By: Saira Thadani
With their exclusive bags, belts and brooches, Louis Vuitton is known for their luxury wear. This spring, they released a scarf collection that not only spoke to the young fashionistas of the world, but also to the traditional poets. The man behind this design is eL Seed, a Parisian born and ethnically Tunisian artist who developed his own style of art called “calligraffiti”.
eL Seed inscribes traditional Arabic verses into each piece of graffiti, creating beautiful urban yet historic works. His unique style caught the eye of top executives at LV as they searched for the “most influential” artists from around the world for their Foulards d’Artistes collection.
As the first Arab artist to be approached by the top designer, eL Seed was initially skeptical about using his passion for such a renowned company. “I didn’t want people to like my art and recognize me just because Louis Vuitton did. I wanted my work to touch them, not just the brand,” he said in an interview with Elan.
eL Seed eventually agreed to the contract and decided to see this as an opportunity to spread his love for tradition mixed with urban art. He envisioned it as a way to “bring the spirit of the streets into a luxury brand.”
“I didn’t want to say that I represent the Arab art community, because I believe that we are diverse,” said eL Seed. “But being chosen by LV was definitely flattering. I just needed to make sure that I wasn’t giving my power over, but instead, using it to spread what I believe in.”
eL Seed’s verses of choice are often from famous Arabic poems such as “Venice Carnival”, which he used for his LV design. This poem, by Ali Mahmoud Taha, is one that speaks to the history between Venice and the Arab World. “Most of the time, people think the East and the West are opposite, but they’re not,” said eL Seed in a National article. “Bringing in this history of Venice was a way to break this kind of made-up idea.”
eL Seed’s “calligraffiti” symbolizes not only a connection between the east and west, but also a beautiful unity between generations. He takes verses from powerful traditional poems such as this one and then incorporates them into the urban art form of graffiti, a style that is revered by today’s youth.
“I am proud to put Arabic script on this Louis Vuitton scarf,” said the artist on his website, Elseed-art.com. “What I love about the Arabic script is that even if you can’t read it, it speaks to the soul, it just has so much power and is naturally beautiful.”
Christie’s Auction House will auction the scarves this October. All proceeds will go to START, a charity that provides art education for refugees, orphans and children with special needs from Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, India and the UAE.
When asked about his unique style, eL Seed explained that it wasn’t something he developed, as he couldn’t “find an art teacher”. Rather, he spent his youth searching for his roots and eventually found this mix of traditional and modern art to be the connection to his heritage.
“I had an identity crisis while growing up as an Arab in Paris,” he said. “The way history is taught to us in school was very different from what I knew my traditions might be. This art because a way to know where I was from. It was a way to educate myself about my people and my culture.”
eL Seed started his career as a business consultant in Montreal. Traveling for work and spending long hours in the office led him to ponder about his heritage even more. He began to search for an outlet for his confusion and slowly began to spend time painting.
“People liked my work and soon began to commission me to paint. Step by step it became my 9-5 job,” he said. “So then I gave up my other 9-5 job and focused on what I loved: my art.”
According to The National, el Seed is currently painting on 700 meters of wall across four tunnels in Doha’s Salwa Road. Seeing the growth of the region’s art community excites him and he believes that the Middle East “wants to create their own culture, so we need to make art relevant to people here”.
While he made the decision to sell his art to the booming fashion industry, there is one thing that eL Seed will continue to keep just for himself: his real name. “That is my victory!”
Follow eL Seed on Twitter: elseedart
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