Saiman El Sabari - KNUTD - Kyiv National University of Technologies and Design

SUMUD (صمود) – KNUTD - Kyiv National University of Technologies and Design

SUMUD: A manifest of inner armour in Saiman El Sabari’s FW26 collection 

SUMUD (صمود) is an ancient Arabic word that translates as resilience, but means much more. It is a state of inner strength and quiet power. It is not a loud slogan or a challenge to the outside world — it is adeep, almost meditative ability to stay upright in a reality that is constantly changing the rules. Designer Saiman El Sabari’s new FW26 collection explores the moment when familiar supports disappear and aperson is forced to rebuild their identity — calmly, honestly and without unnecessary embellishment. 

In this visual story, clothing renounces decorativeness: it does not seek to calm, it seeks to protect. Each model appears as a personal architecture of resistance and a living artefact of time, capturing inner tension and endurance. SUMUD is a force that does not need to be advertised. It is articulated through complex layering, a selection of uncompromising textures and an unbreakable posture. It is a manifesto of personal autonomy under the pressure of global circumstances. 

Visual language and palette 

The visual language of the collection is built on tangible contrasts. The FW26 palette is restrained and austere: 

• Cool white and steel grey embody the rational aesthetics of the metropolis and its detachment. 

• Deep brown resonates with a state of complete composure and self-control. 

• Khaki and industrial denim become the language of lived experience — honest, mature and authentic. 

The materials work to reinforce this conceptual tension: dense canvas and dimensionally stable raincoat fabrics enter into dialogue with the softness of knitwear and the plasticity of complex multi-layered drapery. 

Men’s line: Architecture of discipline 

The designer reinterprets the aesthetics of uniforms and workwear through the prism of high fashion. Structured shoulders, closed stand-up collars, impeccably clean lines and large utilitarian pockets form the silhouette of a person in action. It is an image devoid of aggression but full of inner control. These pieces convey the pulsating rhythm of the modern city: its speed, complexity and the need to be constantly ready for movement. 

Women’s line: Autonomy of boundaries 

This line is dominated by voluminous shell blouses, jackets with accentuated shoulders and a wide silhouette, which create the necessary distance around the body — a safe space where you set the rules yourself. Some items deliberately retain the aesthetics of an ‘unfinished frame,’ capturing the process of transformation: when the form is still in flux, but the inner core is already definitively defined. 

For Saiman El Sabari, this collection is a language of identity. He creates his own world, where the architectural severity of lines is organically combined with the lively plasticity of human movement. Here, clothing becomes a way to talk about a person in a modern, direct and uncompromising way. 

SUMUD is a collection for those who refuse to simplify themselves to suit the expectations of others. For those who choose restraint over theatricality. This is a wardrobe for people who know for sure that true strength lies not in showiness, but in the ability to withstand and remain true to oneself.