“We can always give value to the things we throw away, and there is something truly beautiful in that,” Lama El Tazy, founder of ByAziza, said. It all started shortly after the loss of her grandmother Aziza, to who Lama was extremely close. Growing up she was surrounded by tapestry, as it was all over the walls of her house, but she never really noticed it. But after losing her grandmother, she realized that she could keep her memory alive by making use of something that reminded her of her grandmother, tapestry. That in addition to Lama’s love of adding unique pieces to her own wardrobe, was behind the birth of ByAziza.
Lama always gravitated towards pieces that no one else has and it was then that it hit her “imagine if everyone else can have that too.”
Lama started making corsets out of tapestries, each piece was made from different tapestries, making every piece unique. ByAziza’s mission became making use of something that is seemingly useless and it was through reusing disregarded material that ByAziza succeeded in giving each customer a unique piece that is completely theirs.
Following her success with the tapestry-inspired corsets, Lama went on to turn a whole range of old basketball and baseball jerseys into corsets. She went thrifting for old jerseys with the aim of repurposing them.
As her brand evolved and grew, Lama’s thrive towards creating something unique pushed her creativity even further. She went from designing corsets made out of tapestries to dying denim and designing two-piece sets out of it. Her work became known very quickly as celebrities started reaching out to her and asking for pieces.
Maybe Lama’s grandmother isn’t around anymore, but she’s still alive through By Aziza. Buying a ByAziza piece is more than just about owning a piece that is unique, it is about supporting a sustainable business that recycles second-hand clothing and fabrics.