Yesterday I posted an article about Uomo Moda, the menswear magazine in Egypt for which I am managing editor.
In the article, I also spoke about my collaborator, Heba, who today sent me the following article:
Being originally an engineer enriched my ability of understanding the lines, and between the lines. Engineering gave me this sense of feeling the beauty, analyzing it to know why I see it beautiful!!
“Respect the line” is one of the important phrases an engineering student hears. Unintentionally, I find myself looking for the lines, patterns, symmetry, harmony and contrast.
Getting into the point, when I had to give up working as an engineer, which is the love of my life, I had to search for another field, may be less tiring and more interesting, as my life has overdosed effort and boredom after all. Coincidence put me along with a family member and an old friend who asked me for help in his business in men’s fashion. I found it weird, and asked this naive question “Isn’t it all about pants and shirts??Huh!”
Now and after few years of asking this shallow question, and when I ‘m asked the same question , I answer with full mouth “yes, it is all about pants and shirt , but can you give me 10 different designs??” you will find that in best cases people can give you 4 to 6 designs for pants and a shirt look . That’s why I now believe that designing fashion for men is way harder than designing fashion for women, and its hardness results from its simplicity. For women’s fashion you have tens of items to change so you have a wider base to start with. On the other hand, for men’s fashion you have limited elements to start with. So, we decided to establish and publish “Uomo Moda” to be the first and only fashion magazine for men in Egypt, not only that but also in the Middle East.
A lot of brain storming, sharing ideas, contacting people, working on content and layout, hundreds of reviews , designs, labels and photos. Here, I have to admit, that men’s fashion catwalks impress me more, not because the smart athletes going on the catwalk, but because of the combination of beauty and masculinity. I invented a theory that says: when you can create harmony out of the contrast, just then you have a perfect case. May be I didn’t make the fortune I’ve dreamt of, but I met priceless people, Mark Di Maio is one of them.
Last but not least, I have to thank Mark for giving me this opportunity of communicating with more priceless people, and moreover for his voluntary yet professional support in “Uomo Moda” , the baby I never gave birth to.
Heba Hassanin – Editor in Chief
Uomo Moda