For its third edition, held in Abu Dhabi over 13th and 14th October, Raghida Dergham's Beirut Institute Summit turns its attention to the coming decade. Among its sessions is a panel of international speakers gathered under a deliberately weighty title: 'The Look of the Next Decade: Transitioning to a Circular Economy and Positioning the Arab Region in the Global Industry of Fashion, Design, and Architecture.' The conversation ranges from couture and craft to construction and electronic waste, but returns repeatedly to a single question — whether sustainability is a genuine shift or merely a fashionable word.
Moderating is Thalia Dergham, a senior strategist at the London agency Wednesday, known for campaigns for Calvin Klein and Mr Porter. She argues that the most powerful agencies are no longer tied to a single city but are networks of talented individuals, and sees an opportunity for East and West to pair up. The biggest obstacle, she suggests, is stigma: a misreading of the region as a place of luxury signifiers and wealth rather than creativity. "Those who are in the industry know that the level of talent in these spheres in particular is stronger in the Middle East than anywhere in the world," she says, pointing to a heritage of commerce and design. Discussion panels, she adds, are the most important forum for the cross-pollination of ideas, without which creativity withers.
The panellists bring sharply different vantage points. The Beirut-based designer Nada Debs, whose furniture draws on Japanese craftsmanship, describes giving new life to antique pieces and upcycling vintage fabrics, while admitting the region lacks a true culture of circularity — ceramic preserving pots long ago gave way to plastic and glass. Natasha Franck, founder of the New York firm Eon, explains her CircularID standard, which assigns physical garments a digital identity connected to the Internet of Things so they can be resold, donated or recycled; partners including H&M and Target are due to introduce digitised products from January 2020.
Architecture and couture round out the debate. Michel Abboud of SOMA Architects, whose Park51 Islamic Center near Ground Zero became a lightning rod for arguments over tolerance, contends that a circular economy in buildings must begin with the manufacture of construction materials and a willingness to give a second life to demolition waste. The London-based designer Ahmed Khyeli, who dressed Lady Gaga within two years of launching, frames couture itself as inherently low-waste — garments made one at a time, to be kept and handed down — as he prepares his first ready-to-wear collection.
The bleakest and most urgent note comes from Celine Semaan, founder of Slow Factory in Brooklyn, who marshals a litany of statistics: fewer than sixty years of arable topsoil remain, most gold mining will be done above ground from electronic waste by 2030, and by 2050 the oceans may hold more plastic than fish. Her conclusion doubles as the panel's thesis. "In the next 10 years, we would need to prioritize peace and circularity in order to preserve and protect future generations of all creatures on this planet."
