ZAAM is a brand of contemporary Bags, Leather Goods and Garments , yet with a touch of vintage, known for its luxe appeal, and urban aesthetic. It all started with the Geometrical Basic Women Bags collection that was launched in June 2012 by Egyptian designer, Ahmed Azzam.
Azzam is self-taught and what really drives him is the passion for creating bags of superior quality that reflect his unique take on art and life. Each piece is individually handmade in his workshop in Cairo, and they represent the outcome of a thorough process of research, styling and creation of both forms and materials.
Azzam received an award for Egypts Best Bag Designer of the year in 2015. ZAAM handbags are currently available in Egypt, UAE and Korea and deliver worldwide : https://zaamofficial.com/
When did you first realize you wanted to launch a your own label?
Ive always knew that ill end up having my own business in fashion, ZAAM was launched in 2012 however i started since i was 13 doing small fashion related projects and 5 years later ZAAM was launched.
If you could go back and tell yourself one thing before beginning your career what would it be?
Don’t doubt yourself and keep going, you will face a lot of challenges but its part of the process My early beginning was really hard. I started in 2012 and I introduced a new wbag concept to the Egyptian market at a time when we didn’t have any influencers or bloggers and even before instagram.
-However, being different and unique helped me a lot to grab everyone’s attention.” - AHMED AZZAM
How do you want your clients to feel when wearing a your brand pieces and in what occasions can be worn?
I want them to feel they are wearing a piece of art. My designs are very detailed and i use a lot of brass and gold plated pieces.
And regarding the occasion, we always try to provide our clients with pieces to fit all day events with a wide range of designs and sizes.
Can you tell us how your collections makes a difference to help more the environment?
We believe brands should give more attention to sustainability, its a bit hard for us as a leather goods brand since our main material we use is genuine leather. However we try to decrease the usage of plastic in our packaging and replace it with other sustainable materials also we the totes we produce annually are 100% leather free.
There is one important person, in your life, who pushes and motivates you to believe in yourself?
Im so lucky to have a lot of creative friends around me especially my sister who is the main pillar in ZAAM as she handles all the operations and manage our production house.. However the main factor that always motivates me is seeing myself achieving a new milestone it keeps me going and wanting to see whats next.
Describe us you as a creative in your personal life and how your feelings influence the creativity process?
Anyone who closely knows me will know that ZAAM is a reflection of me and my personality. Im a very classic person with a modern twist.. I admire everything old and vintage and I believe this is so obvious in my designs.
Would you like to involve other creatives in your future projects and what do you think is the main mission of the CO-BRANDING concept?
I believe this is a step that will sooner or later will happen, we already have some creatives onboard as pattern designer, graphic designer and i know one day will have more creatives that are more into fashion designing as well. This wont change the fact that ill always be the one creating the concept and everything related the collections however with each new phase of the business growth new requirements and opportunities will occur.
What are the next steps for your label, in order to grow up more?
After being a while now with a stable ground in the middle east and gulf area we are looking forward to expand internationally starting with the european market, we just participated in MQ vienna fashion week as a first step of achieving this goal and we are looking forward to do more of the same events in different countries.
