ABOU NAJA Talks with Fashion Designer Ahmed Fouad

Founder of Mr. Tuxedos, Ahmed Fouad, started his career in the fashion industry among a close group of friends, while experimenting and styling bespoke tuxedos for personal use. His passion for luxury garments and the absence of a home-grown brand that offered luxury and custom-tailored men’s clothing in Egypt caused the inception of Mr. Tuxedos. 

Today and albeit with his busy schedule running a booming start-up, we caught up with him to discuss everything fashion, entrepreneurial drive, and most importantly, the importance of investing in Intellectual Property in the early stages of a seemingly thriving venture.

During a typical, you will find Ahmed experimenting with suit samples and new types of high-quality fabrics, matching style references on models, modifying and adding final touches to his upcoming collection, or brainstorming with his team or even his customers to revolutionise the luxury clothing scene in Egypt.

Mr. Tuxedos got its big break after a collaboration with Egyptian celebrity, Mohammed Ramadan, went viral on TikTok, and thus catapulting its brand name further into the emerging fashion scene in the region. This newfound fame has landed him opportunities to style A-List celebrities for major cinematic events such as El Gouna Film Festival and The Cairo Film Festival.

While the glitz and glam of making it a luxury brand in Egypt is an achievement on its own, Ahmed’s success did not come easy. Through our curiosity regarding the hurdles he has had to overcome, he looked back and noted, "The most difficult part was educating myself about the intricacies of fashion design and about how I can transform my love for clothing craftsmanship into a profitable venture."

He continued by saying, "To even think of a beginning, meant altering my mindset towards working around the clock, while pursuing a fashion education abroad and relentlessly seeking out fashion and style experts so I could master the dynamics of the fashion industry and how it works. But the most difficult (and favorite) part throughout this learning process was the constant evolution of my own perception of my idea of style and fashion."

As intrigued as we were about the beginning of his entrepreneurial journey, we were very curious to know what he has in the pipeline, regarding up and coming plans for Mr. Tuxedos as he commented, "Now I have earned customer credibility for providing custom-tailored suits and tuxedos for my customers, I really want to begin to diversify my collection. As most of my current collection is usually worn only during very special events and is not meant for daily wear. Currently, I am very excited to be developing and finalizing a new chic range that will include pieces that are meant for everyday wear."

Despite what is often seen as a good economic development for bespoke startups such as Mr. Tuxedos, we can't help but note and bring up the destructive consequences of gaining overnight fame through social media and how manufacturers of cheap and fast fashion would immediately commit infringement, in order to cash in on a brand's freshly acquired fame.