Qasimi presented its A/W 2017 Menswear Collection in London Fashion Week, a reinvented and atypical collection, greenery olive colors, sutil fabrics designed by Khalid Al Qasimi. Now let’s show some excerpts from WWD made a few days ago about Qasimi experimental work.
Sociopolitical topics have always been important to Khalid Al Qasimi and it shows in his ath-leisure collection Qasimi. The line, which mixes Middle Eastern dressing with a pared-back military aesthetic, is influenced by everything from art and architecture to political issues.
As a result, the line that he will present at 12:30 p.m. on Monday at Somerset House will focus on current events. “I think this year more than any other, those are conversations we all need to be having,” he said. “So part of the narrative of the collection will be about the rise of protests and riots.”
Born in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates and raised in the U.K. Qasimi, is the son of Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi. He studied Hispanic Studies and French literature at University College London then architecture at the Architectural Association and then studied women’s wear at Central Saint Martins. The Emirati designer started his women’s range in 2008 before launching his men’s offering in 2010.
Qasimi said the construction of the garment is paramount to him. “Everything has a purpose and function,” he said. “I try to steer away from decoration. Silhouettes are fluid, oversized and languid fresh.”
These looks appeal to a wide range of men, he believes, who are “looking for a beautifully designed piece of clothing that is all about cut, construction and fabric.”
Prices range from 175 pounds, or $216, for a shirt to 1,200 pounds, or $1,507, for outerwear. The label is sold in Bluebird, Harvey Nichols and Farfetch.com.
The designer doesn’t think there’s such a thing as the “typical” Qasimi man “purely because customers are so a-typical. But from the research we’ve done, they are educated, well-informed on all sorts of issues,” he said.
Qasimi said he is also strategizing expansions of his women’s range, looking at possible accessories collaborations as well as homewares.
