Portrait of designer Mayada Adil El Sayed
Design Indaba
Cape Town, South Africa
Sudanese designer Mayada Adil El Sayed was selected by Design Indaba to take part in our collaborative initiative with Google Arts & Culture, titled Colours of Africa. Africa is known for its bold, unapologetic use of colour. Stories are told in pigments, tones and hues; a kaleidoscope as diverse as the cultures and peoples of the continent. For the initiative, we asked 60 African creatives to capture the unique spirit of their country in a colour which represents home to them. The projects they have created are personal and distinct stories of Africa, put into images, videos, texts and illustrations. Each artist has also attempted to articulate what being African means to their identity and view of the world.
- Title: Portrait of designer Mayada Adil El Sayed
- Original Source: Design Indaba
- What it Means to be African: To me, being African is to be Pan-African – constantly believing in the depth of our diversity and unity. Being an African woman, artist and feminist, believing in this unity drives me.
- Subject: Mayada Adil El Sayed
- Rationale: For Colours of Africa I have chosen the colour white. White is the reflection of all colours, all the visible rays of light – and aptly captures the spirit of a country as diverse as Sudan. Sudan is made up of 570 tribes. The colour white is often used in ceremonial clothing – from east to west, north to south – our traditional Sudanese costumes the Toub and Jalabya are often white to compliment our complexions. The colour white reflects the warm hearts of the Sudanese people, who are known for their kind-hearts and generosity. White colour is present everywhere, you see it daily on the streets of Sudan, in all the ceremonies, joyful occasions and sorrowful ones. White gourmets exist in resistance, in our history, in nostalgic memories, in our recent Sudanese Revolution, and yet it is also a colour of peace. White fabrics have always been the base to my collections as a designer. White textiles fill the void and create a strong relationship between the body and space, creating a wave of movement between the skin, the fabric and the world.
- Project: Colors of Africa
- Location: Sudan
- Lead Quote: White is the reflection of all colours, all the visible rays of light – and aptly captures the spirit of a country as diverse as Sudan.
- Hex Code: e6dfdf
- Colour Choice: Peace White
- Biography: Sudanese designer Mayada Adil El Sayed is a physician by profession, but a fashion designer and visual artist for passion. Currently based in Paris, Adil is a master candidate at SciencesPo Paris, Paris School of International Affairs. Adil founded her eponymous fashion label, Mayada Adil, to tell stories of her Nubian heritage and Sudanese culture. She is a self-proclaimed feminist, and participates in economic empowerment programs for women living in vulnerable communities and internationally displaced or refugee women in Africa and Europe. Her fashion brand is set up to run as a social enterprise and creates employment opportunities and vocational training for women in rural communities. Adil was recently chosen by the French Foreign Ministry to represent the Sudanese youth to present the role of art and the creative economy in the diaspora in supporting the Sudanese revolution in the Paris Conference for Sudan on 17 May 2021, where she met with French President Emmanuel Macron and emphasised the important role of the youth in bringing democratic transition and uplifting the political and economic situation in Sudan. Adil represented Sudan in UNESCO Paris Africa Fashion Reception and was chosen to be the face of the European Film Festival, leading the movement to encourage the Sudanese women to celebrate their African beauty.
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