Creative Variations on the Veil Theme

Fashion designer Susanne Kuemper established the Department of Fashion at Helwan University in Cairo. According to her, the most daring design ideas often come from her most strictly religious students. Ute Meinel reports

The area of tension between the inner and the outer world is the subject that a German fashion designer explores with her Egyptian students, in ever-changing variations. "We deal with the subject of covering the body, and that automatically leads us to the theme of the veiling of Muslim women," says Susanne Kümper.

The committed instructor established the Department of Fashion at the School of Applied Arts at Helwan University in Cairo. Most of her female students come from middle-class families, and by now, nearly all of them wear the veil.

How important are external values?

By posing the classic question, "Who am I in my own eyes, and how do I present myself to the outside world?" Kuemper hoped to motivate her students to find their own artistic expression. She succeeded in doing this, and the results are quite surprising.

"The very students who are the most strictly veiled are often those who come up with the most daring designs and create veritable explosions of color," she emphasizes. The discrepancy between the inner and the outer worlds could hardly be greater. Perhaps, Kuemper speculates, this also reflects the contrasts present in the metropolis on the Nile – which is oriental yet westernized, where bitter poverty and the most ostentatious wealth exist side by side.

"At first, the creative instruction was a catastrophe," recounts the 37-year-old Kuemper with a laugh. The Egyptian education system had conditioned the students to always fulfill the instructors' expectations.

"Everything that comes from inside of you is good…"

"I told them that every idea that came from inside of them was good, but that's where we had communication problems." Finally, an international workshop with freelance artists, where the participants experimented with a wide range of materials, was the catalyst for a breakthrough. After that, many of the students were able to trust their inner powers of expression.

Some of Kuemper's former students are now working successfully in Egypt as fashion designers.

Kuemper's post is subsidized by the Center for International Migration and Development (CIM). Its goal is to provide the Egyptian market with new talent for the domestic textile industry so that it can then compete more successfully on the global market.

In addition, Kuemper has found sponsors whose support has allowed her to organize numerous workshops in the past five years, which then led to exhibitions or costume presentations. The aim was to thus give the young fashion designers the opportunity to present their creations in public and to focus their imaginations outward in an artistic medium without any concern for commercialism.

The latest fashion show, entitled "cover & uncover", was held on June 10th in the garden of the Goethe Institute in Cairo, accompanied by oriental jazz music. The almost ironic creations dealing with the theme of the veil were reminiscent of the protective masks worn by beekeepers. In an equally playful fashion, models were covered in sheer black cloaks, under which form-fitting dresses could be seen. The dresses, in turn, invited viewers to peek under their skirts, which were decorated with sequins on the inside.

However, the veils were soon transformed into creative body coverings, until they, too, were allowed to fall, revealing sexy evening wear. All the dresses, including all details and accessories, were made by the students themselves.

"Our clothes are our second skin"

"Clothing is a universal language, our second skin, through which we send out signals into our environment. In order to express yourself creatively through clothing, you have to show your true colors", says Kuemper.

She finds it unfortunate that the social pressure placed upon young women in Egypt has increased sharply in recent years. Female students who choose not to wear the veil are often treated with hostility or verbally threatened by their classmates, she says.

"Many of them can't stand the pressure, and then when they do put on the veil, you can see how quickly they change." The students who wear the veil are more passive, less open and lacking in spontaneity, she says. The desire to be recognized as a "devout woman" often takes the place of youthful rebelliousness and professional ambition. Kuemper says: "It brings tears to my eyes."

Translation from German: Mark Rossmann