How Did a Syrian Artist Transform the Architecture of Old Damascus into Digital Fashion?

- From the heart of the old Damascene architecture, the Syrian digital content creator Nadine Ghannoum drew inspiration for a project that combines the worlds of fashion and interior design, transforming architectural and heritage details from the Syrian capital, Damascus, into four digital designs. Ghannoum based each look on a specific building or architectural element, turning ornate wooden ceilings, carved walls, tiles, muqarnas, stone doors, traditional Damascene furniture, and even lamps and vases into elements that contribute to the fashion designs themselves.

She did not limit herself to drawing inspiration from the decorations as mere surface prints, but sought to transfer their sizes, structures, and textures into cuts, materials, and sculptural details. In the first look, inspired by the Al-Akkad House and the 'Pot Holder', Ghannoum drew the upper part and sleeves from different sections of the carved wooden walls in the house, while the belt was inspired by a painted part of the house's ceiling, and the two hanging pieces were inspired by the chandelier in the iwan.

The trousers were directly inspired by the decorations on the wall tiles in the house, while the shoes were designed using traditional Damascene brocade fabric found on a sofa in the house. As for the second look, inspired by Khan As'ad Pasha, the geometric structure of the main dome in the khan was the primary element from which Ghannoum drew inspiration for the skirt design.

The upper part was inspired by traditional wooden furniture inlaid with mother-of-pearl, incorporating the striking stone upper part of the historical entrance to the Jabri House. The shoe design was inspired by a wooden leg of a sofa in the Mamluk House.

In the third look, which combined the Nuri Hospital and the Khalid al-Azm House, Ghannoum drew inspiration for the upper part from the delicate stone details of the wall fountain inside the al-Azm House, while the trousers were inspired by the muqarnas found at the massive main entrance of the Nuri Hospital. The shoes were inspired by the shape of traditional interior lamps that illuminate the corridors of the Nuri Hospital.

In her fourth appearance, Ghannoum chose the Beit Al-Ajami as a source of inspiration, drawing the skirt design from the richly decorated wooden ceiling of the house, while the design of the top and shawl was based on integrated sections of other historical ceilings inside. The shoes were conceptually inspired by an antique decorative vase.

The historical Damascene houses in the form of fashion, Ghannoum explained in an interview with Afaq News in Arabic, that she wanted the woman wearing these designs to appear as a living part of the Damascene building itself. The reconstruction of these architectural details was not limited to shapes alone, as threads, materials, textures, and traditional crafts played a fundamental role in conveying the feeling of Damascene architecture into fashion.

Ghannoum explained, saying: "What intrigued me more was the way to convey the feeling of Damascene architecture through the material, not just the shape. For me, materials and craftsmanship became a means to make digital fashion look more authentic, realistic, and connected to the city's heritage."

She also pointed out that she used tangible materials, such as traditional Damascene brocade in the shoes, along with wood rich in details and inlaid with mother-of-pearl, aiming to evoke the craftsmanship for which the city's artisans were famous. Instead of relying on flat prints, the surfaces of the garments were based on the true appearance of hand-painted ceiling art, carved wooden walls, and historical stone construction, such as the stone entrance of Beit Jabri or the wall fountain in Beit Khaled Al-Azm.

Ghannoum emphasized that integrating these artisanal details into the fabrics honors the original creators of these works and makes this heritage appear real, tangible, and touchable. Between the solidity of stone and the movement of fashion, Ghannoum concluded by noting that the most challenging architectural details for her were the solid and massive elements, such as stone, and the attempt to imagine how they would move with the body.

She stated that transforming the complex muqarnas at the entrance of the Nurian hospital was one of the most important elements for her, especially in the structural trousers of the white appearance. Since the muqarnas are built on complex, layered, and three-dimensional geometry, she could not simply treat them as just a surface pattern.