Hot couture

Fashion designer uses her textile design principles to create metallic clothes

Mandi Kingsbury is a textile designer who prefers to work with metal. "I define textiles as anything that is tactile," she says. Her collection is an artful blend of precious metals and haute couture.

The Dubai-based designer has transformed the traditional bourg'a worn by Arab women into an exotic piece of silver jewellery with stark, simple lines and designed a sheyla with a Salvador Dali-inspired gold zipper.

Her lace collar studded with Swarowski crystals and a Victorian style neck ruff made from silver thread are other examples of her cross-over techniques. Equally quirky and fun are a chunky gold, crystal-studded belt and a gold boa with tassels of goat hair.

This creative collection is the result of Kingsbury's research into "Eastern and Western hybrids of couture jewellery" done as part of her Master of Design course at Massey University, New Zealand.

"Arab women are very fashion conscious. They follow European trends because there are no designers who design specially for them. Through my research, I have tried to understand and cater to their specific needs, while retaining the international flavour of the accessories," she explains.