressive motifs such as trees, rivers and clouds that when the models wear them on the catwalks, it seems that these beauties float in the middle of the lights and their color.
In this way, this Lebanese designer achieves truly impressive effects by playing with gold, sand tones and royal blue accents, with Egyptian motifs, such as those used in a dress that shows the city of Domyat with a series of boats on the Nile River, which required three weeks of work, with 140 hours dedicated only to embroidery, using some 5,000 sequins and some 10,000 crystals assembled by hand, which were on a silk tulle, which managed to give life to the Egyptian city on the footbridge.