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F
ashion designer Zarida Zaman
has fond childhood memories
of playing with scraps of material
that had fallen from her mother’s
sewing machine. “It was all about
dressing my dolls. Money was
scarce in our household and
buying new Barbie outfits was not on the
family’s list of priorities, so I played at making
my own outfits.”
For Zarida, growing up in an Asian family
had its frustrations at times concerning
fashion. “As an Asian female you knew
what was expected of you with regards to
looking a certain way and cultural pressures
stated that women do not draw attention
to themselves with inappropriate clothing. I
was not prepared to push those boundaries;
I just knew there was this expectation of me.
My father was quite a forceful figure in our
house and I lived in quite a male dominated
space with five brothers so I really did not
question it.”
Despite regulations on Zarida’s style,
when asked whether her upbringing had
an effect on her creativity, Zarida answered,
“
Yes, I think it did. I stayed clear from
traditional Asian clothing for a while and
found myself wanting to study. I remember
leaving school and not doing particularly
well, then meeting a textiles teacher, and
finding a course. I wanted to study fashion
and had gotten refused from my first choices.
I eventually found a place at Dewsbury
College of Art and Design and studied for
four years, including a two-year National
Diploma.”
The decision to move from Leeds to
London seems to have greatly benefited
Zarida in many ways, she said,“I had found a
great place on a course. I remember feeling
quite sheltered before coming to London.
I needed a kick and I think living here in
London did that.” Being new in London,
Zarida initially approached start-up
companies. “Back then,” she recalls, “there
were lots of talented people leaving
university in search of work experience in
fashion. Just like today, there was an influx
of students willing to work for free for the
experience.”
Living and studying in London, Zarida
learned a lot about the industry from
production and marketing to working
with suppliers and preparing for shows. “It
all came my way. It was not easy for most
labels at that time, many designers slept on
their studio floors beside their dogs. The
thought of starting up a business had no
appeal to me; I think it was down to ego,
confidence and, perhaps, age, and just the
sheer load of work that I had witnessed first
hand on those studio floors.”
AS A CHILD, ZARIDA ZAMANWOULD CREATE DRESSES
FORHERDOLLSAND IMAGINARY FRIENDS FROMSCRAPS
OF FABRIC THAT WOULD FALL FROM HER MOTHER’S
SEWING MACHINE. TODAY, BASED IN PREMISES A
STONE’S THROW FROM LONDON’S HISTORIC OLYMPIC
SETTINGS, SHE HAS EXCHANGED RAG DOLLS FOR
CREATIVE ICONIC DESIGNS AND TEACHING.
DAYLE
BEST
SPEAKS TO ZARIDA ABOUT HER BACKGROUND
AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
ZARIDA ZAMAN
After leaving university, Zarida had the
privilege of working for several London
based designers including Alexander
McQueen, Fabio Piras, and Joe Casely-
Hayford. After working in Florence, Italy for
Enrico Coveri,Zarida stumbled into“teaching
by accident” and realised she quite liked it.“It
was a little nerve wracking but I just went
for it. The opportunity to work with other
people added another string to my bow. I
then studied for my PGCE (Professional
Graduate Certificate in Education) and got
asked to work at the London College of
Fashion.”
Although it was a slightly different path to
what she had originally planned, Zarida says
she was still able to be creative. “Studying
the PGCE really boosted my level of
confidence and working with my students
gave me creative satisfaction. Teaching
creates a need for support and in teaching
a need to create. What came out of that
were three books, which I thoroughly
enjoyed writing. The first being
The Fashion
Designer’s Directory of Shape and Style
,
which
describes the process of creative clothing
and design, the second being
New Fashion
Designers’ Sketchbooks
which give an insight
on how to research, and the third,
Fashion
Pattern Cutting: Line, Shape and Volume,
is
currently in the making.”
With an interest in photography and
architecture, Zarida has replicated an easy
cut, and created basic congestion free
clothing. Working with print, Zarida takes
influence from using her interest in iconic
buildings: “I like simple lines. Designers like
Issey Miyake, who makes clothes that serve
a function beyond that of what you expect,
have had a huge influence on me. I feel
clothing should match whatever occasion
you choose to engage in. I love origami and
that has shed light on what I do, looking at
folds and garment function.”