February 2024 witnessed the opening of Temraza’s first flagship showroom in Cairo at Majarah Mall. Guests at the VIP opening night enjoyed the fashion show presenting the designer Farida Temraz’s latest collection, The Tem World. Models graced the golden runway in extravagant pieces; from evening gowns to bridal wear. Attended by some of Egypt’s favorite celebrities, Mai Ezzeldin, Naglaa Badr, and Mais Hamdan, the opening was a buzzing one.
We spoke to Temraz about the opening of her flagship showroom and her brand’s legacy.
“(The flagship) is the actual showcasing of the legacy of Temraza. We chose the theme to be The Tem World, which is inspired by the Temraza world. In the past 13 years, we’ve done over 18 collections. The collection was inspired by every collection we’ve created and every single country we’ve gone (to). So it feels very connected with my previous work for sure.” Temraz tells ELLE.
Temraz describes the collection as a patchwork of her design legacy, showcasing an aspect from every collection she has worked on during her career, “The Tem World is a collective of collections. You have the top and the skirt, you have the top and the pants, you have the evening dress, you have the bridal little dress, you have the bridal long dress. It’s a little bit of everything.”
“It’s inspired by all of the milestones we’ve done and all the international penetrations we have done,” Temraz elaborates “It requires a lot of effort, and a lot of attention to detail.”
It’s the designer’s style and philosophy that sets her apart. Temraz does not simply aim at creating a collection to walk the runway, she wants to be the one making the next fashion waves. “Every collection I create, I create 4 years before I launch the collection,” She tells us. “Because we want to be the trendsetters, we don’t want to be the followers. We always do a full study of the collection, and we make sure we don’t leave out any of our target audience.”
“It requires a lot of academia. I consider myself one of the few people who use academia as a gateway to fashion.” And that she does. The designer released the first fashion book in the Arab region titled Fashion Branding and Social Media: A Practical Guide as part of her Fashion Ambassadorship role.
The designer has dressed a long list of Arab and International A-list celebrities. Her designs have been worn to some of the most important pop-culture events, among which are the Academy Awards, Grammys, Primetime Emmy Awards, Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, Screen Actors Guild Awards, Country Music and Television Awards, and many more.
Her booming success did not come easy, of course. Temraz shares with us some of the experiences that have made her a better designer, “There’s a lot of challenges that have really taught us and created huge milestones in Temraza.” She says, “The book that I created was the first fashion academic book in the Arab region. This was a great challenge for me, writing a book next to my work, and being a mother.”
The designer concludes, “The fashion industry is all about challenges every day.”
