Zeina Abouelmaaty
Contact:: zeinabouelmaaty@gmail.com
University/School: AMD Akademie Mode & Design
Location: Berlin, Germany
About me
_____
About me _____
I am Zeina, a fashion design graduate from AMD in Berlin.
I’m Zeina, an Egyptian creative deeply connected to my Arab heritage. Named Best Graduate of AMD Stage 2025, I use fashion as a personal and political tool. My greatest inspiration is my culture—it fuels my purpose, identity, and vision. I create to honor where I come from and to celebrate the richness, resilience, and evolution of the Arab identity.
Set to debut at Neo.Fashion during Fashion Week, my graduate collection is a visual narrative of Arab identity—born from generations of resistance and resilience. Through design, I confront stereotypes and reclaim space for our stories. Fashion, to me, is a mirror of society and a medium of defiance. I create to amplify Arab voices, to heal through heritage, and to wear our truth with pride.
Inspiration
_____
Inspiration _____
In my skin, I found home: fashion as a path to self and heritage
In a world obsessed with inclusion, I often feel like an exception. The Arab identity is still filtered through fear, politics, and myth. My inspiration comes from watching that identity evolve—reshaped by colonisation, displacement, and stigma, yet never erased. This collection channels that journey, born from a deep need to find peace in my own skin, and to reflect what it means to belong without apology, even when the world refuses to make space.
This work is more than fashion—it’s memory, resistance, and reclamation. My collection captures the shifting Arab identity as it navigates external pressures and cultural survival. Each piece speaks from a collective voice, not limited by borders but united by experience. Through form and fabric, I seek to challenge the narratives forced upon us and offer a new one—rooted in pride, complexity, and the power of being seen as we truly are.
My work
_____
My work _____
Detail
_____
Detail _____
“I am from there. I am from here. I am not there and I am not here. I have two names, which meet and part, and I have two languages. I forget which of them I dream in.”
