Born in Exile celebrate their roots with the Blood, Sweat and Oil AW2021 collection, a salute to Libyan identity and history.
Fashion can go beyond pretty designs bringing strong statements, portraying the brands’ values in the society they are from. Born in Exile’s AW2021 collection is a tribute to Libyan history and the social turmoil that followed the civil war and the discovery of oil in the country thereafter. Inspired to bring attention to the beauty of Libyan cultural memory, the label flaunts a distinct sense of style, blending tradition and modern fashionwear into a unique look in tribute to the country.
The collection epitomises the yearnings, trepidations, and precariousness of Libya’s oil explosion, using various prints and traditional patterns. It brings a wide variety of jackets, coats, blazers, trousers, skirts, shorts, jumpsuits, and T-shirts that are embellished with eye-catching Libyan embroidery and designs. Colour contrasts of white knitwear and black studded leather are also used to showcase the mirage of old and new representations of the country’s identity.
The brand is a ready-to-wear label created in 2018 by designer Ibrahim Shebani, inspired by his personal story of being a Libyan immigrant. Born in Germany and brought up in both Libya and Egypt, his family was exiled from their homeland in the ‘70s. A return years later was similarly interrupted by the civil war whence Shebani had to leave again in 2014. These adversities never stopped him expressing himself through his fashion creations.
