When thinking of the perfect label to kick off our week of fashion in ymib style, it went without a doubt to start the week off with Fashion Design duo Bezem y Mailan. These two ladies are the designers behind many of the eclectic and cultural fusions of the lovely ladies of Les Nubians, yep, so now you know! Their pieces are truly immaculate and richly filled with embellishments that tell the story of lands abroad through their texture, color, and patterns, and their pieces are layered with creativity that just simply blows my mind and screams artistic genius. These two ladies are beyond talented and they take fashion shows to an entirely new level. Many of their shows are full blown choreographed dance performances that portrays many ceremonial and cultural rhythms and rituals. With Bezem being of Togo and Russian decent and Mai Lan being Viatnamese and French, it is no wonder that when these two come together you get such an amazing fusion of cultural chic fashion as a result.

I am a huge fan of Mai Lan as she is quite the talented songstress. Click the video to hear one of her songs entitled "Arret De Souffle" & you can check out her other songs by visiting her myspace page here: Mai Lan. These two fabulous ladies took out some time to chat with us about all things fashion and of course their creative inspiration. I hope they impress your creativity with as much inspiration as they have given me.

ymib: What is your design process like?

Bezem Y Mai Lan: Our design process is totally focused on tribal costume. First,we started mainly to work on our original cultural backgrounds (Bezem: Togo & Russia & Mai lan: Vietnam & France) then mixing all the worldwide cultures like South America, American Indian, and East India. We consider our work to be a translation and reflection of a cultural heritage with history by using graphic design, symbolism, and all the traditional textile and embellishment techniques such as tie dye, embroideries, printmaking, and weaving.

ymib: What do you both love about what you do, and why is it important for you to continue doing it?

Bezem Y Mai Lan: Both of us grow up in Paris but our parents wanted strongly for us to be aware of our tradition and did everything they could to pass on the culture. So in some words,we are very lucky to see both sides of the modernity of our occidental society and our ancestral background. The work we do is like an identity research. With both of us being of mixed race, it is very important to know where we come from and that became our passion."Keeping our traditional culture while at the same time being very modern and contemporary".

ymib: How did you come to design pieces for Les Nubians...what was this experience like for you?

Bezem Y Mai Lan: We met Les Nubians by coincidence (in the street) and for us it was the occasion now or never to suggest them to our work. They completely fit into our concept and symbolize for us that kind of modern woman. Since the beginning, they have supported us, and trusted us, throughout many collaborations.

ymib: What goals would you each like to achieve within your life and careers currently and within the future?

Bezem Y Mai Lan: We have a lot of ideas for the future but we need to be more expanded to achieve them. Our goal is to touch many people as possible, making them proud to wear something where they can affirm themselves, a bit of their background identity; not leaving out all of the worldwide tribal history (which is disappearing fast within our societies). We would love to collaborate with traditional craftsmen to carry on their work and their knowledge.

ymib: Other than the Culture itself, how do you each gain creative inspiration for your designs...any favorite books, photographers, magazines, or creative spots?

Bezem Y Mai Lan: We gain our creative inspirations from our precious collection of books like Angela Fisher and her fabulous pictures in “African Ark: People and Ancient Cultures of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa”: beautiful photos of Africa and ceremonies. This is the bible for me but as well as Casimir Ostoja Zagoursky "Lost Africa" which contains huge and impressive pictures. All of the books with old black and white pics of old tribes took mainly by the colonists are also inspirational because you can see what it was about at that time...true pictures.

ymib: Most creative/stylish spot in your home and why?

Bezem Y Mai Lan: In my home? My bedroom definitely, that is my precious cave! All my treasures from so many trips: jewels, ethnic clothes, books, and all my photos. Every morning I wake up to see all of this and it makes me stronger to do more and more and brings me faith.

ymib: In your own words, how would you describe the energy and concept behind your fashion shows/presentations?

Bezem Y Mai Lan: We organize our shows with a big dance group (choregraphy by Cathy Ematchoua). What is very important for us is to recreate the same atmosphere you can find in our country during ceremonies or whatever. The energy over there are so deep that we want to share this with people who don't have the occasion to see it in person. That is why our show is mixed with all types of dance from African, Asian, Indian, Modern jJazz, Afro Beat, and Hip Hop. It is our way to interpret our own celebration from both of our cultures.

ymib: What is it about textiles that you love so much and who are some of your favorite designers?

Bezem Y Mai Lan: We love natural textiles like linen,cotton and most of all if possible the weaved fabric by craftsmen. This is the base of all culture.

Favorite Designers: Yoji Yamamoto, Xuly Bet, Marithe Francois Girbaud (for the cutting), and Issey Miyake.

ymib: What music could we find playing in your cd player/i-pod?

Bezem Y Mai Lan: Mai Lan, Sade, Prince, Fela, Wunmi, Jay Dee, Madlib Kenn Starr, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Amel Larrieux and many many more.