Let them eat cake | SS22 Collection

This collection is by far our most complex yet. Whether it’s in the designs, the prints or the meanings. We decided to go all the way and make it special. Our Spring and Summer 2021 collection was so popular, sisters still ask about it to this day. The Pastel Collection was born from a need of escapism, built up over the cold winter months. Not only this need for escapism grew stronger but it became a reality. 

July 2021, our creative director visited the French Castle of Valencay. This incredible place with beautiful greenery and wild animals such as peacocks walking around, was truly reminiscent of Marie-Antoinette in her Petit Trianon. We started imagining Les Sultanas playing in the gardens under the sun, picking flowers, having a picnic and reading books. That day, we romanticised a life in a castle and brought it through these designs. 

With this collection we wanted to embrace this remoteness and make it special. We are bringing you back to a time of Queens and Kings that never really existed. Outside of wars, politics and codes. We are taking you to a world full of softness, delicious desserts and wild flowers. If you feel like you don’t belong it is simply because you are a princess lost in time, and it is fine. Get a cup of tea, eat some cake, lay down in the grass and enjoy your modesty. It is what makes you special, what makes you bloom like a flower.  

Behind the theme : Marie Antoinette.

“Marie-Antoinette” is a movie from 2006 directed by Sofia Coppola. When it was first released, it received mixed reviews and was criticised for not being historically accurate. However, these critics (who were mostly from men), didn’t understand what Sofia Coppola was trying to say. Marie-Antoinette was a teenager when she arrived in Versailles and soon later became the Queen of France. She lived her best life inside the castle and its garden, unaware of the roaring thunder coming. As the country was growing hungry and angry, she kept spending money, having fun with her friends and even had a small estate built so she could “play farmer”. The story told by Sofia Coppola is one of a young woman trying her best to navigate through life, living in a golden cage and oblivious of the chaos happening outside. Soon later, the Queen and King get beheaded by rebels, but Sofia Coppola stops the story much sooner, right when they leave Versailles, as if you could imagine another happy ending for the young Queen of France. 

This sentiment of complete unawareness felt familiar. Through a story that could not be more distant from our current lives, we related to Marie-Antoinette. Her life inside the castle, in a bubble, shielded from the damage happening outside the gates truly resonated with our lives as hijabis, especially in France where we are. Marie-Antoinette spent her days in gardens, reading books, enjoying small things such as beautiful flowers, poetry and her children. Our faith and modesty are our Versailles. No matter what is going on outside, we get to simply ignore it. We have the luxury to because we are elevated as believing women. We know we are safe, we know that no harm can reach us besides what is meant to. Therefore, there is no need for worries. Just like the seasons, this too, shall pass. 

“Let them eat cake” is a famous sentence Marie-Antoinette was accused of saying after she was told that the French were tired of her extravagant lifestyle. Historians confirmed that she never said such a thing but just like hijabis nowadays, the French made her responsible for all their troubles, inventing false stories. But we actually love the idea of “Let them eat cake”. This sentence is full of ignorance and carefree. People could get mad at us but we are not concerned by such matters, too busy enjoying our lives doing what we love most and being our best selves. “Let them eat cake” is about not caring about what people say about you, no matter how bad it is. It is about creating this safe space where you can retire and breathe. Whether it is in a castle, a garden, with loved ones or the Book. It is about prioritising your mental health and well-being, even if that means turning your back to the world for a moment. Because self care is the most generous gift you can get yourself. 

The colour palette and its meaning.

Within the castle, we were drawn towards the beautiful and delicate tapestries and printed wallpapers, reminiscent of the French royalty. The prints on our khimars were directly inspired by this elevated decoration as well as the Spring Season. 

Florals for Spring are nothing new but we managed to surprise our Sultanas with it. 

Each colour is inspired by a flower we love. Sunflower, symbol of Summer. Peony, delicate and popular. Dahlia, underrated and surprising. Peachday Lily is a flower known by few and its slightly muted peach colour charmed our Sultanas. Leaf is our base colour. For each collection, we like to include at least 1 colour that is more wearable than the others. It allows our Sultanas to always have access to beautiful staples to add to their timeless wardrobe and it can also charm the ones who do not dare colourful clothes. Just like the leaves on every flower, Leaf matches all prints and colours in the collection, making it the perfect basic to get this Season.