Today is the D-day!!. Fashion Forward Season 9 is opening its doors. Are you ready to enjoy the 3-day full of catwalks, presentations and talks? We are! And we asked some of the amazing designers showcasing their collections some questions. This is your chance to get to know them better. Meet the designers and the inspirations behind theirs creations showing on Fashion Forward S9 -day 1.
Stay tuned for tomorrow´s article with the designers of Day 2!
FASHION FORWARD S9 -DAY 1
MICHAEL CINCO
Name: Michael Cinco
Originally from: Philippines
Brand Name: MICHAEL CINCO
How would you describe the style of your creations?
My design aesthetic is very feminine and I always put a lot of attention to intricate details.
What inspires you?
I am always inspired from beautiful places, history, classic movies and opera music. I´m also inspired from different cultures and traditions.
Who do you have in mind when designing?
A woman who is very confident, strong and independent yet feminine.
Name the greatest designer ever in your opinion.
Karl Lagerfeld, John Galliano and Alexander McQueen.
What is your definition of beauty?
Beauty is IMPALPABLE…
Share the story or mood board that helped you create this collection you are showing at Fashion Forward. What can we expect to see?
For this season I’m so inspired from one of the most beautiful palaces in the world VERSAILLES. I was inspired from the paintings on the ceiling, the walls, doors and wall papers and the furnitures.
Get in touch with Michael Cinco through his Instagram page : michael5inco, his website : www.michaelcinco.com or by email: info@michaelcinco.com
ROYALEDBYRH
Name: Renad Hefni
Originally from: Saudi Arabia, Jeddah
Brand Name: Royaled By Renad Hefni
How would you describe the style of your creations?
I have a unique style of plain and subtle designs. I mostly use muted strong colors. My aim is to create different looking pieces that will make every woman that wears it standout. Providing her with a persona of mesmerizing elegance and confidence.
What inspires you?
Art, Music and people.
Who do you have in mind when designing?
Powerful women in history have been my muse since I was young. Queen Elizabeth the first to Chanel and Oprah, all of these women have one thing in common “They never gave up”.
I aim to celebrate every woman who treasures her character by crowing her with a virtual crown and throne only fit for a queen. Jeweled with grace, charm and confidence. Bringing the Brand’s motto “Crown Your Confidence” to life.
Name the greatest designer ever in your opinion.
Dior and Chanel for the fashion revolution they created.
What is your definition of beauty?
The definition of beauty in my eyes is confidence. Because nothing is more powerful and eye catching than a confident woman who knows her worth and value.
Share the story or mood board that helped you create this collection you are showing at Fashion Forward. What can we expect to see?
I have been always fascinated by the idea of unfinished buildings. How in every step of the process it becomes clearer and beautiful. For this season in Fashion Forward I have created a collection titled “Enthrone” inspired by unfinished buildings. The idea of having a story in each piece that completes another to make the art piece whole.
For more information go to her page www.Royaledbyrh.com.
HESSA FALASI
Name: Hessa Falasi
Originally from: United Arab Emirates
Brand Name: HESSA FALASI
How would you describe the style of your creations?
Modest and classy.
What inspires you?
I draw my inspirations from my travel experiences. I am quite an extensive traveler.
Who do you have in mind when designing?
I focus on my designs being comfortable yet chic.
Name the greatest designer ever in your opinion.
Karl Lagerfeld.
What is your definition of beauty?
Natural beauty with very minimal make up. Almost Raw. I find that so beautiful.
Share the story or mood board that helped you create this collection you are showing at Fashion Forward. What can we expect to see?
My collection is inspired by the colors of the Horizon with undertones of the midnight sky. Fabrics such as beige linens, luxurious organza and velvets have been intricately woven into the collection. The designs boast elements such as ruffles, frills, modern contemporary embroidery and clean cuts.
Check more information on www.hessafalasi.com
HUSSEIN BAZAZA
Name: Hussein Bazaza
Originally from: Lebanon
Brand Name: HUSSEIN BAZAZA
How would you describe the style of your creations?
The style of my creations is feminine yet very dramatic; creative yet wearable.
What inspires you?
My inspirations come from anything and everything. Every collection has a story behind it; I make up a tale and vividly envision it and allow my dresses bring it to life.
Who do you have in mind when designing?
My muses are not real; they are actually the characters that I make up for my collections because they are the essence of my inspiration. However, the woman dressed by Hussein Bazaza is the complex independent woman, the one that clearly represents the “Ombre et Lumiere” aspect.
She is attracted to beauty offered by Mother Nature, but not to its simplicity rather to the deep hidden secrets it offers. She is a hopeless romantic but only behind closed doors with herself; to others, she is dramatic, edgy and realistic.
She chooses to reveal only what she wants you to see, her femininity is her own treasure which she allows the world to see on her own terms. This woman and her particular perception of life is unique and sets her own rules; she does not abide by society’s customs.
Name the greatest designer ever in your opinion.
Nicolas Ghesquière.
What is your definition of beauty?
There is always beauty in everything.
Share the story or mood board that helped you create this collection you are showing at Fashion Forward. What can we expect to see?
As I have previously mentioned, I make up fairytales behind each collection, and our FW17 Akane’s story is all about the power of revenge and the depths one goes to in order to be vengeful. It goes as follows:
“ At the very beginning of WWII, in the midst of all the bombings and nuclear holocausts, Akane, rumored to be the most enchanting girl in Japan, was the only survivor left behind after her entire family was manslaughtered before her very own sparkling almond eyes.
Heartbroken, homeless, and orphaned, she vowed to avenge all her loved ones’ deaths and began plotting to destroy the enemy’s entire land.
For 365 days, Akane taught herself all kinds of Japanese sorcery, witchcraft, magic and spells. After that entire year, she was finally ready to seek revenge.
As the moon was setting, the rivals’ territory was set ablaze by a monstrous creature with the tail of a dragon but the head of a tiger fuming fire on their aircrafts. The same beast transformed itself into a colossal peacock with sharp teeth devouring each soldier one after the other. Then, shapeshifting into an enormous water creature, their entire land began to slowly sink until it was finally wiped off the face of the earth.
Legend says that all these monsters shared the same pair of sparkling almond eyes – Akane was never to be found again. “
The audience is expected to see a lot of our primary color; deep red – as we refer to Akane in its literal meaning, as well as the color of revenge and blood; we also added touches of metallic rose gold hues.
Our inspiration came from the era of the 40s and the 50s, yet we added a modern twist to it. The shapes are mostly classical, but with puffed sleeves, edgy shoulders, and flared skirts.
The fabrics used consist of tweed, cashmere, and knit. Military patterns, intricate embroidery – in shapes of the different monsters in the story, as well as aircrafts used in WWII – and heavy beading can all be admired on our pieces.
More information on his website husseinbazaza.com
STARCH-EMILY CREMONA
Name: Diana Wassef
Originally from: Egyptian, raised in Beirut, living in Brooklyn.
Brand Name: Emily Cremona
How would you describe the style of your creations?
- Raw and Natural
- Regal meets comfort
- Mystical and Poetic
- Androgynous
What inspires you?
Occult studies, astrophysics, cosmology, the study of our infinite magnificent universe, nature’s impermanent cycles and its abundant resources. Another of my inspirations is healing arts, I feel that the closer we are to being comfortable with ourselves, the more we are to healing ourselves and our surroundings through increased awareness and eco-conscious choices.
In my current collection Kao-Kabi, I was inspired to use natural fibers, which I feel bring us closer to this earthly experience – comfortable to the skin and gentle to our environment.
Who do you have in mind when designing?
Earthly beings in search of creations that are kind to their skin and environment.
Name the greatest designer ever in your opinion.
To speak of one is to mention all ;).. Japanese designers for their radical, boundary pushing and extreme creations.
What is your definition of beauty?
When one is able to radiate their inner light outwards.
Share the story or mood board that helped you create this collection you are showing at Fashion Forward. What can we expect to see?
“Kao-Kabi”, which in Arabic means “my planet”, came to exist through my daily ritual of observing the golden hour in my room in Brooklyn, a completely white room: white sheets, white everything. I would observe every morning how the sunlight painted these white walls, and how the tint of gold light when it touched them and my skin felt like a cleansing healing experience, welcoming me into a new day, released from the previous.
This process allowed me to create ‘Kao-Kabi’, one that, I hope, offers a sensory experience for the wearer: an elevated sensation through the selection of natural fibers, a ray of light through the white color and freedom through merging past and present cultures.
More information on www.emilycremona.com
STARCH-NOUR NAJEM
Name: Nour Najem
Originally from: Lebanon
Brand Name: NOUR NAJEM
How would you describe the style of your creations?
The sensual feminine style of the brand has been a marker of Nour Najem’s identity. The style is distinguished by its fluid lines, luscious fabrics, powerful textures and embellishing hues, as well as a rich bond with the designer’s heritage. It has a subtle balance between inherited confidence and seducing softness.
What inspires you?
Beirut, my heritage, the customs, and contradictions in everyday life. There’s something very poetic and almost fairytale like in the way things are in Lebanon once you have enough depth of perspective to allow the negative to settle down.
Who do you have in mind when designing?
I design for women that are sensitive, cultured, confident, feminine, delicate; and that appreciates arts, crafts and heritage.
These women come from different walks of life and have kept a fun and young side to their personalities. A woman that wears Nour Najem wants to be an empress, a priestess, a shaman, and make the world move in her own way.
Name the greatest designer ever in your opinion.
That’s a tough one… I love so many and for different reasons.
Dries Van Noten, Yojhi Yamamoto, Martin Margiela, Ivan Grundhal…
What is your definition of beauty?
Confidence is beauty, and beauty is only natural and always imperfect.
Share the story or mood board that helped you create this collection you are showing at Fashion Forward. What can we expect to see? A poem.. This one.
Baraka
A Tale of Blessings and Silver Linings
Life is a Gift.
Every birth, every presence, every coincidence…
Carries its share of wonder and hidden blessings with it
For those who want to see, For those who want to believe
Every day, every sunrise, every nightfall…
Except somewhere between dusk and dawn we lose track:
We get distracted by the challenges,
And get entangled in webs of a messy, unkind world.
Every moment, every meeting, every person…
We overlook opportunities, the possibility of a new outlook
The promise of a different path, of a more forgiving perception
We lose the ability to see the beauty and wonder of how things come to be
We become jaded; find the negative and the disbelief in everything.
We shove our ability to trust and have faith
In life, in ourselves and in others, deep in our unconscious mind.
Thinking it will help protect us from life, from ourselves.
I had a vision of serenity, faith, acceptance and humility,
Where tension and resistance are nothing but distant memories.
I saw simple and minimal lines that long for freedom,
In complete communion with gifts of our present existence.
Soft sensual cuts charged with historical and cultural codes
And rimmed with handmade ornamentation.
I felt soft and natural fabrics; some opaque, others translucent, raw, fine, plain…
completely reconstructed and repurposed materials that merge all together,
Allowing room for breath, movement, appreciation and self expression whilst still maintaining
The unspoken mystery of things coming together and stories unfolding.
I noticed light and airy colors, engorged with the luxury of simplicity and the mysterious tale of a warm summer day in the orient.
I visualized women embracing the reality of their being,
Accepting the present moment and celebrating the blessings that come with it .
Women conscious of the gift of life.
Even if everything around it doesn’t make sense.
Women telling tales
Of blessings and silver linings
Baraka
Check more information on www.nournajem.com
STARCH-RONI HELOU
Name: Roni Helou
Originally from: Lebanon
Brand Name: Roni Helou
How would you describe the style of your creations?
My aesthetic is minimal, with particular emphasis on texture and styling details, creating a thoughtful interplay between modern femininity and grunge.
What inspires you?
I find inspiration in intangible aspects of humanity such as psychology and anthropology.
Who do you have in mind when designing?
An independent, daring and elegant woman.
Name the greatest designer ever in your opinion.
Alvar Aalto, the most important Finnish architect of the 20th century. His work fused the naturalism of Finnish romanticism with modernist ideas.
What is your definition of beauty?
Beauty is the reflection of inner uniqueness.
Share the story or mood board that helped you create this collection you are showing at Fashion Forward. What can we expect to see?
The collection follows the journey of feminism. The long bands and strips symbolize the oppression women experienced throughout history. The gradual integration of menswear suiting fabrics into the pieces represent the upwards struggle towards equality, one wave at a time.
Where can we find your designs?
At the Starch foundation store in Saifi village.
