User:Zainmustafa/sandbox

ZAIN MUSTAFA, Architect, Award winning Interior Designer, Landscape and Furniture Designer, Fashion Designer, Installation artist, and writer of articles on architecture and fashion. Artist and calligrapher and now educator and founder of CUBE School of Design Technology.


 * Born: 3rd January, 1971.

Parents:
 * Shabina Ahmed Mustafa (Founder of The Garage School)
 * Flt.Lt. Syed Safi Mustafa (Posthumous Recipient of Gallantry Award)

Education:
 * Karachi Grammar School, Karachi, Pakistan.
 * Haileybury, Hertfordshire, UK.
 * Boston University, Massachusetts, USA.
 * Parsons School for Design, New York., USA.
 * Columbia University, New York, USA.

Awards:
 * Winner “Contemporary Majlis” Design Competition Index. 2009, Dubai.
 * Winner for group show on recycling with kurta installation called CAROUSEL. 2009, Dubai

Zain’s inspiration for the” The Majlis,” design is from a bisymmetrical Islamic motif used in Mashrabiya patterns over centuries across the Muslim world and the traditional, nomadic, bedouin floor seating style. The core of the design is the comfortable, flexible, shapes and sizes of the cushion in mismatched fabrics. The pattern which folds around the space is a liquid, organic yet geometric distortion of the motif below. It retains the surface without becoming a mere decorative surface. It talks to the world of deconstruction whilst retaining its inherent structure within, in an invisible casing.

CUBE School of Design Technology

Cube was founded in January 2012, a design learning initiative as a bridging program. Cube’s ideology is to engage isolated elements of a design industry into a holistic learning environment, and challenge its dynamics. This process simultaneously, builds on history, maintaining regional relevance and exploring future prospects in a technologically inclined direction. Diversity, exposure and craftsmanship will be designed as a built in part of the curriculum and the institution. Interdisciplinary courses and an integrative method of teaching which uses various art forms such as film, sculpture, performance arts, and fashion will shape a diverse learning experience. Vocational training will be provided to skilled craftsmen along with the students so both learn from each other, as they design and create /build objects for interiors improving both people’s professional skills simultaneously. These will include workshops on wood, metal, electronics, soft furnishings and basic paint and polish finishes.

An innovative and inclusive program of this kind can build an architecture, construction, contracting and interior design industry that has its roots in the history and heritage of arts and crafts.

The Cube classes expose a diverse student profile to the culture of design and myriad of impetus that are inherent to its spirit. In studying regional design and culture influences towards the development of a unique Pakistani global design identity.

CUBE 'Edu Tours': An integral part of the Cube initiave it has included in its curriculum educational tours to relevant and rich design resources in the country.

Personal

Zain Mustafa was brought up by a single mother, a maternal grandmother and an aunt. All three believed in simple living and high thinking, and instilled in him strong values and ethics, made personal sacrifices to provide Zain with the best and a very high standard of education.

In 1971, three months after the birth of Zain, his father was martyred in the partition of Pakistan. His early schooling was at The Karachi Grammar School, Karachi. Pakistan. At 14 in 1985 his mother, sent him to Haileybury, a prestigious boarding Public School in the UK, where they recognized his talent and pushed him to his ultimate limit to achieve perfection. At Haileybury he learnt that God is in the details, doing things right the first time, and to design and create with thought not just for sensation or ego. Creatively he excelled. Cambridge University asked to display some of Zain’s artwork and showcased it for a year.

Next, Zain enrolled at Parsons School for Design, in New York and got a degree in Architecture and Environmental Design, and here he learnt to express himself.

After Parsons, Zain was recruited into Columbia University, New York, on a full scholarship, one of three selected for the innovative program at ILT (Institute of Learning Technologies) and got a Masters in Education (New Technologies in Education with focus on Architectural Education).

After completing his extensive academic career at KGS, Haileybury, Boston University, Parsons NYC, and Columbia University Zain embarked on a professional adventure that has covered academia, fashion design, art installations, publishing, corporate communications, web design, interior design and architecture.

Having lived and worked in Europe, Asia, and North America Zain’s creations are a hybrid manifestations of both hemispheres. Living in New York City for an extensive period of time taught Zain how the whole city is a piece of living breathing functioning piece of art. “A city is a space where everyone and everything has to function symbiotically. Harmony in balance, architecture in eye contact and body language, art in communication as one walks down the street, artistic expressions in glimpses of music heard in subway stations, conversations, overheard in a restaurant, politics discussed with a cab driver”.

Early Career

In 1995, Zain returned to Pakistan and launched his career with his own label as a Men’s Wear Fashion Designer, showcased fashion shows at home and abroad, did photo shoots for magazines, wrote articles for fashion magazines and designed magazine covers. His prolific, ingenious and unusual range of work of high caliber won him a place as the 50 most influential people in Pakistan in the Golden Jubilee Special in Newline.

Zain’s philosophy of design was different, definitive, daring and his creations starkly striking in their simplicity, elegant to the eye and soft against the skin. Steering away from the ornate that local designers ascribed to, his designs were marked by clear cut shapes and lines defiantly attractive, brazenly bare. There was no commotion of colour, no mayhem of provocative pattern just an adherence to the mastery of silhouettes that created a flow whether in “Malmal” or “ Khaddar”, and fell lovingly on the skin.

Inspired by Rei Kawakubo of Comme Des Garcons, Zain drew inspiration from his heritage and also in the form of Sufism, in emphasizing bare minimalistic fashion, speaking of a mix of East and West. Zain, explained that “the more minimalistic you are, the more room there is for interpretation”.

Some noteworthy fashion shows which won him acclaim were:


 * S/S 1996: “The Post Modern Medieval Mughal Collection”, launched in Karachi. Emphasized cut, construction and the balance of asymmetrical design with the beauty of raw, simple and natural fabrics.
 * F/W 1996: “The Roman Collection” showcased in Rome, Italy, was well received .His inspiration was the regional Sufi silhouette. Long, lean, layered, comfortable, yet timeless.
 * S/S 1997: Colourful floral, tailored suits, in unconventional fabrics Western and traditional silhouettes derived from the classic hour glass 3 piece suit, the Ajkan, Sherwani and Nehru Jacket.
 * F/W 1997: “50 Years Of Pakistan, “presented in Karachi. This collection had no restriction on season, colour, fabric or gender specificity. It was staged and choreographed as a theatre production. Five sequences represented 5 decades. The ensembles designed were a semiotic display of the mood of each of the decades using fabrics, cut, colours and construction, an artistic and sometimes sculptural indulgence by the designer as homage to his country.
 * F/W1998: “ Pakistan - The Colours Within”, launched in Mauritius. A tracing of Pakistan’s fashion evolution through modernity back in time with the traditional as the finale. The show proudly displayed Pakistan as the jewel, the gateway to the sub continent, with a rich cultural heritage and a spirit of the East that is strong amidst the contemporary storm of globalization.
 * F/W1999: “The Beggar Collection,” presented in Colombo. This collection was created especially for the launch of Lancome in Srilanka. It was based on the wear and tear of people that devote their lives to saints and live at their shrines. These were a different type of beggar .They were  spiritual, free from social expectation and unbound by international politics. This collection was sewn at a home in Karachi for abused women being rehabilitated. As the finale collection for Zain’s years in Karachi, it was the simplest, most earth bound, most rich in spirituality, the rawest and his favourite.

In 2000, Zain returned to New York and pursued a short career in Web Design for 1 year as Creative Director eBusinessDesign.com, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Installation Art
 * 1997, debut Kurta Installation in a group show at The Sheraton Hotel Karachi (Curator Amin Gulgee)
 * 1998, 'Resurrection' Kurta installation at the private residence of Sameera Raja (owner Canvas Gallery)
 * 1999, Underwater world - A metal and wood hanging installation in the Karachi Park Towers Mall
 * 2002, Zain exhibited in Santa Fe his installation of Kurtas “Unity, Faith, Discipline”.
 * 2003, 'Unity, Faith, Discipline' version 3 shown at the 6th Sharjah Bienniale, UAE

Career in Interior Design

May of 2003, Zain arrived in Dubai and in 2004 launched his career in Interior Design with his first project being the design of a palace - H.H. Sheikha Latifa al Nahyan, Ail Ain, UAE.

Zain’s philosophy is that Interior Design create avenues for experiences that tell a story and the best design is what you do not see, that which is beautiful, elegant and seamless, going beyond the structures of design norms, but remaining within the principle of creativity, to create from “Inside Out”, his own language of Design.

Whether it is a home, office or a private jet, Zain believes that, all are spaces that blossom overtime to reveal new observations. As the spaces take on shape of the person for whom they are created, they unravel gradually to reveal detail and subtlety. These experiences are carved out of light & materials in an unexpected, cohesive, balanced & harmonious collection of objects & surfaces with the proviso of forming individual and collective memories that become conversation pieces. Even as the spaces support life they take on a life of their own, growing through experiences they create.

Zain, believes that a space is only complete only if it can evoke an emotional and sensual conversation between itself and its users; sometimes dramatic, sometimes gentle, but always unique.

Zain’s arena of performance is a broad one: Hospitality, F&B, Corporate, Commercial, Residential, & Retail.

8 years after launching his career in interior design, Zain is internationally known for his cutting edge, provocative work, a well reputed designer, considered by many as a leader in his industry in the region, with boundless amounts of energy and a passion for the best design possible, he runs a successful architecture & interior design firm based in Karachi with projects continuing in the Dubai, while he develops a line of furniture under his own label and begins a foray into commercial architecture. Articles By Zain


 * ’Just Right Design’: Middle East Interiors Magazine. Bahrain.
 * ‘Let there be Art’: Middle East Interiors Magazine,2009.
 * ‘Plastic Fantastic': Middle East Interiors Magazine, 2009.
 * ‘Living Airports’: Middle East Interiors Magazine, 2009.
 * ‘Rethinking Hotel Design': Middle East Interiors Magazine,2009.

Articles and Press Coverage on Zain


 * Success in the City: Dubai ‘s Entrepreneurs Tell Their Story.
 * Ahlan Magazine: Twice voted as “Hot 100” People in Dubai.
 * Ahlan Magazine: “ Hot 100” Homes in Dubai.
 * The Best of Dubai: Hard back book volume 3.
 * The Canadian Life style Magazine Anokhi's: 40 sexy and Successful South East Asians in the World.
 * VISAGE Lifestyle Cover and inside story
 * Inside Outside (India's Design Magazine): First Pakistani Designer on the Cover of an Indian Interior Design Magazine which also included 14 pages inside story and photographs.