Serag Elmeleigy, 28, Creative Director of Suez.
Previously Worked with PACIFISM and Clothsurgeon
The creative director of Suez, a brand rooted in craftsmanship and cultural identity. With experience at Cloth Surgeon under his belt, Serag ventured into his own world with Suez - based between London and Egypt and growing organically since 2021. The brand's DNA is best captured in its first ever piece, a bucket hat crafted from Keffiyeh scarves.
What got you into your job? tell us your story
I started getting into fashion straight of Uni in May 2020 when I had just graduated a social science degree. It was the start of Covid and everything was on lockdown. The pressure to get a job after summer was off as everything was closed. I used this time to divert industries and try get a foot in the door with any sort of fashion job. I spent all my time reading,watching and consuming everything fashion. I luckily landed an assistant role with Talal Hizami at PACIFISM, which was incredibly eye opening. I learnt so much. I felt really at home in the role and felt I found my path. Throughout I was learning all I can and learning how to sew/pattern cut too. This made me start Suez my brand in 2021 where I was handmaking bucket hats out of Keffiyeh scarves. At the time there weren’t many brands from the region and felt that was a gap for like an Our Legacy / Kapital of the Arab world. So this had been my goal ever since! If you look through Suez you’ll see a lot of Our Legacy Influences. While this was going on I left Pacifism and then landed a job at clothsurgeon at their amazing new store on Savile Row. It was so cool to be working with Rav and Parv, Rav was someone I looked up to greatly so to be part of his journey was a real blessing. Again learnt so much from them had so many amazing experiences (Making a suit and fitting Pep Guardiola was definitely a highlight!). I left in Feb 2024 and have been running Suez full time ever since! A lot of ups and downs but all worth it in the end (I hope) (I know!).
How has your culture, upbringing, or background influenced the way you see fashion?
Being Egyptian/Iraqi there is a wealth of history behind both cultures. I’m very proud to be where I'm from and love incorporating the craft from our heritage such as the Khayamiya. As I get older the initial things that got me into fashion such as pattern manipulation and interesting textiles are all things I want to incorporate into Suez’s design language more. I think it’s trying to find a harmonious mix between them all.
We produce most items in Egypt now, working with amazing artisans from the collective Threads of Hope Cairo to the Khayamiya artisans, so best believe we’ll be shouting about that. I think in the end its just finding a balance between identity driven actions and authenticity. I’m very happy with where the brand is at now!
What was the first thing you ever designed that felt ‘right’?
Of course the first time we made the Keffiyeh Bucket hats it was really cool to see and have that first physical product come to life from my sewing machine! I still have those first samples I made when I barely knew how to sew. Those bucket hats got us to where we’re at today so its definitely those! When we first made our hand stitched 1-of-1 Khayamiya Jacket too that felt really right and was an exciting direction for the brand to come.
Tell us a 'i made it' moment for you in your career?
I’m still growing and I don’t think I’ve ever had the feeling of I’ve made it. You’ll have to come back to me in 5 years I reckon! But there have been proud moments along the way for sure. We were picked by Hypebeast to be part of their first market place called Hypebeast Flea in September 2023. It was only about 20 brands all hand picked from the UK and it was an amazing experience and validation for me as we were around some brands that I looked up to. So it was amazing to be sharing a room with them.
Where does your process begin when you’re developing something new?
It starts all over the place to be honest hahah. Reference photos from collections and pieces from (normally) older brands that we like the shape or some aspect of it. It can be architectural photos like doors or pillars. Taking inspiration from the way they incorporate motifs and symbols. It all ends up being a big old moodpboard where we can get a sense of the direction. Some times its problem solving and just figuring it out to make something in an efficient way maybe its chopping and changing existing patterns we have or using the same pattern in the new cool fabric we found.
What’s the hardest compromise you’ve had to make for your brand?
When you’re a small brand you have to be really strict on what you release. I learnt from our last collection which was our first fully produced in Egypt that I need to keep it really concise and small. I got a bit excited with the production in Egypt as its more affordable and wanted to produce a full collection to flex our muscles a bit. Im glad we did it as it showed what can do. But from now on, and probably long time, we’ll be going back to smaller drops/collections.
How do you decide when a collection is ‘finished’?
We haven’t produced many large collections but the times we have done, you just know, from the way everything sits together. Normally this is through mocking everything up digitally in CAD, chopping and changing colour ways until it works! You just feel it in your gut
How do you want people to feel when they wear your clothes?
Really however they feel comfortable! I would just be very happy and grateful to see them wearing it and enjoying it. That’s the best feeling! Everyone has their own style and perspective so to project my preference on a paying customer would be crazy!
What’s one truth about fashion/the fashion industry that took you years to learn?
Its very hard to convert sales online especially in todays cost of living crisis/over saturation. I think there’s a lot of consumer fatigue so a lot of the time when you see brands claiming to sell out or looking like they’re doing really well because they have amazing engagement, I’ve come to learn most of the time its not true. Definitely, the phrase ‘Nothing is ever what is seems’ comes to mind. Don’t get me wrong there’s potentially always to grow and be successful and we’ve had some great support but to take it to the next level is very difficult and it takes a lot of time. Patience is key!
What does success look like for your brand in the future? What are your dream projects?
Of course I’d love to be able to expand the team at the minute its just me. I’d love to add a couple more to help operations, design and production. I think if we get to stage where can get fulll time employees that would definitely be a marker of success for me. Keep growing and putting out interesting designs. Keep trying and experimenting. I love being on the machine in the studio so if I’m able to make an array of garments at factory standard that would be another marker and is another goal of mine. Dream projects would be to collab with some bigger brands of course. I have some amazing creatives who I call my best friends so to also be side by side with them growing and collaborating with them too.
What change do you wish to see in the fashion industry/the way people shop
I wish people were more adventurous with the clothes they wear. It would mean we could prioritise making interesting designs but at the moment its the plainer stuff that sells well for us so it means we can’t go too crazy with the designs. Maybe I haven’t found the right balance yet too. So I’m learning with every day for sure.
What do you think matters too much in fashion right now? And where should the focus be more on in the future?
I think fashion is in a weird place as sales are down across the board and retail stores like matches, SSENSE have all gone down. So maybe wholesale shouldn’t be a priority for brands and it should be focused on D2C, which is our plan. There’s definitely still lots of appetite for in person shopping and experiences. You can’t beat buying something in store vs online. So I hope the wholesale sector and department stores will experience a boomerang and boom in a few years as a reaction to all the Covid and instagrams shopping.
