TenQs

June 6, 2024

Ten Qs for Zaid Affas

Multi-award winning designer Zaid Affas breaks from his LA studio to answer our less pressing but still vital character questions.

Collection 5 by Zaid Affas, photographed by Jennifer Massaux. Courtesy of Zaid Affas

ZAID Affas's fashion CV reads like a list of daydreams from an aspiring couturier: Central Saint Martins graduate, roles at Ports 1961 and Ralph Lauren, launched his own label in 2014 gaining a global, and returning clientele, Woolmark Prize US Regional Winner 2017/18, CFDA member since 2018, Fashion Trust Arabia RTW winner 2021… It’s not a fashion fairytale because it’s as real as the rows of effortless tailoring and fluid garments seemingly levitating in his downtown LA studio. Modern luxury is the essence of the brand and the man turning moodboards into elegant fits Takes 10 Qs:

#1 If you could have any famous writer (past or present) pen your biography, who would you most love to commission?

Colin Roxburgh McDowell. We instantly became friends after we met when I won the Woolmark Prize in the US as he was one of my mentors for it. Colin is so eloquent, knowledgeable, and so much fun filled with witty humor, it would be a delight to work with him on a biography.

#2 There is one song that defines your energy when you enter a room, what is it?

'Motherboard' by Daft Punk or 'On Track' by Tame Impala. But honestly I can list so many more.... Let's choose one!

#3 You don't collect this item but you could so easily have indulged in building a museum of...?

Amazing furniture and art.

#4 It's 11am on a Sunday morning, what are you most often doing at that time?

At the moment, working in the studio.

#5 You've decided to have a dinner party with friends, and the first thing you organize is...

Making sure my home looks perfect and inviting.

Look 31/49, Thom Browne Autumn/Winter 2024. Shutterstock

Look 42/49, Thom Browne Autumn/Winter 2024. Shutterstock

Look 4/62, Dior Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2024. Shutterstock

Look 48/62, Dior Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2024. Courtesy of Dior Haute Couture

Look 28/31, Schiaparelli Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2024. Courtesy of Schiaparelli Haute Couture

Look 30/31, Schiaparelli Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2024. Courtesy of Schiaparelli Haute Couture

Look 33/47, Zuhair Murad Autumn/Winter 2024. Shutterstock

Look 11/33, Jean Paul Gaultier Couture by Courrèges’ Nicolas Di Felice Autumn/Winter 2024. Courtesy of Jean Paul Gaultier Couture

Look 17/33, Jean Paul Gaultier Couture by Courrèges’ Nicolas Di Felice Autumn/Winter 2024. Courtesy of Jean Paul Gaultier Couture

Look 29/33, Jean Paul Gaultier Couture by Courrèges’ Nicolas Di Felice Autumn/Winter 2024. Courtesy of Jean Paul Gaultier Couture

Look 10/29, Ashi Studio Autumn/Winter 2024. Shutterstock

Look 14/29, Ashi Studio Autumn/Winter 2024. Shutterstock

Look 3/32, Stéphane Rolland Autumn/Winter 2024. Shutterstock

Look 22/32, Stéphane Rolland Autumn/Winter 2024. Shutterstock

Look 20/35, Giambattista Valli Autumn/Winter 2024. Shutterstock

Look 32/35, Giambattista Valli Autumn/Winter 2024. Shutterstock

Look 39/46, Chanel Autumn/Winter 2024. Courtesy of Chanel

Look 43/46, Chanel Autumn/Winter 2024. Shutterstock

Look 26/42, Alexis Mabille Autumn/Winter 2024. Shutterstock

Look 46/90, Armani/Privé Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2024. Shutterstock

Look 69/90, Armani/Privé Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2024. Shutterstock

Look 89/90, Armani/Privé Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2024. Shutterstock

Look 22/65, Elie Saab Couture Autumn/Winter 2024. Shutterstock

Look 28/39, Balenciaga Autumn/Winter 2024. Courtesy of Balenciaga

Zaid Affas photographed by Djeneba Aduayom. Courtesy of Zaid Affas | Collection 5 by Zaid Affas, photographed by Jennifer Massaux. Courtesy of Zaid Affas

#6 Which motto defines your way of being?

Never give up, keep going.

#7 Do you play to win at chess or play to enjoy the game?

To enjoy the game. When it comes to sports and things of that nature I prefer to enjoy the experience, I'm not competitive in things like that… I reserve my mental, emotional and striving energy for my work.

#8 What would no-one ever expect you to think before you enter an event, but you often do?

Is my hair OK?

#9 What emotionally moves you more than anything else?

Not one thing, but to simplify it, visual (be it nature or man made) and musical beauty, plus sincere, deep, enlightening conversations with other people.

#10 Describe yourself in one word.

Determined.