Discovering new Egyptian brand : Mahberry

Macarons & Cream - Cafe De Paris photoshoot

I had the chance to meet up with Rehab Nour, the designer behind the fresh new brand "Mahberry". Rehab is only 24 years old, working as a freelance journalist at Hejab Fashion Magazine. After studying mass communication, rehab started self-educating her self on fashion and taking several short design courses and workshops. Mahberry as a brand came to life after Rehab won the first place in the Next-styler international competition with her simple chic dress "Macarons and Cream". Rehab gave us some of her time to tell us more about her journey and the brand ...

Tell us about, how you started your designing journey ...

Bride mate wining dress

My journey with design started in my early childhood. Since I can remember fashion was a passion to me, my favorite game as a child was making dresses out of mum’s old veils and clothes. In prep school the dream of becoming a fashion designer became clearer and I began sketching in a very primitive way. Over the time I tried to improve my skills through tutorials and watching thousands of designs and illustrations. But the true beginning was with the FDC (Fashion Design Center) bride’s maid dress contest which I won and the prize was a short fashion design basics course, which set me on the road of beginning a career in fashion design and encouraged me to do so. 

Tell us about your brand? 

Mahberry is a name taken from a very old Persian legend – similar to Arabian Nights for us -. Mahberry was an enchanted princess whose name means “that who has the beauty of the moon and the purity of an angel” I was captured by the story and the name so much that I became convinced that it’s the most suitable name for my fashion brand as it represents a mix between fantasy and orientalism which are my two main sources of inspiration.  

What was your inspiration for the brand logo?

Rehab working

As for the logo, I didn’t actually reach a final version of it yet. However the one present on the page (the profile picture) is a trial to incorporate an oriental symbol into a dress design which captures the spirit and concept of my emerging brand.

Do you intend to design pret a porter only or will we see couture?

In fact when I started thinking about establishing my own fashion line, I thought of couture and evening gowns, then actually I made sketches for a collection. However, I was advised by several experts to start with casual wear as it’s easier to execute and to market. But one of my main goals is still to produce a Mahberry’s evening gowns line.

You're releasing your first collection, Tell us about it..

My first collection which is to be launched next winter is a smart casual collection of feminine tunics with an oriental touch. It’s made of high quality and light weight suede. The tunics are all ornamented with embroidered suede appliques of oriental graphical symbols. The colors are mostly earthy, taken form natural autumn and winter colors. They include orange, teal, brown, café, and dark olive green.

What was your main inspiration behind your first collection?

First collection sneak peak

The inspiration behind this collection came from a group of oriental graphics that I found while browsing the internet. They attracted my attention with their intricate design and beautiful curves and I found it very interesting to play with and implement them into fashion designs.  

Tell us more about the photoshoot and it's relation with the collection ...

The photoshoot of the collection was an adventure between al Azhar Park and Salah Al Deen’s citadel in Cairo. Both places have a historical and oriental atmosphere that represents a complimenting background for the pieces of the collection. It was a hard day but the results were good.

Macarons & Cream

You've participated in Next Styler, how was it?

I found about NextStyler contests while I was browsing the internet.The website’s idea seemed great and I decided to participate. I drew several sketches and sent them, some got accepted and others didn’t till I could capture more about what they want in the submitted designs and finally sent the lucky “Macarons & Cream” sketch.

We want to know all about "Macarons & Cream" ..

As the name suggests, Macarons (French cookies) and whipped cream were my sources of inspiration for this design. The cropped jacket with its brown and rounded edges was inspired by chocolate macaroons, while the dress was inspired by the flow and ripples of whipped cream. It’s a mixture of the smoothness and delicacy of the cream represented by chiffon in the dress, outlined by the structure and somehow solid shape of the jacket.

Macarons & Cream at the cafe de paris collection

How was it wining first place in an international contest?

I don’t know exactly how I won; I just spread the word and asked people to vote for me in every way possible. At a certain time I lost hope, but I was happily surprised at the end when the results came out and my dress won the 1^st place. I really couldn’t believe it at first, it felt great, but the best moment was when I received my executed design, it was a dream coming true - literally.  The video of the whole collection is here.

Where can we shop for Mahberry designs?

Mahberry’s collections will be available soon through my website and selected stores in Cairo, we are still in the planning stage now, but we sure will let you know as soon as it’s decided. As for "Macarons & cream", it’s sold through Nextstyler website – which is now called Maison Academia and this is the Link to it.

Currently Mahberry offers a new custom designing service, which enables the client to send us whatever she dreams about in a dress or clothing item and I will make a sketch specially for her and give her directions and recommendations about where and how to execute it. 

What does the future hold to Mahberry brand and you?
Who knows what the future holds.. we all wish we do know. For Mahberry, it’s still an emerging brand but my dreams for it are limitless. Collections every season, fashion shows, participating in other international competitions and eventually having my own show room.... you name it;  it’s all included in our future plans.

Rehab

What's in your purse?

Since I usually carry huge purses you’ll find so many things in there. Wallet, mobile, headphones, ID cards and lots of tissues are the basics. But you will surely find many others. Several notebooks of various sizes and colors, pens, pins, scraps of colorful paper and embroidered fabrics, a mirror, a small perfume bottle, lipstick, eyeliner, maybe some shopping receipts and one or two candy bars, the list can actually go on and on but I guess those are the most frequent items you’ll find in my purse.

I really like the concept of this new brand, the collection look very well crafted and promising. I was so happy and honored to see an Egyptian wining the first place in an international contest. You can get inspired with Mahberry facebook page and update yourself with Maison Academia Facebook page.

Posted in: Interviews