Fashion

In the Spotlight – Middle Eastern Talents Spread Their Wings

If there is anything we noticed during the past few years, it would be the fact that the Middle East is a hub of talents that never fail to prove themselves on both regional and international levels.

Photo Courtesy of Instagram.com/rebornsociety
Reborn Society was established by Zeynab El-Helw in 2019 and met its success by bringing the elements of comfort, freshness and eco-friendliness to the trendy urban street style world while supporting refugees across the globe through the brand’s collaboration with UNHCR.

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Mrs Keepa is a brand co-founded by French-Egyptian designer Mariam Yeya and her husband Bassel Komaty in 2016 to gain thanks to its contemporary and eclectic silhouettes, as well as its values towards sustainability, a big audience.

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Syrian-born designer Rami Al Ali’s passion for fine fabrics and design drew his journey, leading him to establish his eponymous label in 2001 in Dubai and present bold creations and uncompromising couture designs that put him on the global fashion map.

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Photo Courtesy of Instagram.com/arwaalbanawi
Saudi designer Arwa Al Banawi addresses every woman on the go through pieces that stand halfway between high-end fashion and street wear, redefining traditional tailoring through a contemporary east-meets-west aesthetic and eclectic contrasts.

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Noon by Noor was founded in 2008 by Bahrain-based cousins Shaikha Noor Al Khalifa and Shaikha Haya Al Khalifa, who never failed to present their modern aesthetic fusing understated luxury with a sense of self-assured femininity in relaxed silhouettes carrying details of masculine dress codes.

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Photo Courtesy of Instagram.com/mukhisisters
Mukhi Sisters are the fruit of a family of jewelers, where founders Maya, Meena and Zeenat inherited their passion for precious stones and grew up to decide to bring their distinctive style to the world of jewels in 2009.

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Photo Courtesy of Instagram.com/marzook_official
Marzook went from designing for family and a close circle of friends in Kuwait to the world, pushing the boundaries and challenging norms every step of the way to create accessories consisting of precious metals, Plexiglas resins, and Swarovski encrusted spherical shapes and styles that masterfully mix between Eastern and Western cultures.

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Photo Courtesy of Instagram.com/bambah
Bambah set itself on the fashion map as a Dubai-based boutique for carefully curated vintage clothing but soon became a haven for fashion mavens across the world, including Priyanka Chopra, Amal Clooney, Maisie Williams, Dita Von Teese and Emma Roberts.

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Initially founded in 1891 at the heart of Beirut, L’Atelier Nawbar is beating today with the energy of Dima and Tania, the children of generations of jewelers who carried their family’s legacy with pride but in their very own way, creating modern day pieces that transcend time and speak the universal language of art.

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Darin Hachem is a Milan-based brand that blurs the distance between Lebanon and Mexico through pieces that truly stand the test of time and accompany the modern woman from season to season while engaging towards a more sustainable industry and promoting universal values of life and humanity.

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Photo Courtesy of Instagram.com/sarahsbag
Sarah’s Bag is more of a Lebanese social enterprise than a fashion brand, empowering through luxury hand crafted bags and accessories the women who make them and those who wear them and bursting with the element of playfulness that shines through its founder Sarah Beydoun.

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Photo Courtesy of Instagram.com/lamajouniofficial
Lama Jouni is a Lebanese designer who finds inspiration in music, travel and art to create structured silhouettes for the fierce, sensual and understated present-day woman in her Parisian realm that was built on solid foundations after a journey of training at respected fashion houses such as Balmain, Reed Krakoff and more.

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The Generation Peace was founded by Nour Arida to prove that adults can empower children to be leading voice for change, using the language of fashion to highlight freedom of expression, tolerance, equality and consciousness, and to build an everlasting bridge between kids and their parents by mixing between taste and practicality.

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Photo Courtesy of Instagram.com/ilovekage
Kage is a contemporary brand founded in 2009 by Dubai-based Palestinian girls Arwa and Basma, who wanted to blend between freshness, colors, playfulness and luxury in laidback designs that connect with the youngsters’ mindset.

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Photo Courtesy of Instagram.com/jessicakofficial
Jessica K is a pure reflection of its founder Jessica Khoueiry-Achkar who has always enjoyed arts and crafts, reflecting this passion through urban chic and contemporary designs that cater to the needs of the fashion savvies.

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Photo Courtesy of Instagram.com/nabilnayal
Syria-born designer Nabil Nayal born to an English mother and a Syrian father has always had a penchant for interpreting the historical context and cultural significance of fashion methods in a contemporary way and his success at doing so captured the attention of celebrities and fashionistas to his designs.

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Madiyah Al Sharqi is a brand founded in 2012, carrying her founder’s name Sheikha Madiyah Al Sharqi, daughter of the Ruler of Fujairah, UAE, H.H. Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, as well as her contemporary and whimsical aesthetic embodied in exquisite, delicate fabrics, bold silhouettes and subtle color palettes.

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When launching Daneh Design in 2011, Dubai-based Saudi designer Daneh Buahmad had in mind an effortless chicness that she wanted to express through the luxurious textiles she turned into modern pieces, which feature contrasting material and subtle hints to her heritage while transcending time in every possible way.

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Roni Helou addresses the proactive generation through designs created using materials from the vintage and dead-stocks of old factories and shops around Lebanon, as a testament of his eponymous brand’s commitment to sustainability, human rights and animal rights.

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Photo Courtesy of Instagram.com/bykarenwazen
By Karen Wazen redefines through its Lebanese, Dubai-based founder Karen Wazen the concept of the modern working mother, who sees the world from behind the lenses of her sunglasses, which she picks everyday according to her mood.

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Founded in 2011, Jude Benhalim mixes through her fashion jewelry between the fierce and the feminine, the traditional and the modern, the delicate and the powerful – speaking to the woman who is quest for contemporary yet timeless pieces that speak the language of both art and sustainability.

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Cover Photo Courtesy of Jude Benhalim

If there is anything we noticed during the past few years, it would be the fact that the Middle East is a hub of talents that never fail to prove themselves on both regional and international levels. Whether in fashion, accessories or jewelry, design takes a new meaning in each and every one of these creative minds, thus opening the door to a world of success, spreading its wings across the world to deliver one message: creativity and beauty know no language, nor boundaries.

Without further ado, join us as we journey through the many designers that are in the spotlight!

Article Written by Mirella Haddad