Fatma Elshabbi
2025
My name is Fatma Elshabbi, I am a Libyan designer based in Geneva, Switzerland.
In 2017, I started my bachelor in Fashion Design at HEAD Geneva University of Arts and Design, followed with a master’s degree in Fashion & Accessories Design where I created my collection « Bintebladi ».
I spent the first seventeen years of my life in Tripoli, Libya.
In 2014, I moved to Switzerland with my family, carrying memories, heritage and fragments of the world we left behind.
This transition marked the beginning of a journey that led me to explore and reinterpret my cultural heritage through fashion. My work reflects a dialogue between my Libyan roots and my life in Switzerland.
The feeling of nostalgia has grown stronger when the visits became less frequent.
During my bachelor’s degree, I developed a collection « Dekrayart Trablus » inspired by my childhood memories and my grandparents’ home. The beauty of architecture, oriental interiors, and my grandmother’s scarves became the foundation for my own prints, reimagining the rich visual language of my heritage that I used to make ready-to-wear created with the idea of taking what I love and leaving urgently.
This feeling of emergency comes from the Libyan revolution of 2011 and the civil war that followed — moments that left a deep imprint on my life, and it’s present in the construction of my looks. This creative process became a way to hold on to the memories I missed most.
During my master’s degree, I expanded my research into traditional Libyan ceremonial and wedding garments, inspired by watching my family getting prepared by draping meters of silk fabric around their bodies, ornamented with traditional jewelry. These moments framed by the backdrop of salons with high windows, layered curtains, sculptural sofas, and crystal chandeliers deeply shaped my sense of aesthetics and storytelling, in a ready-to-wear interpretation.
My work is both a tribute to my grandmother, who instilled these memories in me, and a celebration of my Libyan heritage. Through my brand « Fatma Elshabbi » I create garments that embody heritage, nostalgia, and empowerment. It is something I want to gift to women who see themselves reflected in my designs, carrying forward the beauty of memory through fashion.
