Saba Tark: Channeling your inner Bedouin

Born in Baghdad, Iraq in the year 1987, designer Saba Tark has achieved a lot in a very short time.
Her profile boasts of a degree in design and textile from the Academy of Fine Arts in Utrecht, Netherlands. Saba has worked with big names in the fashion industry, such as, Jan Taminiau, Viktor & Rolf and Lidewij Edelkoort.
Nomads Of The World, Saba’s haute couture collection was nominated for the prestigious Frans Molenaar Prize. The collection was also showcased as a solo exhibition at the Central Museum Utrecht.
She recently debuted in October at Fashion Forward Dubai. Arab News caught up with this young designer for a quick interview.

What is the concept behind the brand Saba Tark?
Our brand is specialized in handmade clothing. The ideology behind the brand is to work with innovation and handicraft, and combining those to create a challenging collection every season.

You started designing at a young age. How easy or difficult was it?
It was very difficult I must say as nothing came easy at all. It’s a challenge every time to design a collection and to develop it in a new way that is interesting for the fashion industry. There are so many designers and you have to stand out. You need to have a message, a story to tell.

Please tell us about yourself.
I was born in Bagdad, Iraq and I come from a very creative family. My grandmother was a famous courtier in Bagdad, my parents moved to Europe when I was a little kid, I started to work and study fashion in 2011, I graduated from the Netherlands and later stared my own label SABA TARK. In October I showcased for the first time in Dubai at Fashion Forward and I was very excited to be showing in the Middle East.

What inspires you when creating each elegant haute couture ensemble?
I always start with a lot of research, looking for inspiration and a concept mostly from art and culture. I have a little book where I collect inspirational pictures, yarns, old pieces of fabric — everything that inspires me and from there I make a mood board and start on creating my fabric and silhouettes. It’s a journey from a small idea and inspiration to a whole collection.

Tell us something about your Bedouin collection.
That was a special project, I wanted to create a collection about my own life, inspired by my background. It started with looking at pictures of Bedouins and nomads, how they made their own clothing and textiles in the most amazing ways — all handmade pieces. So I created a collection inspired by their textile and abstract silhouettes called Nomads Of The World exclusively made with hand weaved textiles on a hand weaving loom which I am famous for using in all my collections. We even made costumes, shoes and accessories, especially for the collection and hand embroideries with gems stones inspired by Bedouin jewelry.

Take us through the process of researching and creating the Bedouin collection.
It was a fun journey. I talked to my parents about Bedouins and tried to collect a lot of original footage of Bedouins from not just the Middle East but also nomads from different parts of the world. I found a lot of information that helped me create the collection and it was a great success. It was displayed for two months at one of the most famous and prestigious museums in the world.

What do you do when not working?
I’m crazy about art, if I’m not busy with work I try to visit art exhibitions and museums as much as I can. I even travel to France and Belgium just to visit the museums there.

What has been your ‘dream come true’ moment till date?
Definitely having a solo exhibition at Central Museum in the Netherlands. I remember visiting the museum for inspiration and years later I walked around there having my own exhibition, it was an amazing experience.

Any advice to upcoming designers?
Invest in a good team and find a business partner. Being a designer is not the only thing you need to build a successful brand, you will also need a great team and of course, an investor. And do a lot of research, try to challenge yourself with every collection, don’t stay in the comfort zone, go explore.
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