#KoraliFashion - Zan Zalif
Designer Zan Zalif’s graduate collection “Sea by the Waves” nominated him as a finalist in the European Fashion Award FASH 2025, without a doubt, a remarkable achievement for a Maldivian fashion designer working in Europe.
However, Zalif’s initial access to the world outside of South Asia came mainly through books, films and fashion journals in his formative years spent in Maldives and Sri Lanka. He says that comparing the dichotomy of growing up in South Asia, then moving to Berlin are like apples and oranges in relation to his creative process.
“As great as it is being with your family, where things are familiar, convenient and safe, I think when you are a creative person, you have to explore the world and see it through your own lens,” he says.
He studied art history and the influence of Dadaism and Expressionism is heavily evident in his work. “We are so confined to our way of life on the islands (Maldives and Sri Lanka) that once we are exposed to various different forms of human thought, its like experiencing an explosion of colour. Art is the manifestation of human thought in its truest most original form.”
Although his work may not be based on personal experiences, he has dabbled in dissecting socio economic problems that are identifiable to Maldivians through fashion. “For my Bachelor of Arts in Fashion in Colombo, I did a project inspired by the Opium Dens of San Francisco and comparing them to the substance abuse problem in the Maldives”
“… the real work here is finding the balance between functional and avant-gardism in fashion because everyone will buy a t-shirt but not everyone will buy an artisanal t-shirt made out of a mixture of sand and linen.”
His collections are translations of decedent literature into visual art in the form of avant garde clothing. He might interpret a scene from a movie in relation to a Rothko painting and that would lead towards drawing contemporary references for a particular design. “…a character like Miss Havisham (Great Expectations), whom I really like as a flawed character. I can draw so much inspiration through her melancholia and how she saw the world after that night. Or it could be a certain line in a paragraph in a novel or in a film (“Here’s looking at you kid” Casablanca). It could be poetry: I constantly go back to the Divine Comedy. The subtle way Mrs Chan comes to realise the infidelity in her marriage or that beautiful Shigeru Umebiyashi’s Yumeji theme playing in the background as she walks to the noodle stand at night in her isolation wearing the most beautiful cheongsams.’’
Zalif also draws references from architectural, cultural, emotional or even metaphysical notions that are thoroughly different from fashion as a genre. This is quite evident, for example, in his 2024 collection Rebours, Look 1- Silk Peasant Shirt in Cyan Grey exploring Madame Gres style delicate draping techniques of soft, translucent fabrics juxtaposed against elements of Brutalist era in reference to worn out colours, edgy textures and functional, minimalist beauty of post war European architecture. "My process is very different to other designers. I apply the Stanislavski system after I complete my research and before I begin sketching and draping.” (Stanislavski system is a Russian system developed to train actors to behave more realistically during a performance).
He then goes on to describe how he was drawn to the sleepwalking character of Cesare in 1920s film The Cabinet of Dr Caligari which led him to research medical journals in a bid to understand the concept of sleepwalking and then apply this to the fibres and weave of textiles: jackets and dresses of his collection. When deciding colour, consistency and composition for a collection, Zalif says he likes to follow The Dictionary of Colour Combinations by Taisho and Show and the Armenian film maker Sergei Parajanov’s 1969 film “The Color of Pomegranates”.
The success of his graduate collection “Sea by the Waves” sees the young designer taking it in his stride.
“I don’t really believe in awards” Zalif brushes off the topic, casually. He says getting into Berlin Fashion Week (BFW) feels more like an achievement because “In Berlin, I am a nobody trying to become a somebody. So, every step I have taken so far is very intentional and through hard work.”
At first, Zalif attended the BFW as a member of the audience, testing the waters: to observe how this machine runs. He was able to mingle with showcasing designers. By the time he finished his collection The Tree By the Waves, a designer he had befriended from BFW had shown his collection to head of German fashion council Christiane Arp (former editor-in-chief at Vogue Germany). She invited him to participate in the BFW at the emerging designers’ exhibition Der Berliner Salon, the very next day.
“The concept for the collection The Tree By The Waves originated from the title The Skin I Live In- a Pedro Almodovar inspiration… What I have noticed living away from my country is my skin tone. I find myself to be the only brown person anywhere I go…I grew to appreciate my skin tone and feel prideful of it”
He says that instead of using the most popular description of Maldives, the beautiful beaches, he wanted to draw emphasis on other facets of the country, such as the melanin infused skin tone of the Dhivehi people. “How many times can we draw the ocean? Or make a dress that looks like Maldivian lacquer work? Or simply make a modernised version of a dhigu hedhun or a Dhivehi libaas? This collection was about capturing the essence of the contemporary Maldivian identity.’’ The Green suede cocoon jacket, Look 9 from this collection displays this concept quite concisely. A deep forest green jacket, with a darker silk-like inner lining, carved into an asymmetrical contortion that wraps around the body- like skin. An accurate representation of Zalif’s ability to draw inspiration from a multitude of areas, while deciphering a singular visionary concept that is complimented by well tailored garments.
“ I don’t have a signature look per se… I like to make things tasteful that blossoms from very juxtaposing subject matter. My (work) is constantly shifting and changing as I grow because I will be constantly evolving as a person from one season to the next. It excites me because I do not know who I will be in the future. Every season is a reflection of the seasons past. What remains is the method and what evolves is the application.”
Zalif says he is in the greatest question mark phase of his career having uncertainty in the direction but has a very clear path moving forward. “I am swimming in a sea of very big sharks. I am constantly reminded of where I come from and the difficulties of navigating in an industry that is not always the most welcoming to people they are not familiar with.”
He says that he feels a lot of pressure to make excellent collections, as he is what the industry professionals will compare to every other Maldivian designer. Zalif says he has a list of Maldivian craftsmen and artists he wants to collaborate with for a collection in the future. “Maybe I’ll show that collection in the Maldives. So stay tuned.’’
Zalif’s body of work shows how much he is influenced by other designers that he admires. The theatricality of John Galliano is evident in his method of drawing inspiration from film, literature and poetry. Then there is the seamless tailoring and near perfect execution of the garments, that meets dark fantastical elements of Lee Alexander McQueen. There is also a noticeable attention to structure of his garments; which is very much influenced by Jean Paul Gaultier. It is impossible to ignore the influence of Madame Gres’ draping techniques and perhaps even a tinge of Rick Owens’ deliberate layering of fabrics.
What is most interesting about Zalif’s work is that he avoids duplicating that of other designers but yet somehow takes bits and bobs from their work and create uniquely individual pieces. It is exciting to see fashion still being approached through a daydreamer’s lens; at a time of globalisation and mass production. A time when an economically globalised tsunami is rushing to wash away the very essence of everything that is brilliantly human about clothing, garment design and production.
Fashion being a form of art, has always had an element of otherworldly allure, that allows us to see clothing as something much more than practical, stitched-together fabrics. There is a sense of hope in the way a young designer like Zalif centres his work around exploring the whimsical nature of designing clothes. An artist who is not afraid to take risks by deliberately exploring the fantasy that is the very core of what design should be.
Zan Zalif has undoubtedly set the bar for the level of creativity and craftsmanship that is expected in Maldivian fashion design while avoiding fitting into societal restrictions when presenting in the world arena.
Additional credits:
Creative Agency @klosterberlin
Creative Director @yagmurkural_
Photographer @ozel_osman @shotview_management
Talent @maceodesouza. @izaio.modelmanagement
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