Egypt's Textiles: An Audio Conversation with Shahira Mehrez

In a vivid and passionate conversation, Islamic art expert and designer, Shahira Mehrez, speaks with Passent Nossair, President of the World Crafts Council Africa. She reveals how Egypt’s textiles tell the story of identity, resilience, and resistance. Trained first as a chemist, Mehrez turned to Islamic art in her 20s and began to question why Egyptian women - descendants of a civilisation known for some of the world’s finest fabrics - were wearing Western-style dresses copied from Vogue and Marie Claire.

Her journey took her deep into Egypt’s countryside, uncovering more than 70 regional costume styles, many of which date back to the Fatimid and Mamluk eras. These garments, Mehrez explains, are not just beautiful - they are living proof of a rich, pluralistic heritage, passed from generation to generation through cloth.

Old tally stitching technique producing vertical tubular alignments. 

At the centre of her work is a misunderstood craft: Tally embroidery. As featured in the article Full Metal Jacket in Selvedge Issue 125, tally was once a dazzling, elite technique involving continuous threads of silver or gold stitched onto densely woven fabric. However, tally was slowly diluted over time, and by the early 20th century, demand from Western markets - especially following the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair - led to mass-produced versions made by young girls for export. Transformed from sophisticated dress into revealing stage shawls, the embroidery lost its status and meaning.

Old stitching technique producing diagonal alignments.

The story of Tally is one of both splendour and sorrow, but it’s also a powerful reminder of Egypt’s textile brilliance - and a call to preserve, protect and reinterpret these traditions for future generations.

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Further Information:

Selvedge Issue 125, Mediterranean

Book Publication: Costumes of Egypt: The Lost Legacies by Shahira Mehrez

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Image Credits:

Lead and Video Images: Early 20th c. embroidered dress.

All images courtesy of Passent Nossair and Shahira Mehrez.