Skip to content

WELCOME TO OUR STORE

SUPPORT OUR WORK

  • HOME
  • MAGAZINE
    • CURRENT ISSUE
    • ALL ISSUES
    • FIND SELVEDGE
    • ORDER FAQS
  • SUBSCRIBE
    • FOR YOURSELF
    • FOR SOMEONE ELSE
    • FOR STUDENTS
    • FOR AN INSTITUTION
    • SUBSCRIBER FAQS
    • SUBSCRIBER ACCESS
  • STORIES
  • SHOP
    • SELVEDGE GOODS
    • SELVEDGE TOTES
    • ARTISAN GOODS
      • ALL
      • CLOTHING
      • INTERIORS
      • ACCESSORIES
      • TOYS
      • YARDAGE
      • EXPLORE ARTISANS
      • ACCESS TALKS
    • MAGAZINES
    • BOOKS
    • ORDER FAQs
  • LEARN
    • BOOK A WORKSHOP
    • LISTEN TO A TALK
    • MEET THE MAKER
    • SLOW TV
    • TRAVEL WITH US
  • EVENTS
    • MAKERS FAIR, BATH
    • WINTER FAIR
    • TEXTILE MONTH
    • SELVEDGE TOURS
    • EVENT FAQS
  • COMMUNITY
    • JOIN OUR COMMUNITY
    • LISTEN TO A PODCAST
    • SELVEDGE OPEN STUDIO
    • VISIT A TEXTILE COLLECTION
    • SEE AN EXHIBITION
    • ENTER A PRIZE DRAW
    • MAKE A PROJECT
  • COLLABORATE
    • ADVERTISE WITH US
    • WORK WITH US
    • WRITE FOR US
    • WRITE FOR THE BLOG
    • BECOME A STOCKIST
  • OUR STORY
    • READ OUR STORY
    • GET TO KNOW US
    • READ ABOUT US
  • CONTACT US
Log in
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Vimeo
Selvedge Magazine
  • HOME
  • MAGAZINE
    • CURRENT ISSUE
    • ALL ISSUES
    • FIND SELVEDGE
    • ORDER FAQS
  • SUBSCRIBE
    • FOR YOURSELF
    • FOR SOMEONE ELSE
    • FOR STUDENTS
    • FOR AN INSTITUTION
    • SUBSCRIBER FAQS
    • SUBSCRIBER ACCESS
  • STORIES
  • SHOP
    • SELVEDGE GOODS
    • SELVEDGE TOTES
    • ARTISAN GOODS
      • ALL
      • CLOTHING
      • INTERIORS
      • ACCESSORIES
      • TOYS
      • YARDAGE
      • EXPLORE ARTISANS
      • ACCESS TALKS
    • MAGAZINES
    • BOOKS
    • ORDER FAQs
  • LEARN
    • BOOK A WORKSHOP
    • LISTEN TO A TALK
    • MEET THE MAKER
    • SLOW TV
    • TRAVEL WITH US
  • EVENTS
    • MAKERS FAIR, BATH
    • WINTER FAIR
    • TEXTILE MONTH
    • SELVEDGE TOURS
    • EVENT FAQS
  • COMMUNITY
    • JOIN OUR COMMUNITY
    • LISTEN TO A PODCAST
    • SELVEDGE OPEN STUDIO
    • VISIT A TEXTILE COLLECTION
    • SEE AN EXHIBITION
    • ENTER A PRIZE DRAW
    • MAKE A PROJECT
  • COLLABORATE
    • ADVERTISE WITH US
    • WORK WITH US
    • WRITE FOR US
    • WRITE FOR THE BLOG
    • BECOME A STOCKIST
  • OUR STORY
    • READ OUR STORY
    • GET TO KNOW US
    • READ ABOUT US
  • CONTACT US
Log in Cart

Item added to your cart

Access Denied
IMPORTANT! If you’re a store owner, please make sure you have Customer accounts enabled in your Store Admin, as you have customer based locks set up with EasyLockdown app. Enable Customer Accounts

Sana Aloui

September 7, 2016
Share

Guest blog post by Melody Stein.

Fashion and textile designer Sana Chen Aloui’s work is an embodiment of her own experiences. An American of Chinese and Tunisian descent, Aloui grew up everywhere but her home country. Aloui’s multi-cultural identity is based on a childhood spent moving between Benin, Macedonia, Egypt, Bangladesh, and Zimbabwe. Annual visits back to her grandmother’s home in the Bay Area of California became the lens through which she found eloquence and meaning in the shifting spaces between ethnicity, nationality, race, and culture.

IMG_9001

Her collection, What Makes an American is a poignant reflection on the Chinese-American lifestyle of Aloui’s grandmother. Each garment reframes American nostalgia within the intricate fractures of cultural assimilation; in all of its aching loss, confusion, and eternal optimism. What Makes an American posits perceived opposites and argues not for homogeneity, but instead a more complex harmony. In the form of ric-rac trimmed bonnets, 1970’s inspired red and white striped tunics, and the well-worn patina of old denim, contexts are scrambled, upending expectations of “how things should be” and instead offering a collage of artful juxtaposition. The collection consists of seven looks featuring Aloui’s knit, printed, and draped designs reminiscent of thrift stores, DIY, and the gracefully worn silhouettes of old age.

IMG_9140

While shown originally on the runway at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the collection is presented here modeled by Aloui’s grandmother, Cheng Borchert and photographed by her younger sister Ranya Aloui, currently a sophomore studying film at NYU. What Makes an American is about identity in the face of scale: from the process of bringing a family together to the recognition of a cultural past greater than a single individual.

IMG_9045-600x350

Sana Chen Aloui is a recent graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Fashion and Textiles program. For more information:

www.sana-aloui.squarespace.com

textilesana@gmail.com

 
Back to blog

1 comment

This is actually for Polly…with a brief note of explanation!

I want to thank you for your telephone call the other day about renewing my subscription to Selvedge.

Basically I want you to know that i LOVE your magazine. I love the topics, the featured artisans, the art direction, the layout, the paper you print on, the matte finish – even your advertisers! – i.e. everything. However, its just a little expensive for me to continue as much as I would love to.

I do sincerely thank you for reaching out and will continue to drool as you feature upcoming issues. Perhaps I will able to continue one day down the road.

Oh, should you ever be in NYC – give a shout!

My best.

irene

irene weisbergMay 8, 2017

Leave a comment

Please note, comments need to be approved before they are published.

Invalid password
Enter

Quick links

  • SEARCH
  • ABOUT US
  • T&Cs
  • FAQs
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Subscribe to our newsletter by entering your email address below. "I just wanted to say how much I admire your informative and inspirational newsletters - I always look forward to them!" Tricia, San Rafael, USA

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Vimeo
Payment methods
  • American Express
  • Apple Pay
  • Diners Club
  • Discover
  • Google Pay
  • Maestro
  • Mastercard
  • Shop Pay
  • Union Pay
  • Visa
© 2025, Selvedge Magazine Powered by Shopify
  • Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.