Zaid Farouki debuted his Zaid by Zaid Farouki collection inspired by BIC at the 2021 Arab Fashion Week. The collection drew inspiration from BIC stationery, lighter and shaver products and was heavy on color, playfulness and imagination.
The collection included 23 pieces that featured some of BIC’s most iconic products including the Cristal pen and crayons. The collection also included pieces inspired by the color and texture of BIC’s signature ink and the BIC Boy’s iconic orange outfit. When developing the collection, Zaid asked his grandparents and family members to write letters to him, imparting some of their wisdom to help during these troubling times. Words and messages from these letters were then carried into the fashion pieces. The BIC inspired collection also featured a set of colorful and retro inspired accessories, with fluorescent chains, spike orange and blue earrings and traditional hats, “tarboosh”, with a twist of color and creativity.
“Firstly I would like to thank the Arab Fashion Council for their continuous support and for helping form this partnership with BIC,” Farouki said. “When creating this collection and taking inspiration from BIC, I was reminded of my childhood, the blue pen, the letters that would be written to our loved ones and the many wishes written on sheets of paper. This collection is inspired by my childhood during the 90’s. Following a turbulent year in the pandemic I found inspiration in going back to the basics back and the innocent years.”
To help inspire Zaid’s creative expression, BIC – which served as the Human Creativity partner for the Arab Fashion Week – hosted a workshop for him and his team in an effort to tap into the knowledge of human creativity exploration at BIC and give an overview of creativity in Fashion. The workshop was also attended by four student designers from the FAD Institute of Luxury Fashion and Style Dubai.
The collection is available for pre-order on zaidfarouki.com and will soon be available in concept stores.
BIC's connection to art, design, and fashion spans more than 60 years. The brand regularly celebrates the creativity and originality of artists who find great inspiration in creating masterpieces using BIC's stationery, lighters and shavers products. BIC’s products and designs have made it to the collections of fashion designers and jewelry houses including Dolce & Gabbana, Heygere, Margarita Myrogianni, Maison Martin Margiela, Manon & Lesquoy, Mattijs Van Bergen, Miu Miu, Moschino, Nicole Miller, Oscar Carvallo, Sophie Hardeman, Yasmina Porath and Yves Saint Laurent