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Giorgio Armani is a hard act to follow. Not only is he an icon of the fashion world, but he also pioneered the idea of creating a universe rather than simply a label. It is hardly surprising that he never stopped working.
I am waiting for Michael Kors in an all-white room backstage before his Spring/Summer 2024 Collection catwalk show in New York. I hear him before I see him but, when he does appear, I see he’s dressed in his signature head to toe black, accessorised with his all-season suntan. “Th…
Much has been said about the modern day ‘It’ girl. Shorthand for an ineffable aura – one that embodies the cultural zeitgeist and reflects it back to us in sartorial flare and memeable moments – lately it’s become a bit of a misnomer. Probably because the elusive archetype is so hard to…
On the day the fashion designer Glenn Martens was announced as the new creative director at Diesel, no one was more excited than his big brother. “He was a megafan long before I got there,” says the Belgian designer of his elder sibling, a fireman. “His Instagram is dedicated to Diesel …
Ruby Rose Korver created Arnie Swim as a passion project but it also serves as an ode to her late father, Arnie Korver. “My father shaped me as a person and taught me so many life lessons. I wanted to create something that makes people feel good, and gives them the freedom to be themsel…
Bahaar is a lifestyle brand you’re going to want to get familiar with. Centred around dresses, beachwear, tops and skirts, it was founded two years ago by Sofya Benzakour, a Paris-based architect turned fashion blogger, as a tribute to her Moroccan heritage. “My grandmother used to sew …
YOU’RE FROM COMO IN ITALY. YOU STARTED YOUR CAREER IN YOUR FATHER GIANFRANCO’S CLOTHING COMPANY IN THE US THEN CAME BACK TO ITALY AND CREATED YOUR OWN BRAND, NEW ENGLAND, WHICH YOU SOLD IN 2000. WHEN DID YOU BECOME THE CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF MONCLER? [Remo Ruffini] In 2000. MONCLER …
The Swiss-born Lebanese designer Sandra Mansour says she had aspired to become an artist long before she ever made the shift to fashion. And you can see as much in her work, which carries dreamy, romantic elements, as well as characterful prints that betray her passion for painting. Yet…
Once in a while, a new brand comes along that feels familiar yet different. It brings a sense of excitement and new possibilities, while also making the old guard perk up and take notice. That’s exactly what Charaf Tajer has done with his new label Casablanca. Founded in Paris just over…
Giorgio Armani didn’t go down the livestream route for the unveiling of his audience-less spring-summer 2021 main-line collection. He actually went a step further and broadcast the show live on the Italian TV network La7 as a gesture – no doubt – of rebooting an industry bruised b…
IT HAS BEEN 23 YEARS SINCE YOU FOUNDED YOUR COMPANY, HOW WOULD YOU CLASSIFY WHERE YOU’VE REACHED AND ARE THERE ANY AMBITIONS YOU HAVE YET TO REALISE? [Zuhair Murad] I’m very happy with and grateful for how far I have come. I’ve worked incredibly hard to get to this poi…
It’s been quite a rollercoaster ride for Saudi businesswoman Princess Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz. The former Editor of Vogue Arabia has moved on from her dramatic and highly publicised ousting but she’s holding on to her crown as one of the Middle East’s main fashion protagonists. As far …
2019 was a strong year for LVMH and its owner, Bernard Arnault. They acquired Tiffany & Co. for 16.2 billion USD, opened a third LV factory in the US (the world’s largest luxury market) and ended the year 82 billion USD up in terms of market value. You would therefore expect more of…
Launched just last September, Dubai-based Maison Orient is a newcomer to the e-commerce scene that’s creating a space exclusively for talent from this side of the world. “When I started discovering amazing talent from different countries, I realised how under-represented the…
Fearlessly subverting the notion of classic menswear, creative director Mark Weston is in the midst of a quiet revolution at Dunhill. So we caught up with him to ask how he has managed to flip this 127-year-old British heritage brand from old-school to new-school. DUNHILL HAS BEEN REBO…
Once upon a time conservative dressing was a euphemism for frumpy fashion. Now thanks to visionary designers like Faiza Bouguessa, you can do away with revealing clothes without fear of arrest by the Fashion Police. If you think of modest fashion, your mind’s probably not conjuring up …
Aquazzura founder and creative director Edgardo Osorio is known for his joyful disposition as much as for his mood-elevating footwear. The fetching Colombian-born designer shares his thoughts on his autumn/winter 2019 collection, having too many shoes and driving in heels. HOW WOULD YOU…
Karen Wazen’s eyewear label is infiltrating the global fashion market with designer products at high-street prices plus a very of-the-moment digital marketing strategy. Dubai-based Instagrammer Karen Wazen could easily have been content with her lot as a social media influencer wh…
Alakeel’s original and creative east-meets-west designs have been around for over a decade but it’s only now, within a new context of reform and change within the Kingdom, that they’re finding more mainstream success. Having debuted during Dubai’s Fashion Week back in 2008, many might h…
1970s inspired wide-leg pants, faux-fur and a monochrome palette of greys and burgundy: that’s what Zendaya dreamed up, along with image architect, Law Roach for her second collaborative capsule collection, Tommy x Zendaya autumn 2019. Q&A with Zendaya WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE PIECES…
Championing new standards in responsible sourcing, traceability of materials and veneration of the natural gold nugget, Makal is a brilliant new jewellery brand that’s well worth a closer look. “Beauty is not at all about perfection,” says Makal founder and CEO Daniela Colaiacovo. “Noth…
Ever since he went solo, Krikor Jabotian has been cementing his reputation as a talented, albeit fringe, couturier of beautiful gowns. But now, thanks to Fashion Trust Arabia he’s on the cusp of going mainstream. The young Lebanese-Armenian fashion designer, Krikor Jabotian, is on…
Alessandro Sartori is quietly elevating Ermenegildo Zegna’s menswear with fluid tailoring inspired by modernism. And in his own singular way, he’s kicking the storied label into a higher gear. The view northwards as you come into land at Milan’s Linate airport reveals a curious si…
By taking the Warby Parker and Tom’s one-for-one business model and adding to it design circularity and social impact for marginalised communities, Adiff has emerged as a beacon of progressivity within the fashion industry. It all started in 2015 with a Parsons School of Design senior t…
With a portfolio of around 40 international fashion labels and a network of prominent retailers, press and influencers, Maison Pyramide is taking brand representation to a whole new realm. “You can be in the top stores in the world because buyers believe in you, but if you don’t have th…
If I’d never seen Mira Mikati’s clothes, I think I may have been able to guess what they look like by the mere sound of her voice. On the phone from her family home in Lebanon, where she was on a quick visit from her base in London, regardless of what she says, it sounds […]
A self-professed ‘reconstructionist’, Dina Shaker is a fearless young Egypt designer with an eye for unexpected silhouettes. If you think you know what a blazer looks like then you probably haven’t seen Dina Shaker’s take on one. The wardrobe staple was one of 20…
Heralding a new dawn for the region’s emerging fashion industry, Fashion Trust Arabia’s inaugural ceremony was held in Doha, Qatar on March 28th under the patronage and presence of HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser Al Thani. Co-chaired by founder Tania Fares and Sheikha Moza’s daughter, Sheik…
Born in LA to an Egyptian father and Native American mother, Jacquie Aiche makes beautiful pieces that became globally famous thanks to their popularity among models, singers and actresses. The term fine jewellery can conjure images of princess-cut diamonds, strands of glistening pearl…
Creative Director Virgil Abloh’s second menswear collection for Louis Vuitton was an ode to Michael Jackson, and much like how the King of Pop turned “an ordinary wardrobe comprised of the staples familiar to us all…into an instrument of awe,” Abloh stuck to the classics, but made them …
Tamara Mellon, the co-founder of Jimmy Choo, has resurrected her namesake brand, which is now rocking the shoe industry with some intrepid branding, a direct-to-customer strategy and a few unexpected designs. WHICH OF YOUR CURRENT STYLES ARE YOUR FAVOURITES? – I love Frontline, Icon, Pa…
At first glance, you might assume Jessica Khoueiri’s achievements as a designer have come easy. I mean she’s practically kebab royalty – her father, Toufic, is the founder of Kababji, a highly successful chain of Lebanese fast-casual restaurants (best known for their high quality coal-g…
Dapper in his own right, 38-year-old Amer Ejjeh is the scion of the Ejjeh family, known for its men’s tailoring business that dates back to 1926. Offering off-the-rack suits, ready-to-wear clothes, shoes, ties and accessories as well as fully bespoke suiting, the Ejjeh label has evolved…
For Chanel’s Spring/Summer 2019 runway show, Karl Lagerfeld transformed Paris’ Grand Palais into a sandy beach, complete with azure skies and lapping waves. Notable looks included oversize 1980s tweeds, LBDs, straw hats and logos a-go-go.
Since 2013, Parisian label Nour Hammour has been the brand that supermodels and international ‘It’ girls go to for the coolest customised leather jackets. But it’s been a while since the biker jacket crossed over into high fashion. Originally designed in 1928 by Irving Schott as a…
Having successfully propped up young British fashion designers since 2011, Tania Fares is now turning her attention to the Middle East with an initiative called Fashion Trust Arabia, and it’s got some lofty ambitions. And just in case you haven’t noticed, the region’s style seems to be …
One is known for her Hollywood pedigree and the other, an enviable sense of identity – but together they pack a millenial power punch. Q & A with Hailey Baldwin 1. What are your favourite pieces in the Tommy Icons capsule collection and why? I love the snow-white-coloured fisherman …
You know you’ve made it when the queen herself gives your label the seal of approval. That’s Queen Bey, of course, and the label is Azzi & Osta, a name that’s garnered an incredible buzz ever since the songstress wore one of their custom-made gowns to the Clive Davis pre-Grammy Gala…
There are so many new fashion brands emerging these days that it’s hard to keep up with who’s who. It must be a sign of the times that fresh grads are now preferring to go it alone rather than get sucked into the vortex of shrinking job prospects, glass ceilings and rigid schedules. Of …
What do you get when you mix America, Mexico, India and the Middle East? The answer is a collection that transcends genres and categorisation. Born to a mother raised in Saudi Arabia in the 1950s, designer Amelia Brown grew up in Washington DC, but spent significant time learning Spanis…
The history of fashion is a tapestry of lives rich in incident, of steep rises and plunging falls, glorious advances and cruel reverses. Last night, you were the toast of the town. This morning, you’re just toast. The story of Daniel Day, better known as Dapper Dan, Harlem couturier to …
Spirited prints, vibrant embroidery and cheeky silhouettes give All Things Mochi a distinctiveness all its own – you’ll know it when you see it. It’s hard to put Mochi in a box. At first glance, Ayah Tabari’s designs look colourful, ethnic and destined for life’s more playful moments. B…
Paris-based designer Sasha Nassar is giving her Palestinian roots new life with a collection full of cultural references. But there’s not one traditional thing about it.
What do you get when you take a 35-year old Italo-Belgian who honed his skills under Karl Lagerfeld at Fendi, before launching his eponymous label two years later, and who then worked for three years with Donatella Versace before being made creative director of Versace’s Versus la…
Launched seven years ago by French designer Alexandre Matiussi, Ami is suddenly everywhere you look. From Bergdof Goodman to Mr. Porter, on the cover of American GQ – as worn by Stranger Things’ Joe Keery, and on Jay-Z and Beyoncé in between, the French label is spreading like wildfire.…
If redefining what’s cool is the key to success, then Valérie Messika, the founder and creative director of Messika, is certainly on a roll. She first re-wrote the diamond codes just over a decade ago when she launched Move, a collection of fine jewellery featuring diamonds that slid ba…
Najeeba Hayat is the Kuwaiti creative behind Liudmila, a Milan-based brand of shoes that’s gaining worldwide traction for beautifully handmade products that are as quirky as they are magical. YOU’VE BEEN MAKING SHOES SINCE 2013, AND IN THAT PERIOD YOU’VE SAID YOUR CREATIVITY COMES…
Creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri is off with a bang with her first collection for Dior. For the Dior Spring 2017 collection, Maria Grazia Chiuri opted to give the iconic brand a well-needed makeover. It’s the kind of rebranding that involves some serious whipping into shape, yet re…
Inspired by power, Bahraini designer Sofia Al Asfoor defies convention and embraces luxury that goes the whole nine yards. “I created a handbag made entirely of crocodile leather, which is the most luxurious leather you can use for a bag, and then I had all the components made in solid …
Sitting in his small shop in the buzzing Mar Mikhael neighbourhood of Beirut, Ralph Masri seems awfully humble. It’s a sleek space, mostly black with little window vignettes that showcase his sparkly designs. Even the location is unassuming. Tucked between a trendy restaurant and anothe…
As Luca Rubinacci tells it, his family’s eponymous menswear label was selling aspirational Italian lifestyle decades before it was a thing. It just so happens that the whole concept is very desirable right now. “Luxury today is all about uniqueness,” says the tailor and style icon who s…
There are so many talented designers coming out of the Middle East these days, fashion design is practically a regional specialty, kind of like what hockey is to Canada or football is to Brazil. As a matter of fact, red carpets all over the world are routinely graced with the sultry gow…
You’d be hard pressed to find a truly unique prêt-à-porter piece of clothing these days. Between mass production and an insatiable thirst for the latest trend that pervades our modern world, retail fashion has become a gargantuan cookie-cutter industry. It’s also one of few sectors that…
It’s been nearly two decades since I first met Karl Lagerfeld, and over the years, I have come to realise that the only certainty in any conversation with him is that he’s likely to avoid the obvious, and there will be many diversions along the way. And so it is that when I met him [&he…
Poise Design Creative Director Emma Boutros gives women more than must-have footwear. Balancing a nod to Arab culture with her unrestrained design philosophy, she’s creating shoes that make an unabashed statement. The kaffiya pattern that’s on heavy rotation and has been the brand’s cla…
Starting a fashion label one year after the financial crisis of 2008 was undoubtedly a bold move. And that’s exactly what bright-eyed, 24-year-old, fresh out of college Reema Al Banna did. Her brand Reemami captures that spirit of a daring and thriving generation that rooted itself in a…
Proving that nice guys do finish first, Brunello Cucinelli makes a case for graciousness as a shrewd business approach. Brunello Cucinelli is one of fashion’s most expensive labels, famous for top-end knitwear and sharp suits favoured by the likes of James Bond star Daniel Craig. …
She’s got 26 million Instagram fans following her every move and desperate to buy whatever she eats, drinks and wears. We meet with the 21-year old social media phenomenon and her latest accomplice, Tommy Hilfiger. Gigi Hadid is catnip to the young, and famous in all the ways this gener…
Eschewing simplicity for spectacular complexity, Hussein Bazaza is a rapidly rising star in the fashion industry who’s of the opinion local designers are wary of taking risks. That’s why this imaginative 26-year-old maverick approaches his own designs without fear, creating narratives r…
The fashion industry is undergoing a major shake up. Both Tom Ford and Burberry have adopted a see-now-buy-now system, where ever since their SS17 runways in New York and London, buyers can purchase looks directly. Increasingly, the lag between demonstration and delivery is vanishing, w…
Tadashi Yanai started out making fashion at knockdown prices. Then he saw a future in simple, quality clothing. Now the owner of Uniqlo wants to turn his retail company into something that matters. As he approaches an age others may consider retiring at, Tadashi Yanai, the most successf…
Unbelievably, it has already been 20 years since one of the world’s greatest fashion powerhouses, Milanese duo Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, ventured into the world of menswear. In honour of their one-fifth century, Bespoke was granted access to the industrious pair. “It’s the end…
With so many social media stars turning fashion designer it’s hard to filter the good from the bad. Dubai-based Mariam Yehia caught our attention for all the right reasons. Wearing a fitted purple Lakers tank and little makeup, Mariam Yehia at first doesn’t look anything like the colour…
Una Burke creates unconventional leather accessories that shock a little before they seduce. Handcrafted in her London atelier, they are favoured by collectors and costume designers alike. She tells Nadia Michel why leather captivates her.
Donatella Versace has confronted death and addiction and come out the other side. Still staying true to the baroque-inspired sexualised and glamorous aesthetic established by her late brother, Gianni, she is staging the ultimate comeback, one that is totally Donatella. Donatella Versace…
Say hello to Gigi Hadid’s kid sister, whose dreams of riding at the Olympics were shattered by Lyme disease. Now she’s following in her sister’s footsteps and fast becoming a belle of the fashion circuit. Sisterhood – not in the feminist sense – has become something of an Instagram fixa…
You could say Yves Saint Laurent started it all in the 1960s with his Le Smoking but Racil, an elegantly honed London-based label launched last year by Lebanese fashion designer, Racil Chalhoub, takes the rebellious female tuxedo as a starting point, and then reinterprets it with a char…
Living in the limelight is never easy, yet Kuwaiti fashion-blogging couple Ascia Al-Faraj and Ahmad Al Bloushi, known as the Hybrids, take it in their stride. Daring to look different, they have become social-media style icons.
Provocative film roles notwithstanding, actress Stacy Martin is the pretty face of Miu Miu's eagerly awaited debut perfume. Shot with a black-and-white cat named Truman and the powder-blue quilted bottle, she lends the scene gentle intrigue.
Balmain’s latest men’s collection is both chic and decidedly sexy, a kind of hip-hop street culture meets high-society sophistication. And, it pulls it all off. With its thoughtful masculine look, it mixes up different styles without losing any of the brand’s signature refinement or att…
Chopard is a family-run business in the midst of a generational handover. Despite this evolutionary yet also potentially disruptive transition, things are much the same with a steadfast commitment to a long-term vision rather than short-term gains. And with sales hitting an all-time hig…
Moda Operandi gave women everywhere catwalk-direct access to designer trunk shows. Now its game-changing founder, Lauren Santo Domingo, is expanding offline, opening physical boutiques in New York and London for the very first time.
Last August, Ralph Lauren’s executive vice-president of advertising, marketing and communications was elected to the corporation’s board. Noteworthy? We thought so. Why? Well, let’s just say this acorn hasn’t fallen far from Ralph’s tree. I first met 42-year-old David Lauren just a few …
With high collars, plunging backless dresses, tailored cropped tops and smart tuxedo jackets, Karoline Lang’s designs are refreshingly un-Middle Eastern, and even her branding doesn’t give the game away. She does in fact hail from Beirut and is definitely a talent to watch out for. By t…
Saudi-born designer Hatem Alakeel wants us to rethink thobes, suits and womenswear. With his fresh take on traditional dress, he breaks new ground this year, showing for the first time at London Collections: Men.
It’s hard to imagine that Bottega Veneta was on the brink of bankruptcy when Tomas Maier took over as creative director but during his thirteen years in charge, he hasn’t just created riches, he’s brought much needed respect back to the luxury goods label. Bottega Veneta might mean ‘sma…
The world may credit Coco Chanel with changing the face of fashion and introducing us to the little black dress, the pea jacket and trousers for women but she also played an integral role in transforming our appreciation of jewellery. The opening salvo of Coco Chanel’s war on jewellery …
Chopard may not have changed their name when they switched family ownership but a lot did change when artistic director and co-president, Caroline Scheufele set up her haute jewellery collections, expanding the company’s reach from ladies’ watches to eco-jewellery. Everything about Caro…
The department-store pilgrimage for spring/summer collections is over. From Burberry's reimagined Regent Street flagship to inventive campaigns, fashion houses are dissolving the boundary between reality and technology to enter the twenty-first century.
Half-Kuwaiti, half-Indian and at home across three continents, Tahir Sultan brings an architect's training to a fashion career. Govind Dhar meets a rising designer in his New Delhi home, marked for success and household fame.
Over half a million visitors queued for hours at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City this summer to witness a monumental, retrospective exhibition of the late British fashion designer Alexander McQueen’s astonishing body of work. Alexander McQueen was obsessed with beauty …
Our postbag opens with a reader beset by a vanishing pocket square. We offer guidance on folding, styling and keeping that crisp white pochette firmly in place, plus answers to your other sartorial dilemmas.
As this goes to press, the fashion establishment is making its way from London Fashion Week to Milan. The biannual extravaganza of all that makes the industry celebrated, and yes, fickle, converges on these cosmopolitan cities.
“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” -The Queen, ‘Alice in Wonderland’ Alice laughed: “There’s no use trying,” she said; “one can’t believe impossible things.” The dissonance of a Queen is a comparatively small ordeal to ov…
Named after a Victorien Sardou play and first popularised by and for women, the fedora was soon adopted by middle-class men. Within a few years it had eclipsed the similar-looking Homburg entirely.
Have you considered what your undergarments reveal, or are you happily oblivious to the naked truth they expose? Bespoke is here to help, humorously unpicking the generalisations behind your most personal choices.
Reporting from Paris fashion week whilst eight months pregnant, Myleene Klass finds a wry comedy in the contrast between her own silhouette and the leggy models gracing Chanel's spectacular Grand Palais catwalk.
Certain everyday accessories speak volumes about our ambitions and aesthetic education. If a man's secret identity lies in his wristwatch, a woman's greatest ally is her handbag, inextricably linked to the shoes granting her mobility.
It’s a revival of sorts, neither the first, nor the last. Men of many generations tried to shake the obligation to wear tie, and while ‘La Cravate’, has never been entirely gone from the corporate landscape, its reign was less pronounced in the 1980s and 1990s. Today, male employees are no
There are certain things every man should own, the staples that make an outfit and hint at a certain level of sophistication. They’re the items that separate you from the hoi polloi and around which everything else hangs.
A darling of the red carpet and a purveyor of exquisite style and glamour, Elie Saab – the Middle East’s greatest fashion export – took time off from his busy schedule to talk to Bespoke. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WORK IN FASHION? I think working in fashion was more my destiny th…
Okay these may be trying times but you’d never know it just by looking at the elegantly put-together beauties casually strolling through the streets of Paris, Beirut, Milan or Manhattan. While budgets shrink, homes turn minimalistic (by necessity) and companies consolidate into Lilliputian
In a region where few designers achieve international success, Saudi wonder Mohammed Ashi is surprising the globe with avant-garde stitchery and deconstructed splendour, inviting others to share his unique utopian vision and its imaginative stories.
With Dubai just having been voted the world’s second favourite shopping destination, it is not surprising that a new concept has been introduced here that smoothly combines travel and shopping. Basically, a certain Dubai hotel has taken advantage of the fact its attached to the world’s lar
Most probably you’ve heard some mention of the newest and hottest form of interpersonal communication – blogging. For those of you who somehow have not, a blog is a soapbox from which anyone can be heard. By simply creating a website and by continually updating it with entries, you create
It's a tie thing The modern necktie has been around since the 19th century, although it has constantly evolved in subtle ways with widths and lengths altering according to trends and tastes. Though there are a number of ways to tie a necktie, the absolute rule of thumb is that the tip of t
Silky Ways 6 ways to scarf-it Scarf-ace The scarf dates back to ancient Rome, where the Romans used a piece of linen cloth to wipe their faces and necks. It then became a male fashion accessory, worn either around the waist or tied around the neck. Women quickly adopted this style, followe
by Jean Claude Alfa That extra piece of fabric at the lower end of the shirt sleeve actually says a lot about the man wearing it. Initially the intended purpose of the cuff was to prolong the fraying process and therefore the life of the shirt. By reading between the stitches, Bespoke iden
It’s easy when travelling to turn a nicely-fitted suit into a crumpled mess, turning a tailor-made blazer into a flee market give-away. Bespoke outlines eight simple steps that will have you looking like you’ve just come out of a fitting.
In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, there are many ways to wear your shemagh or headgear. Seeing that it is a trend that may fast catch on, Bespoke selects four of the most popular and most telling of your status.