Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Kuwaiti designer Bazza Alzouman always had a passion for fashion, which she never failed to express by taking up sewing classes while earning her degree in Business Administration at Boston University. With this passion in mind, she moved to New York in 2011 and earned an AAS Degree in Fashion Design from Parsons School of Design, as she enriched her experience in this field by working alongside Naeem Khan.

Through her eveningwear collections, she reveals her advanced construction techniques and presents her interpretation of modern elegance. Bazza Alzouman recently unveiled her Autumn-Winter 2023 collection, and on this occasion, Azyaamode had the opportunity to have a conversation with her and discover all about her new launch, as well as her take on eveningwear and much more.

How do you define fashion design and how do you use this definition to speak to Middle Eastern women through your creations?

Fashion design is a form of artistic expression that takes into consideration a variety of both creative and practical factors to create a product that is useful and feels good to the end consumer, both emotionally and physically.

What do you consider a constant source of inspiration when designing your collections?

The desire to make clients feel good, it’s always the end inspiration. It is creating a feeling of happiness, confidence, love and luxury.

What makes your design a true reflection of Bazza Alzouman, the Kuwaiti designer who was born and raised in the USA?

I would say the balance between opulence and simplicity, the classic and the trendy, glamour and demure. There’s a certain aesthetic that we cater to and that I find one of our unique voices.

Tell us about your most recent launch, the Autumn-Winter 2023 collection.

It’s an exciting collection in the sense that there’s a lot of freshness in terms of the fabrics and textures used. We have a rhinestone mesh that has been implemented in pieces such as gloves and full gowns, it adds a bit of edge and glitz to the season. Sometimes our collection is spread out over two seasons, but with AW2023, we are launching something completely fresh rather than a continuation of a story.

What are the challenges you faced while designing it and those an Arab woman designer faces in general?

I think the challenges and the opportunities overlap, so I focus on the positives of any challenges that we face. One is the relative newness of the industry, the lack of infrastructure that supports scaling a fashion business, especially for production. However, this same newness provides opportunities for growth and standing out that may otherwise not be there.

Where do you see fashion in the future, based on your ethical and sustainable take on eveningwear?  

I think fashion will always be a key component of our lives, and I think there will be a larger disparity between ultra-luxurious experiences and fast fashion. The ultra-luxurious will become more and more rare and hard to come by, and fast fashion will get faster and faster if not regulated. I will always aim to be somewhere in the middle where there is an investment in craftsmanship and quality so that it’s beautiful and not disposable, meanwhile being accessible to the average consumer to the best of my ability.

Head to the Photo Gallery and get immersed in the glamorous and edgy world of Bazza Alzouman’s Autumn-Winter 2023 collection.

Article Written by Mirella Haddad