Nabil El-Nayal Biography

Nabil El-Nayal, more commonly known as Nabil Nayal (born 1985 in Aleppo, Syria) is a Syrian-born British fashion designer.

Biography

Nabil El-Nayal, the designer behind ready-to-wear fashion brand Nabil Nayal, was born in Syria and moved to England at the age of 14. He went on to win many prestigious awards including the Royal Society of Arts Award, the Graduate Fashion Week 'Best Womenswear' Award and the British Fashion Council MA Scholarship Award; enabling him to study at the Royal College of Art. Nabil"?s obsession with Elizabethan craftsmanship has deeply informed his practice; seen through his use of pleats, dramatic construction and powerful silhouettes. Whilst this backdrop of historical references remains at the heart of the brand, Nabil is also conducting extensive research into ways in which these techniques can be applied, using the latest technologies. He was the first fashion designer in the world to use 3D printing in June 2010 and is currently undertaking a research doctorate in how 3D scanning can become integral to the design process. In 2008 Nabil was invited by Christopher Bailey to work as "?Researcher Reporting to the Creative Director"? at Burberry Prorsum and in 2009 River Island commissioned Nabil to create a capsule collection which sold out in 3 days. Nabil"?s entire MA collection was purchased by Harrods as part of the 2010 Harrods Launches platform and he was invited to the Buckingham Palace Reception for the British Clothing Industry where he met Queen Elizabeth II. At this time Nabil worked alongside David Sassoon as Assistant Designer at Bellville Sassoon and in 2011 Nabil made his London Fashion Week debut as a semi-finalist in Colin McDowell's Fashion Fringe competition, attracting high-profile supporters such as Claudia Schiffer, Lady Gaga, Florence Welch & Rihanna. In February 2015 Nabil was shortlisted for the LVMH Prize and invited to show at Paris Fashion Week and in July he showed a collection to private clients at the 2015 Haute Couture Paris Fashion Week.

Notable clients

His clothes are worn by many celebrities such as Florence Welch, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Claudia Schiffer and Victoria Beckham. Most recently Karl Lagerfeld commisoned Nabil to make a shirt for his muse and collaborator Amanda Harlech.

Awards

El-Nayal has received numerous prestigious awards including:

• Royal Society of Arts Award 2008
• Graduate Fashion Week 'Best Womenswear' Award 2008
• British Fashion Council MA Scholarship Award - for the Royal College of Art 2008
• Crown Paint 2009 (interior design competition)
• Harrods Launches 2010
• Fashion Fringe Semi-Finalist 2011
• LVMH Prize shortlist 2015