Thursday 20 September 2012

Atifa Rasooli: Minimalism's Latest Ally

published in: Fashion Design, 20 Sep 2012

Meet Danish fashion designer Atifa Rasooli and her namesake brand. Rasooli was educated as a dressmaker, before going for two years at Kea design/business at sourcing/production line. "I believe creativity does not need an education, of course you will learn the tools on how to use your ideas, but I have never had the need for a design education, so that is why I chose to take dressmaking and sourcing education," she explains.


Rasooli was not really interested in fashion itself, but rather in images, expressions and creating a mood. Photography was her passion, like the works of Sarah Moon, and August Sander, "there is so much atmosphere and feeling in it". According to Atifa, "fashion came later after I took my dressmaking education, which I just took to do something else, something different. Then I just combined dressmaking education with imagination, which people call it “designer”."


To her own admission, Atifa's inspiration stems from her own works, but also from simplicity in all its forms (such as minimal art and pictures or clothes) as it calms her down. "It just feels good. The world is already full of complicity, so I love to look at things that symbolize humbleness and simplicity. The product/collection itself doesn’t necessarily have to be minimal, but a simple idea around it can make it look minimal as well," Rasooli says.



The same goes for the inspiration behind this debut for the designer collection. Atifa's Autumn/Winter 2012-13 line was influenced by the somber quiet winter days in Copenhagen that have a beauty and humbleness into it. "Everything imaginable and unimaginable is created from stillness. Stillness is where all creations begin. I am the messenger of stillness. Stillness is about bringing back the strength of humble appearance with hidden nobility," Rasooli reveals.



Her collection exudes a refined nomadic idea balanced with a hint of poetry and class. There has been focus on creating a mood through the collection while combining slightly nomadic and Japanese silhouettes. "I have tried to bring a sombre beauty and melancholic impression in the collection with a slightly touch of ornamentation. I have not focused a lot on details, but rather to give a total impression. Decoration and fantasy comes from the mood and atmosphere of the pieces. I would love to do a collection where I only think scenario and atmosphere and not clothing," Rasooli explains.  


The fabrics are wool, silk, cotton and jersey: natural fabrics that the designer loves working with and that give the collection softness and variation. The color palette used was kept between black, gray and white in an attempt to describe the color of stillness. The idea behind the brand is to produce good quality garments in small quantities, and therefore, the production will be placed in Europe to be able to follow up easily the manufacturing process and quality control.


As for Atifa's future in the fashion biz, well don't necessarily count her solely as a designer as she would also love to get involved in art, painting, photography and film. "It is something I can see my self doing in the future, maybe combine it with my designs/collections," she says.



Photographer: Erika Svensson

Model: Cecilie Madsen
Styling: Anne Stine Bae
Make-Up & Hair: May Naes


All photographs courtesy of Atifa Rasooli©



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