ELENANY FOR THE NARCICYST

AS TAKEN FROM THE ELENANY.CO.UK BLOG (http://www.elenany.co.uk/page/blog)

Earlier this year Elenany designed a bespoke piece of jewellery for rapper/actor/phenomenon The Narcicyst. We wanted to create something that truly reflected the spirit of his work so we studied his lyrics, delved into his philosophy and compiled a comprehensive image directory of all the things he’s ever worn….but just to make sure we got it right, we just asked him what he wanted and made that instead.

The result is this.

We made this piece of forearm armour for him by laser etching gold leather, laser cutting walnut and finishing with brass plated buckles and strap ends.

Follow The Narcicyst on Twitter @TheNarcicyst

ELENANY PROFILES: DANAH ABDULLA

AS TAKEN FROM THE ELENANY.CO.UK BLOG (http://www.elenany.co.uk/page/blog)

We’ve always wondered how people come up with great ideas. Obviously, we mean how OTHER people as well as ourselves come up with great ideas. Elenany recently started writing for Kalimat magazine, an exciting new magazine providing an outlet for political, cultural and social expression within the Arab region and its Diaspora.

We love pioneers so we wanted to find out more about its inspired creator….so we tracked her down and asked her a bunch of awkward questions to try to figure out how she came up with such a great idea.

Elenany: Who are you?
Danah: I am the founder, editor and creative director of Kalimat Magazine. Currently, I am a Master of Arts in Social Design student at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.


Elenany: What is your vision?
Danah: My vision with Kalimat is to turn it into a media and design production house. Kalimat not only encourages Arab creatives to submit their work and pursue careers in creative fields, media and politics without facing the difficulties of censorship, we also work collaboratively with writers on the editing process. Our end goal is to implement media and design training centres within universities. We want to teach people within the Arab region the creative fields inside and out and how they can utilise these skills to better their communities.


Elenany: What was the one defining moment of your life?
Danah: I guess I can relate it back to my second visit to Palestine. I lived in Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem for a few weeks and had the opportunity to experience the lifestyle of the residents, the way they think, etc. There was something about it that made you want to come back and do some form of educational work and that was a goal I had set in my mind. When I got back, I was inspired to clean up the place, create recycling and garbage programmes because there’s trash everywhere and I couldn’t understand why or how people could live like that. I worked a lot in activism after that. And then in 2010, I returned to Palestine, this time living and working at An-Najah University in Nablus. This time I was coming with ideas on how to do something for the entire region, as opposed to merely focusing on Palestine, which many people do, often neglecting similar problems in the vicinity.


Elenany: How has this translated into your work now?
Danah: It has translated into Kalimat, which is what I am devoted to and it’s also my area of study. The MA programme I’m pursuing right now works directly with the East Baltimore community. As opposed to living in an apartment in a nice part of town and coming in during class time to work with the community, we live in the community and make up a part of it. That’s real community work and helps us better understand our surroundings and the people and places we are making things for. The programme is directly related to making change happen/instigating change through design.


Elenany: How is your work making the world a better place?
Danah: With my work, I hope to make people question the role of the media and design – how can these fields articulate change, how can we use them to better our environment and community and what is the role of a designer, an architect, a journalist? My goal is to have people rethink the educational system in the Arab world and the presence that these two fields (which influence numerous fields alongside it), play.


Elenany: Whose work do you like (artists/designers/musicians)?
Danah: One of my main inspirations is minimalist design so and the work of Massimo Vignelli inspires me for sure. I am also absolutely in love with the Andalusia region, the architecture and history is phenomenal.


Elenany: What’s your favourite Elenany piece/ graphic?
Danah: The Eskimo Coat! And the awesome Elenany logo buttons.


Elenany: Where can we find out more about you?
Danah: On my website at http://www.danahabdulla.com/ or on my blog www.yuppieactivist.blogspot.com and by following me on twitter @theyuppie


Check out Kalimat Magazine at http://www.kalimatmagazine.com/

ELENANY FOR THE SCOUTS

AS TAKEN FROM THE ELENANY.CO.UK BLOG (http://www.elenany.co.uk/page/blog)

If you thought Girl Scouts spent their time baking cookies and helping old people mow their lawns, you were misinformed. Well, they do do that stuff, but they also get up to rather more exciting activities like hang gliding, mine exploration and zorbing. Yeah, zorbing.

Earlier this year, Elenany was asked by The Scouts to design a new inclusive uniform that girls from all backgrounds could wear to allow them to run, jump and climb mountains as much as they wanted without making the girls feel uncomfortable or exposed. Here’s the breakdown:


THE LOOKS
After several discussions with focus groups made up of girl Scouts and Scout leaders, we created two pieces of uniform which can be worn in conjunction with existing Scout uniform. We created a hoody dress for them, incorporating the bright i-Scout orange for the hood lining and print. We also created a shirt dress, made from a heavy t-shirt fabric in traditional Scout beige –with flashes of i-Scout pink on the sleeves.

THE PRINT
We couldn’t let them go without plastering a massive Elenany graphic all over the clothing –so that’s exactly what we did. We’re excited that the print might be used across the boys Scouting range (Cubs, Beavers, Scouts) too, on t-shirts and polos.

We got our inspiration for the print from all of the exciting activities Scouts get up to, so if you look closely you can see kayakers, windsurfers and Scuba divers arranged in a nice geometric pattern.

The uniform will be available at the end of this year to anyone and everyone from Scout Shops, online. The uniform will be limited edition, so if you love the new pieces, there’s no time to waste!

Islamification, Bad Nostalgia and British Design Genius.

I came across an article recently titled “the Islamification of Britain” in The Independent. I didn’t read it though, because I have a short attention span and Independent articles are always really long and use a lot of big words. I like to write but I don’t like to read. What does that say about me? Probably that I’m a narcissist. Oh well. Anyway.

As I lay staring at the ceiling listening to Radiohead that evening, I was awash with bad nostalgia. You know, bad nostalgia, the opposite of good nostalgia such as being choked with tears of joy at hearing the theme tune to The Mysterious Cities of Gold which you haven’t heard since you were 10.
Radiohead took me back to my late teens. The emptiness of youth. The disenchantment of reality. The indifference of it all. Yeah, I was proper Emo back then. In fact, I was Emo before Emo was even invented.
People often ask me why I started practising Islam and I never give them a proper answer because I can’t actually remember, but Radiohead reminded me. And I think it might be the reason for the rest of Britain, or at least elements of it :)

So why specifically Britain? Oddly enough I think the reason that British design is the best in the world is for the same reason for such Islamification. Wow. How did I even connect those two?! Here goes, using Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion:

Action: The British Stiff Upper Lip.
Reaction: Not showing and expressing emotion, or the fear of doing so can make people cold and unfriendly. This makes sensitive people become more introverted and seek approval from other humans by means of the work they produce. It makes people define themselves by their ideas. It makes people want to go into their sheds and invent stuff.
Spiritually, it makes people seek love in something that is bigger than a loveless society.

Action: The British Social Hierarchy/Class system.
Reaction: Historically, social class has massively informed social politics. Think about the monarchy versus the paupers and how that linked to value of oneself. It has filtered down through the ages and is still felt today. British people love fairness as a reaction to unfairness of being treated according to status. You are not the car you drive, etc.
Spiritually, this fairness translates into a yearning for equality.

Action: The Autonomous British Culture.
Reaction: Brits don’t like being told what to do, so we think a lot about what we think should be right. We decide what’s right. We develop a style. We work on this style. We refine it. It becomes brilliance itself.
Spiritually, there is a realisation that the truth is bigger than the self, but there is a need for rationale.

So because all of these things cause a reaction of wanting to feel free of whatever it is that is oppressing us, such is the liberation that is also required to be a good designer and explains twofold the British Islamification phenomenon and the path to British Design Genius. Thank you.

Muslim Bashing

Muslim bashing. Well, everyone else does it in the press, so I thought I’d have a go too. But I’m going to going to attempt to deliver this blog in a witty and light-hearted fashion despite its venomous attacks. I’m confident I can do it: one time in a presentation I told a lefty joke to a room full of middle and upper class white folks but I got away with it because I’m pretty and I smiled at the end (I also got a laugh).

On my journey of realising the concept of “Muslim fashion”, I have learned a lot about The Muslim in a British context.
Growing up not practising Islam, this has been a fairly new revelation to me: both understanding Muslim social politics and the perception of me as a Muslim by ordinary British people.

I’ve compiled some observations which I would be grateful if you should look at as to why there seems to be a massive disconnect between Muslims and British people and Muslims and Muslims. For which reason? An insight as to what makes me sigh at the irony of life.

So here goes.

“The clique phenomenon”
I have met people in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, who don’t know the first thing about Muslims. Not a bean. That’s a bit weird isn’t it, since it’s London, the ol’ Cultural Melting Pot, I’m talking about…So when those fascists at The Daily Mail etc spin their tales of woe about Muslims in the press, is it any wonder the masses believe them if they don’t have any points of references to check with?
Muslims hang exclusively with Muslims. I understand the practical and heck, religious benefits of the luxury of sticking to our own, but in a time where Muslims are so misunderstood and badly represented, is it really a luxury we can afford? I personally don’t think it is.


“The Dubai Contradiction”
Step aside “Infusion d'iris” by Prada and “Gucci” by Gucci, here comes the new fragrance, “Contradiction” by Muslim Folk.
Example: person X will relentlessly update their Facebook status with phrases such as “Don’t sin, Allah is watching” and, “Dunya is so not worth it, man” etc…followed by the posting of a link to a Nancy Ajram video (that’s trashy Arab pop music for those not in the know) and spending their annual holiday in luxurious, ostentatious, capital of materialism, Dubai (then coming back and bragging about it for the remaining 351 days of the year)…There’s something massively wrong about that isn’t there? There’s something wrong with an acceptance of two very polarised concepts….isn’t there?


“The Religious Veto”
The manifestation of this practise is twofold:
1) A seemingly “more religious” person will have used a technique known in the trade as “guerrilla marketing”. Said person will consistently use religious words and over a period of time will paint a picture of themselves that they are infinitely more religious and wise. Example: >ring ring, ring ring<, >answers phone<, >Assalaamu alaikum, InshaAllah, can I speak to Fluffy, Masha’Allah<.
2) People using hadiths (traditions of the Prophet Mohammad PBUH) which are out of context. For example, one time someone ultimately came to the conclusion that making someone laugh was haraam….(I think the actual hadith was referring to while someone was praying etc). No further comments.

In both cases said person(s) will ultimately have the “deciding vote” on what is halal and haraam by instilling a fear into everyone else that they must be right because they are more religious, and if you do whatever it is, you are a shameful person. Because, let’s face it, we do get awfully defensive when someone accuses us of being haraam, so we’re likely to back off and become victims to the religious veto and not ever try to change things for the better.

So what is the solution or resolution to this delusion and confusion? I leave you with this nugget of wisdom from the great philosopher, Michael Jackson “I’m starting with the man in the mirror”.

Big Smile :D

Fashion, Business and Bad Ideas

There’s a running theme of my blogs which indicates that I’m not really a big fan of “fashion” and today’s episode doesn’t break the tradition. I’d compare my relationship with fashion to the behaviour of that of a sine wave...but actually spend time more time troughing than peaking...how would you draw that mathematically? I don’t know. Anyway.
So, today’s outrageous and bold statement is the following:

Fashion is about business, not ideas.

Contrary to popular belief, fashion is actually quite conservative and doesn’t really embrace new ideas. Conservative. Ironic, isn’t it? What with all those exposed nipples and such you would think that fashion was about being free and liberal etc.

Now let me explain. Have you ever watched a fashion advert and thought “that doesn’t really make sense”? Stop worrying that you’re a philistine and don’t understand it because you’re not cultured enough, it’s not actually supposed to make sense. It IS however, supposed to make you feel something, or connect with something, or make you want to be something, even if those things are shallow and/or dirty...welcome to the business of fashion, or at least, how Elenany sees it.
I recently had the privilege of having a chat with the director of one of the best fashion PR companies in London who told me straight, “Honey, fashion isn’t interested in anything controversial or political or religious, it’s shallow!”.
Ohhhh, so THAT’s why everyone uses sex to sell their products and rely on a celebrity wearing their stuff to raise their profile, rather than the actual quality of the idea of the garment itself. Rather than evolving culture, it just reflects and rides off the credibility of other arts.

Example: remember when Jordan wore Juicy Couture and it got really popular? I mean, come on, velvet tracksuits? What was that all about man?

So how does Islam and Muslims and modesty fit in to an industry that uses sex to sell its products? It would seem that it doesn’t. Or, it would mean the focus of the products would have to be on good product design, that is embraced at a grassroots level. It would mean that the design of the actual garment was paramount, and the marketing aspect was secondary; contradictory to the standard process. And where the marketing aspect was introduced, it would mean that the methods would have to be credible, rather than sexual. Kind of like the stuff that Elenany does. Thank you.

Creatively Retarded

Graffiti style. The universal socially acceptable graphic art form.

I was at an event yesterday which triggered suppressed emotions I have for this style. I saw a lot of people selling t-shirts emblazoned with “Islamic words” in a graffiti font, as if writing it in such a way somehow made it relevant and acceptable to the masses.

Argh! Graffiti! I never understood how something which was predominantly associated with American hip-hop culture had any relevance to my life and more to the point, relevance to me as a Muslim.
It bothered me that this was the graphic identity that young Muslims had adopted to symbolise their culture. It bothered me that they were borrowing someone else’s culture. It bothered me that they weren’t trying to create their own identity, especially since Islamic history has such deep connections with art; beautiful art. As you can see I was quite bothered.

I thought I had dealt with these emotions long ago, but I clearly had not yet had closure. Journey, I journeyed to the ends of the realm of my logical capabilities and explored the possible answers to these questions keeping me awake at night.
I will now share with you the possible answers I came up with on why we don’t seem to have our own identity.

Is there a lack of value for creativity? I know that being of Arab origin I rarely impress any of my family members when I tell them I’m a designer. Most of them say something along the lines of “You should’ve studied something useful, then you could have done your designing in your spare time”. And with my Asian friends parents it’s simply “No, you’re going to study medicine”, or possibly engineering.

Is it because of the negative association of the culture of “innovation”? In Islam, there’s a term for “innovation in religion” called “biddah” which refers to people inventing new things into religious practise. It’s a very bad thing. So is the whole “nature of innovation” frowned upon? Islam is after all, about letting go of your ego.

Or is it because Muslims today haven’t self-actualised? Are we still on the penultimate step on the Maslow Pyramid? Why is this? Why are we embarrassed? Is it because generally religion is frowned upon in the West and we constantly feel like we have to apologise?


......Or, do we for some reason just like how graffiti looks and I’m thinking about this way too much?
I feel like, we should be forging our own identity. We should be taking elements of our native, adopted and Islamic cultures and creating something beautiful. And I don’t mean graffiti in an arabesque style font. I mean, the kind of stuff that Elenany does :) Thank you.