White is the Spirit of Sudan
Designer Mayada Adil El Sayed's exploration of of Sudan through the color white
Portrait of designer Mayada Adil El SayedOriginal Source: Design Indaba
Who is Mayada Adil El Sayed?
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.
White is a colour of movement.Design Indaba
Adil founded her eponymous fashion label, Mayada Adil, to tell stories of her Nubian heritage and Sudanese culture. A self-proclaimed feminist, Adil also participates in economic empowerment programs for women living in vulnerable communities.
White is a colour of movement.Design Indaba
In her work The Peaceful Revolution of Sudan, Mayada explores the color white as it exists within the history and minds of Sudan and its people.
White is a colour of movement.Design Indaba
As Mayada says ''Sudan is made up of 570 tribes. The color 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.''
Mayada goes on to say ''white reflects the warm hearts of the Sudanese people, who are known for their kind-hearts and generosity.
White color is present everywhere, you see it daily on the streets of Sudan, in all the ceremonies, joyful occasions and sorrowful ones. ''
White is a colour of movement.Design Indaba
Further commenting on her use of the color, Mayada states ''White garments exist in resistance, in our history, in nostalgic memories, in our recent Sudanese Revolution, and yet it is also a color of peace.''
White is the colour of Movement (2020) by Mayada Adil El Sayed SudanDesign Indaba
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