Behind every carefully crafted garment, there's a visionary. When moving to Antwerp, I had the pleasure of befriending Wajeb Azouz, a fashion designer from Aleppo who envisions a world dressed in black-white-pink with lots of chunky chains. Read the first part of my deep dive into Wajeb's world as he gives an exclusive interview about his background, designs and inspiration.
Wajeb welcomes me to his cozy apartment in Sint-Andries, one of the most trendy areas of Antwerp. He sets up snacks and pours me a cup of tea as he tells me about his passion for fashion.
Ami: "Let's play a little game to warm up. Just give me short answers. Who's your all-time favorite designer?"
Wajeb: "Alexander McQueen... Both of our works show rage, passion and emotion."
Ami: "And your active favorite designer?"
Wajeb: "Thom Browne. His clothes have structure. They're shaped meticulously."
Wajeb adores Thom Browne's Spring Summer collection of 2020.
Ami: "Which colors do you love and hate?"
Wajeb: "I love pink, red, purple... everything red-ish. And black and white as a contrast; that just resonates with how I think." Wajeb laughs. "Oh, and I hate orange. Delete it from the color wheel."
Ami: "Let's talk about you for a bit. When did you notice your love for fashion and creating clothes?"
Wajeb: "When I was 5 or 6 years old, I was with my grandma when she picked up the whole family's old socks and stuffed the holes. I helped her and I liked it, perhaps it was more about being with my grandma, but this memory is really important to me. Later, my grandma taught me how to recycle fabric to create long skirts for my sister’s Barbies. I remember the first pants I ever made for a Barbie. The pant legs were uneven and when bending the Barbie's legs for her to sit down, her whole ass was exposed. We also made a dress together. It wasn't well-tailored or anything. Really makeshift. But that was the turning point — from then on I was invested. I didn’t consciously decide to like this, it just happened... It came naturally. Fashion found me."
At first sight you notice that Wajeb is a designer who lives and breathes fashion.
Ami: "So your grandmother showed you the ropes?"
Wajeb: "Well, it was actually my mum who taught me knitting and crocheting. And she learned it from her mum. My mother sewed a lot when I was a kid. When my brother, sister and I got older, however, she stopped doing this. She had a full-time job and took care of 3 kids so perhaps it was too much effort eventually. I often think that I inherited her eye for detail and patterns. I still call her for advice on the amount of fabrics I need for my designs or pattern-related questions. Thanks to her, I'm able to look at a garment and instantly see the pattern in my head which I can then put onto paper. "
Ami: "With that background, did you actively pursue your passion for fashion at a young age already?"
Wajeb: "No. For a couple of years after working with Barbies, I didn't do anything crafty anymore. It was only in the last years of high school that I started drawing clothes and then suddenly everything came back. I remembered sewing with my grandma. And then I decided to study this craft in an art college in my home town Aleppo."
Ami: "So you just studied in the fashion department then?"
Wajeb: "I wish it had been that easy. There was a lot of drama around the matter. Studying fashion was out of the question. In a nutshell, my graduation grades in high school were too bad for art school which meant that I had to choose a degree I hated. So I pretended that I wanted to study architecture at art college for which I was allowed to redo my last year of high school."
Ami: "What did college add to your education and skills in fashion and design?"
Wajeb: "College taught me how to study designers' works and the process of designing. The whole theroretical package really. Moreover, during college, I signed up at the workshop of a friend who was a local tailor. There, I learned tailoring and got most of my practical skills. I started my 4-year college education when the war started, so we only had minimal resources to work with."
This wool jacket is the first finished piece Wajeb created in college.
Ami: "Did you fit in at college?" Wajeb: "Apart from being the only man in my class, there were many ways in which I stood out. Take my curiosity, for example. I loved just learning how to make clothes. It was exciting. However, I had so many fights with my teachers because I disagreed with almost everyone except my sewing teachers. They had technical skills which I deeply respect. So I saw a real value in their lessons. That being said, everything related to style, which was taught in the 3rd year of college, caused fights. I was called the rebel. I had my own way of drawing, my own style and I didn't want to draw realistic models. I drew what I envisioned."
An older sketch of Wajeb depicting "unrealistic models" according to this former teacher.
Ami: "The line between being a rebel and a prodigy is thin..."
Wajeb:"It is. I remember this one teacher who told me to change my style because according to her, it wasn't complimenting the design. She said 'You need to focus on design. Not on how to draw the model. The face of the model doesn't matter for a draft. Why do you waste your time.' So I talked back and the teacher never spoke to me again. I was furious because I wanted to be independent and express myself. Well, guess what? I ended up not changing my drawings and got the highest grades. I was the best student of my year. I was passionate and just wanted to learn. In my 3rd year, I learned stuff from the 4th year. My teachers complained about my eagerness as they thought that it was a waste of time. I had to redo everything in my actual 4th year anyway. But I didn't care. I wasn't always allowed to skip ahead but most of the teachers found my development very interesting."
Ami "You mentioned that you started studying when the war started. How did that influence your studies?" Wajeb: "I had started working on my graduation collection which consisted of 10 pieces, but eventually never graduated..."
Ami: "Now that you live in Belgium, do you in any way process your Syrian background in your designs?"
Ami: "Only more recently I have noticed that I reference my Syrian roots. It's weird because when I was in Aleppo, people told me I didn't fit in and should move to Europe. So I acted accordingly. And now that I am in Europe, it still doesn't feel right, like I'm torn between cultures. I think this reflects in my work..."
Wajeb incorporated both Western and Syrian element in this custom-made blazer.
Ami: "Where else do you draw inspiration from?" Wajeb: "I could just be walking down the street and noticing a nicely shaped trash bag to inspire my next dress." Wajeb smirks. "Music also inspires me. I made entire collections inspired by Edith Piaf's singing or Dalida songs. Dalida was a diva, an icon and brings back childhood memories."
Wajeb's first creation made in Belgium. Notice the Edith Piaf live CD in the background.
Ami: "What's your trademark?" Wajeb: "Good question. Definitely lots of chains. Chunky chains and beading. But beading has gotten too popular, so I need to think about this a bit more..."
For my birthday, Wajeb gifted me this tailored 3-piece outfit that's showcasing his trademarks.
It's time to get up from the sofa and look at Wajeb's craftsmanship in detail. Read on in part 2 of the All Eyes on Wajeb Azouz series to take a peek at his most opulent designs and latest projects.
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