A Microbus Carries Cairo's Fiercest Working Women into the Night in Edgy New Fashion Campaign

Our partners in crime at Cairo Zoom did it again! In a photo shoot showcasing local jewellery designer Jude Benhalim’s latest collection Urban Rebel, their capable lens captured Cairene women from different walks of life as they made their way to their various destinations on a Cairo microbus. Needless to say, all the ladies look fly, adorned with exquisite pieces by the homegrown brand.

Released last December, Egyptian jewellery designer Jude Benhalim’s latest collection was centred around the very dynamic theme of the metropolis and the aesthetics that come with it. Sophisticated and edgy, Urban Rebel draws on the experiences of city girls; fancy and suave but also practical and street smart.

MO4 Network fashion photographer and art director Malak El Sawi was the mastermind bringing Benhalim’s vision for the collection to life, creating a tasteful yet bold visual interpretation, a little on the dark side of fashion! Sawi chose a dark colour scheme and dim lighting, fleshing out the dystopian edge she wanted the shoot to have. "I knew I wanted it to have a dystopian feel, although, really, a Cairo where a group of girls can dress up and ride a microbus at night is a complete utopian vision," she says.

El Sawi drew inspiration from the contrast between the discussions surrounding female-only spaces in the West and the assumed need for them here which is manifested in gender segregation. "When I was thinking about Jude's Urban Rebel, I was thinking about what that meant in the context of living in Cairo as a female," El Sawi adds. She felt that, often, in Egypt, women have to subdue their femininity in public spaces due to societal expectations.

"It is highly unlikely to see a microbus fully occupied by women cruising the city - specially women dressed so freely. To me that is the ultimate vision of an urban rebellion in Cairo; taking the microbus in a mini skirt."
                      Left to right: Bossaina - PR; Hannane - Fundraising Officer

 Left to right: Aida - Director & Film Maker; Hanan - Documentary Film Maker.

Chanel - Painter & Makeup Artist

Left to right: Donia - Psychologist; Yasmina - Marketeer

Farah - Editor & Writer

Left to right: Hana - Photographer; Menna - Model

Left to right: Yasmine - Fashion Blogger; Amina - Lawyer

A Zoom Fashion Production
Photography & Art Direction: Malak El Sawi
Styling: Ahmed Nabil
MUA: Agnes
Wardrobe: Villa Baboushka, Maison 69
Special Thanks to Essie