Nathalie Trad takes classic shapes, ubiquitous in our natural environment, and deconstructs them within her designs. We present intricately assembled clutches formed in mother of pearl and resin, drawing inspiration from the visual manipulation of Optical Art.
How and when did you decide to become a designer? Design has been an integral part of my life for quite some time now. My fixation with asymmetric designs – which forms the basis of my line – began years ago. It was in 2007, while I was still studying at Paris’ ESMOD International, that I discovered my personal design ethos: to take classic shapes – stemming from our natural environment – and radically transform them, deconstructing and redefining the boundaries of fashion aesthetics.
In 2008, while I was in New York, I came across Albertus Seba’s book of illustrations, Cabinet of Natural Curiosities. Considered one of the 18th century’s greatest natural history achievements, the book features images of a variety of insects drawn by illustrators. Believe it or not, seeing the kaleidoscope of colors on these insects’ carcasses immediately triggered in me a creative outpouring. I vividly remember being completely mesmerized by the complex forms, shapes and patterns captured in the book. It ended up serving as an underlying theme for my collection.
What was the first piece you ever created, and does it correlate with your vision today? The first piece that I created was the Polygonia, which is still part of my collection today. It is one of the most sculptural clutches from my collection and still represents what I try to achieve when I create a new piece, perfectly reflecting my design ethos.
Do your childhood and past experiences inform your designs? How? I was born in Lebanon and lived in Dubai from the late 80’s till about 2004, which means I got to experience the evolution of Dubai from being a desert to what it is today. I grew up in a particularly creative family, my father is in advertising, my mother owns a beautiful flower shop and my sister is also a fashion designer. The environment I grew up in; witnessing the transformation of a city and being a part of a family and environment of art and design contributed tremendously to my appetite for the design world.
Do you have any rituals when you design? My design process starts with an idea. Something that sparks my inspiration and leads my mind to a parallel universe where I feel like I am running at 200 km/h. This is the time where I sketch uncontrollably and allow my ideas to take a course of their own. Once I am done with this stage, I look through all the drawings and start editing and refining my ideas which start turning into products. I create technical sheets and sometimes clay prototypes to help me visualize the final piece. Now we are ready to go to my workshop in the Far East where we start creating molds and samples, work on combining materials and testing out new techniques. It's such an exciting process that always leads to new unexpected discoveries!
When you design a piece, what is important to you? It is very important for me to maintain the design ethos that is at the core of my brand; a design philosophy that attributes the highest importance to innovation and the creation of unique pieces. At the beginning of the design process, I make it a point to forget about any functional constraints in order to allow my imagination and ideas to flow. At this stage my aim is to create sculptures, interesting objects rather than handbags. However, once I have my designs on paper, I then turn my attention to transforming them into clutches, making sure function is not sidelined. It is crucial for the clutches to be light, comfortable to carry and able to fit a woman’s essentials. For me, form prevails but function is never sacrificed.
What would be your dream material to work with? Why? From the beginning I have gravitated towards shell as a base material that I source from the Far East region - a treasure trove of exquisite materials. I complement it with other materials such as wood, stone, resin, brass and stainless steel creating a marriage of seemingly incompatible materials that end up harmonizing beautifully. The richness of these materials perfectly mirrors my inspiration and work perfectly in line with the vision I have for my clutches.
What is your greatest source of inspiration? If you could choose a muse, who would it be? I would say my muse is my surrounding environment. I am inspired by everything that I see in my day-to-day life and by my travels. I constantly push myself to observe and scrutinize my surroundings, and to constantly question and reinterpret what I see. In order to do so I like to go by the moto: “smell with your eyes, hear with your nose, see with your ears and taste with your hands.”
On a more personal level, I look at the people that are in my everyday life for inspiration, from my husband to my family, friends, colleagues and even passing encounters. There are qualities in each of these people that I admire and aspire to, passion, selflessness, work ethic, loyalty, creativity and ambition. It is a combination of the qualities I get from all of these people that pushes me to be the best person I can be in every aspect of my life.
Who is your favourite designer across all disciplines? I like to think of my creations as architectural works on a small scale. I look to architecture from a physical aspect: geometry, proportions, ergonomics, structure for inspiration but beyond that, I study architectural principles, and ideologies as a means to create context and drive my process.
Louis Kahn, James Stirling, Walter Gropius, Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid are some of the architects whose aesthetics and philosophies have impacted my design thinking and some of my pieces.
There is no direct translation between a specific architectural design and my clutches. Nevertheless, I would say the Polygonia and Opiona clutches embody a concept frequently applied by Zaha Hadid: “There are 360 degrees why stick to one?” This principle of multiple viewpoints also known to cubists is what I strive to apply in my designs. What I love most about these pieces in particular is that they morph into completely different pieces every time you look at them from a different angle or perspective.
Tell us your favourite experience of encountering someone you didn’t know wearing your design. Who was it and what was the piece? Where was it? How did you feel? Just one month after the launch of our brand, we were surprised to see Mary Katrantzou accompanying Karolina Kurkova at the Met Ball clutching our Polygonia. It was a true honor to see the bold and innovative designer choose one of our pieces.
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