On the 19th of October, two Swedish fashion experts began a workshop to promote the Swedish experience in innovative fashion techniques, combine modern fashion with multicultural influences and empower the local community, especially females.

Over fifteen fashion students will participate in the seven-day workshop which begins at the privately owned Modern Science and Arts University (MSA).

The first of the instructors is Swedish fashion designer Hans Jansson, who created in 2005, a ready-to-wear-clothing line for women by utilising the craftsmanship of different locals and fabrics of the many countries he visited.

Photo: Courtesy of MSA

Johansson describes his designs as a marriage between different traditions and cultures while maintaining the sensibility of rare skills and quality work from across the globe.

The collection of Hans Johansson with its multicultural influences, traditional embroideries, and rare materials is exhibited in exclusive art galleries and select stores in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.

The second instructor is the associate professor and director of the centre for fashion studies at Stockholm University, Louise Wallenberg. Wallenberg's recent research focuses on the relationship between fashion industry and early cinema. It also covers transnational and cultural gender ideals specifically the blurred lines of gender and sexuality in the fashion photography of Helmut Newton.

Photo: Courtesy of MSA

 The workshop aims to prepare young aspiring fashion designers to be fully engaged in the fashion business as well as provide them with the ability to plan and market their designs as a step into further engaging the international market.

The workshop, which was organised by the Swedish embassy in Cairo in cooperation with the Fashion Department at the MSA University was launched by Swedish ambassador Charlotta Sparre, who gave workshop attendees a presentation on Sweden as a destination for study and the Swedish higher education system.