Cross-Cultural Magic: Nobi Talai
A love of textiles and pure, archetypal forms runs like a thread through Berlin-based designer Nobieh Talaei’s biography. It’s an itinerant thread, one which emotionally and creatively references her grandmother’s nomadic family heritage and her background in traditional handcrafts and dressmaking skills. Born in Tehran, Talaei moved with her family to Berlin when she was 11. Graduating from Esmod Berlin, her graduate men’s wear collection was chosen by Premium to be specially exhibited at the Berlin Fashion Fair in 2003. Later, she gained experience with leading international fashion labels in merchandising and retail management positions. Her short stint in interior design came next, during which she created timeless yet modern environments, starring hand-chosen pieces of Bauhaus, Neue Sachlichkeit and 1950’s Scandinavian design. These different chapters, as she notes, all helped lay the conceptual and aesthetic foundations for her company NOBI TALAI.
Talaei’s sphere of creative action and interest has always stood at the crossroads between East and West, her origins in Iran and life in Berlin, and the allure of ancient craft and modern design.
This season, however, the Nobi Talai collection sees a heightened dash of cross-cultural magic. Freely dipping into her private treasure trove, the designer uses authentic Persian textiles, kilim rugs, traditional festive jewelry and ornately woven skull caps to stylistically jolt cosmopolitan looks.
Tailoring remains the backbone for next season. Large, patch flap pockets and inverted box pleats evoke a whiff of the 70’s, while rounded cuts, seam placements and lantern sleeves underscore Nobi Talai’s modernist stance. At the same time, there are more intricate than ever sunburst pleats, with dimensional chevron patterns built into the structure, while the aforementioned box pleats do double duty as stitched-down accents on sleeves, jacket fronts, the legs of boiler suits, even morphing into suspenders.
The masculine/feminine fabric assortment includes dapper wool Prince of Wales, glen and herringbone checks; double and boiled blanket wool coatings; kilim inspired prints and a rug-like woven wool jacquard; supple leathers and a shiny patent leather look, and silk chiffon and crepe de chine. The palette of black, white, brown, russet, gray and dark green is enriched with sea foam, blush, turmeric, and cayenne.
“I am always trying to bring my two home- lands together,” Talaei said, “and to sense both worlds.” The stylistic accents reflect her personal journey but the collection invites wearers to playfully create cross-cultural connections of their own.
