10 Questions with Basma Alshather

London-based artist and designer, Basma Alshather has turned her art into fashion. A former ceramicist, her current practice is printmaking. She has developed a style combining abstract forms and colour creating bold and fluid images. The prints are then developed into scarves as wearable art.

Basma's forever interest in innovation has led her to bring to life the perfect marriage of her two passions, art and fashion. Her interest in exploring colour, texture as well as abstract form is a reflection of her Middle Eastern heritage amalgamated by the influence of her Britishness. It is the perfect combination to tell a story of colour texture and composition.

www.basmadesign.com | @basma.design

ARTIST STATEMENT

Art and fashion are channels to share our thoughts. Both can be catalysts to new ideas and opinions.

Basma Alshather designs slow and ethical collections of scarves. Her methodology uses hand-painted art, translating it onto textiles using various textures, fibres, and colours.

Basma Alshather's art is an expression of the moment that can manifest in different forms, experimental and intuitive and precise with sureness. There is meticulous attention to details. She is interested in creating a rhythmic space within thought-provoking and wistful images. It is up to the viewer to see the simplicity or complexity of the image.

Basma is influenced by architecture such as brutalist, modern, and Islamic geometry. This influence is embraced with everyday living from hopes, dreams, and challenges. This is what makes her art, at first instance, look disorderly to a certain extent, but with a deeper observation, one can identify balance, stability, and strength within the image creating tension vs. harmony.

The essence of weaving art with fashion is crafting timeless and exclusive collections of scarves. The scarf as an entity knows no boundaries, be it size, race, colour, gender, or religion. It is a peaceful and neutral piece of clothing, even the symbol of peace is a white kerchief which is a scarf in its simplicity.

INTERVIEW

Let’s start talking a little about yourself. You started as a ceramcist before turning to fashion. What is your background and what inspired you to become an artist?

My background is in art and design. I am fortunate to work with both visual media. I enjoy the dreaminess of art and the logic of design and how best to connect both together.

Tell us more about your studies and work experiences. What are the experiences that shaped the designer you are now? Did you have any revealing moment along the path, or have it all been clear from the beginning?

I have BA in interior design and MA in ceramics which I am hoping to practice it again. I had a ceramic studio where I produced wall pieces. I have also worked as a product manager within the consumer goods industry. This has given me knowledge and experience when I started my business, especially the know-how in product development.

And no, I never had a clear path, although I wish I did. I have changed my career a few times. However, at last, I feel I am home and would like to continue working with both art and fashion.

Midnight Blue © Basma Alshather
Deep blue and zesty yellow explode across delicate silk in our debut scarf, Midnight Blue. Bold strokes offer an abstract notion of architectural form, contrasting with the light fluidity of silk. Hints of lime green appear as blue and yellow meet; a reminder of the natural hand painted design process. Our Midnight Blue scarf is trimmed with deep brown hand rolled edges.

How do you design your pieces? What are your influences, and who is your ideal customer?

My scarves’ designs are original works of art translated onto textiles using a variety of colours, fibres, and textures. I use printmaking as a medium producing art.

I am influenced by architecture such as brutalist, modern, and Islamic geometry. This influence is embraced with everyday living from hopes, dreams, and challenges. My art is intuitive and exploratory, and this is what makes it, at first instance, might look disorderly but with a deeper observation, I hope one can identify stability, strength, and balance.

My interest in exploring colour, texture as well as abstract form is a reflection of my Middle Eastern heritage amalgamated with my Britishness. It is the perfect combination to tell a story of colour, texture, and composition in fashion.

The essence of BASMA luxury scarves is to make women feel special and celebrate their amazing selves. I believe in slow fashion so the styles are modern classic designed with longevity in mind. The scarves are a tribute to the women who have an authentic approach to fashion.

I love designing scarves. It is an entity that knows no boundaries be it size, race, colour, gender, or religion. It is a peaceful and neutral piece of clothing. Even the symbol of peace is a white kerchief which is a scarf in its simplicity.

Your luxury scarves are true pieces of art. How did you come up with this idea?

Inspiration comes when you least expect it. It was a light bulb moment when I have realised while I was printmaking, the image would work very well on textile.

The memories of wearing my mother’s scarves were the stepping stone to start my business. I didn’t have much knowledge on fashion and I don’t claim I do now. I am giving myself a crash course on all aspect of textiles and fashion. Recently, I have read Fibershed by Rebecca Burgess. She started what I would call the real sustainable movement in California, encouraging local production of textiles, working holistically with partners from farmers, designers, weavers, and dyers. Very interesting book with dense information for anyone who is looking to pursue sustainability.

Saffron Wave © Basma Alshather
Beautifully light and fluid to the touch, the Saffron Wave scarf is crafted from the finest silk chiffon for an impossibly delicate finish. Defined by a sandy saffron hue that melts into sweet peppermint and adorned with sweeping, organic lines, this scarf reimagines linear architectural form with an abstract eye. Exquisite hand rolled edges are finished in striking cobalt blue for bold contrast.

Do you have any role models or figures you particularly look up to regarding style and design?

This question needs some thinking. I don’t have or think in this way. I admire and respect many people who have pushed the boundaries in their filed both past and present. I believe one can adapt and take on board inspiration from other industries. I admire anyone who dedicates their lives to their passion like Marie Curie, Christian Dior, and JK Rowling.

How do you see your brand evolving over the next few years? Is there anything else you would like to experiment with?

I always challenge myself and aim to push the boundaries. I have plenty of ideas that I would like to accomplish; one of them is to continue exploring different techniques within art and design and processes in textiles. I also would like to collaborate with artisans designing pure sustainable collection of scarves.
I don’t feel there is space or time for boredom within art, design and fashion!

Recently, we have been witnessing growing attention toward sustainable fashion. Where do you stand in this regard? Do you embrace this movement, or is it just greenwashing?

Absolutely, I embrace the sustainable movement. Sustainability is a big word and has many and different meanings; the good thing there is so much one can get involved. Sustainability is about conscious consumption.

Here at BASMA luxury scarves, I believe in ethical fashion, so all our scarves are crafted in the UK.

It is known that the supply chain within the fashion industry is complex and this is an area I am looking into and would like to get more involved and better understand its workings.

I have written a blog on the lifelong benefits of having a seasonless wardrobe, where luxury fashion designers are now in favour of designing modern classic pieces with longevity in mind rather than a one season trend, which is part of sustainability. The blog can be accessed here.

Lapis Lazuli © Basma Alshather
Evoking the organic forms of nature, the Lapis Lazuli scarf is an abstract vision of a tree-lined landscape. Beautifully crafted from the finest silk chiffon, this scarf falls with an effortlessly fluid drape across the body. Imagined in a rich cobalt hue and accented with verdant green, it is finished with exquisite hand rolled edges in a golden shade of mustard yellow.

Covid-19 has deeply impacted the art world. With fewer exhibitions and art fairs, artists and galleries had to find other ways to showcase their work. How much did the global pandemic impact the fashion world? Did you find different ways to show your work as well?

I was fortunate to work with an online platform designing and launching silk masks. It was also a good time to have the space to study and did a couple of textile courses with UAL, which has given me knowledge and inspiration to move forward with fashion and design.

Ud scarf © Basma Alshather
The Ud scarf takes its name from the Sumerian for ‘sun’ and has been imagined with this theme in mind. Exquisitely crafted from a lambswool and cashmere blend for maximum softness, this scarf is defined by a rich gold and deep navy palette to one side and a soft cream hue to the reverse. It is adorned with entwined organic lines that flow and ebb across the fabric capturing the holistic beauty of the spherical form.

What do you hope to accomplish this year, both in terms of career goals and personal life?

As a small business, my aim is to explore new design concepts researching British fibres. For personal goals to have peace and safety for all humanity .

Finally, any shows or publications where our readers can find your work?

Well, of course this article with Altiba9, which I have been so excited about since it weaves both of what I do in art and fashion, and gives a more holistic view to the way I work. My scarves can be found at basmadesign.com, and as for art, I have a group exhibition of original prints in London in September where I can’t wait to present new work. Events are usually displayed on the website.

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