“Men in today’s world are a lot more diverse, they have a much broader approach to life. They have connected a little bit on a wider scale. They have come to embrace global sensibilities, instead of local sensibilities,” says NYC-based Moroccan fashion designer Hisham Oumlil, half way through our interview. “I really want men to be much more universal. To be men. Period. Don’t act, don’t dress, don’t talk like you come from one place. The world is yours. You have to open up to it.”
If you’re not paying attention, it is easy to get confused about what exactly it is that Oumlil is speaking about. His thoughts are so rooted in culture, history, globalisation, and beauty that he could be leading a discussion on just about anything. Today though, as is often the case, he is talking about fashion. Men’s fashion, to be more precise.
Born and bred in Casablanca, Morocco, Oumlil found himself in a culture where, as he puts it, people were always trying to differentiate themselves from one another, and did so through the clothes they would wear on the two holiest days of the year: the birth of the Prophet and the day after the end of Ramadan. This is where his first desires to create garments that reflect the wearer’s originality was born.
“Sadly, for a long time people have looked at clothing as a way to express [their] vanity and to be part of a certain social status, rather than having a much deeper appreciation for it, and sort of exuding an overall beauty that is not only yours, but that is the beauty of so many people that have been involved in creating this garment,” he explains. “I wanted to elevate men’s clothing to a much more interesting environment. I wanted to change the whole dialogue of why men wear clothing, and why men wear clothing of this level of craft.”
Once you’ve taken in Oumlil’s eloquence and grandiose ideas about fashion, you realise that his speech reflects his designs. Every sentence is perfect. Every word is in its place, carefully chosen to reflect a bigger vision. He speaks honestly, beautifully and consciously.
Having managed to circumvent his Arab father’s wish to have a doctor or lawyer for a son, and having passed through Paris and San Francisco, before settling down in New York, Oumlil is now a rising star in the men’s fashion world. Following stints as a designer and handling custom tailoring in places like Hermes, Armani, and Lora Piana, Oumlil launched his own label in 2004. His vision was clear.
“For me, I had seen that a lot of brands focus on an existing lifestyle of a customer, and try to feed them that, whereas, as a designer, you need to create the concept and actually influence men to follow you,” he says. By building up a private clientele, Oumlil was able to develop his vision, and experiment one-on-one with customers, to see how influential he could be and how open-minded they could get.
All of this led to the creation of his first collection in Fall 2007, aptly called ‘Anatomy of a Gentleman’s Wardrobe.’ Since then, Oumlil has slowly carved his way into the field, earning recognition among his peers and his select clientele. He recently received the ‘International Rising Star Award’ from the Fashion Group International, and is considered one of the 100 most influential names in menswear.
This recognition is easy to understand once you discover the collections. His clothes are elegantly modern, with colours that reflect a man of the world and a refined craftsmanship that is very hard to find these days. His collections include suits, jackets, scarves, shirts, ties, casual wear – just about anything needed to fill a respectable wardrobe. Oumlil’s expertise also lies in his private tailoring, where concepts and wardrobes are designed according to a world vision he has for his customer.
Though he often refers to himself as an American designer whenever Oumlil discusses his influences, he always refers back to his origins. “The sense of creating beautiful things comes from that part of the world, really focusing on the handwork and the human resources,” he says. “We have an amazing culture, a huge heritage. We are the first crafters. We need to dig into the past of the Arab Muslim heritage, to go and bring the richness out there.” This is clear in his latest collection, the Fall 08 ‘Homage to Casablanca’, where Oumlil returns to the colonial days, drawing from French influences on the local culture of his birth country to create a collection that reflects a man of the world, free of geographical or cultural boundaries.
While his business is now thriving in London and New York, his heart seems to have never left Morocco. “I really want to be the next chapter of Arab-born designers, who could inspire a new generation. There are a lot of horizons, a lot of opportunities out there. I want [Arab] kids to be able to grow up with much bigger hopes and a better understanding of what they can do and what they are capable of doing and what their ancestors have done in terms of their influence on the world stage. If they open up, then they would have connected to the world,” he eulogises.
Contacts
Hisham Oumlil
New York City, USA
Tel +1 212 730 0720
HYPERLINK "http://www.oumlil.com" www.oumlil.com
