NEXT GENERATION: RISING STARS PART I
BOYFRIEND
This is a genderless brand founded by renowned Lebanese freelance Stylist & Art Director Amine Jreissati in October 2017. It is implemented in Beirut, Lebanon where the whole process from creative to manufacturing is done. A genderless expression of self, created to empower all genders, the brand has an intuitive desire to provide gender-invisible silhouettes and designing luxurious basics with clean, yet oversized cuts. The brand has gained a striking following amongst the fashion-savvy Beirut & Dubai crowds, and a strong spill-over into European capitals with the Forward Lab sustainable collaboration which pushes the brand into the new up-cycle trend.
@boyfriendthebrand; boyfriendthebrand.com
SALIM AZZAM
Growing up in a village in Mount Lebanon Salim Azzam is on mission to give the craft of embroidery and the women behind it a revival. Salim Azzam is the vessel through which the crafts are preserved and reimagined. By taking this traditional technique out of its usual habitant habitat – the preserve of as decorative home pieces - and applying it to wearable clothing pieces, it allows the craft to live and travel outside the borders of the homes and villages, and venture out to the rest of the world. Just as the white veil adorns every woman, representing purity and authenticity, white is Azzam’s baseline fabric. Every piece is hand-crafted and embroidered to tell a story, and the women who create Salim Azzam are its very foundation.
REEMA NAHAR
Reema Nahar (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) dedicated herself to her craft by enrolling in the Raffles Institute of Fashion & Art, where she later graduated in 2018. Upon graduating, in 2019, Reema launched her label, “Reema Nahar” in Beirut.
Being a contemporary Couturier passionate about modern tailoring, Reema Nahar stands out with her distinctive creations and nouvelle couture, as she includes technology and innovation to her work. Reema leaves a unique mark in her masterpieces, offering a detailed explosion of colors and sparkles, high finish and definite impact. She embraces embroidery as the essence of her creations. Through her collections, she pays tribute to “hand-made” work, the art she is particularly fond of.
RONI HELOU
A luxury ready-to-wear designer based in Beirut, Roni Helou was born in Lebanon. In 2016, and upon his graduation from Creative Space Beirut - a free, progressive fashion school that offers design education - Roni showcased his collections at Fashion Forward Dubai for two seasons with Starch Foundation.
Roni Helou was named winner of the ready-to-wear category at the first ever Fashion Trust Arabia (FTA) competition held in Qatar. Furthermore, the brand's SS20 and RH’20/21 collections were exhibited respectively at Paris and Milan Fashion Weeks.
RONI HELOU is a brand for a proactive generation. Helou creates forward and androgynous ready-to-wear pieces while shedding light on social and environmental issues. They source their materials from vintage and/or dead stocks and support their local Lebanese community by producing and working exclusively with tailors and artisans from all over the country.
EMERGENCY ROOM
Launched by Eric Mathieu Ritter in 2018 in Beirut after a coming-to-senses of the both urgent and emergent state of fashion nowadays, EMERGENCY ROOM is a clothing brand with a mind of its own. Stemming from the belief that fashion production processes urgently need to change, EMERGENCY ROOM utilizes a sustainable and ethical alternative to clothing creation.
The brands uses unique vintage materials and dead-stock fabrics that are locally sourced to create one-of-a-kind pieces, providing a conscious and authentic ready-to-wear-line. All items are produced in different workshops and cooperatives throughout Lebanon, inviting differently skilled artisans to participate in the process, all the while lobbying for grass roots change in the industry, in its own way.
