Ahlem Eyewear 2023
Ahlem eyewear’s latest collection bring interpretations of Jazz heritage that are intelligent, modern and full of swagger.
Mar 11, 2023
Long before the cat-eye silhouette became a feminine signifier, the style belonged to the jazz men, who wore its exaggerations with confidence. Ahlem eyewear’s latest collection restores this iconic shape to its original versatile status, with interpretations that are intelligent, modern and full of swagger.
In conceiving Ahlem’s 2023 collection, Founder, Ahlem Manai-Platt, looked to the elegance and imagination of Les Sapeurs, the post-independence Congolese men and women making high style and personal dress into an artform.
In a region besieged by conflict and poverty, reappropriating the pomp and bravado of Europe’s Regency-era dandies and flâneurs became a sociopolitical statement: Les Sapeurs used their opulent styles to espouse a philosophy of dignity, peace and honor. Taking pride in physical presentation, they suggest, is a triumphant act of self-respect.
Both movements represent an exuberant creative burst following periods of intense social and political restriction: the ecstasy of free movement after confinement. That sense of liberation feels especially relevant now, as we renegotiate the terms of post-pandemic life and debut the latest iteration of our public selves. Incorporating bold shapes and lyrical riffs, AHLEM’s Spring/Summer 23 collection revels in the imaginative possibilities of self-invention.
Ahlem Spring/Summer (Northern Hemisphere) ‘23 celebrates the vitality and power of individual self-expression. Drawing on two separate but kindred subcultures—the original jazz era of the 1950s and 60s, and La Sape, the postcolonial African legacy of self-determination through natty dress—the collection honors the joy of showmanship and creative experimentation.
As the original sonic astronauts, mid-century jazz artists extended the boundaries of sound and spirit, interweaving flamboyant personal style with intellectual pursuit. With the authority of true cool, this musical avant garde was anchored by visionary artists—Pharoah Sanders, Nina Simone, Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan—whose improvisations were never without purpose.
It’s no coincidence that the artform has enduring associations with eyewear. Onstage, dark glasses served double duty as both functional accessory (blocking out bright lights and human intrusions, focusing the inward eye) and as subversive sartorial flourish.
