Lebanese

Emma Stone in Selim Mouzannar jewelry
In the heart of Beirut’s Achrafieh district lies one of the city’s crown jewels: the workshop of jeweler Selim Mouzannar. Walking through these old and winding, leafy streets, birdsong is conspicuously absent as the feathered friends hide from the cold. Beirut is an ongoing source of inspira­tion for Mouzannar and his office is a world away from the neighborhood’s French colonial architecture, and light years away from the chaos that is Beirut. Not a paper is out of place; the workshop is crisp and clean.
Selim Mouzannar
Soft edges caress white surfaces, and everything is contemporary. Ar­tisans buzz around in white coats like bees laden with nectar. In the midst of it all stands Selim Mouzannar. Effortlessly chic wearing round glasses, he surveys his personal crea­ ve kingdom and smiles. Hailing from a dynasty  of jewelers who supplied the Ottoman courts, Mouzannar has jewelry in his blood. Due to poli­tical turmoil and upheavals, his family left Syria in 1860 and settled in Beirut, immersing themselves in Lebanese life. Mouzannar flirted with the idea of becoming a journalist, but family tradition and a sense of responsibility steered him toward goldsmithing, and he embraced his heritage. In 1981, Mouzannar went abroad to study gemology and mineralogy in Paris and Antwerp. An internship in New York followed before he ended up in Saudi Arabia working for Robert Mouawad, the scion of another Beirut jewelry family. Later, he would work hard to educate himself in business and communica­ on, all the while aveling the world, from France to the US, Thailand to Myanmar, soaking up inspira­tion as he went and spending ­ time at the ruby mines of Païlin in Cambodia.
Fish for Love necklace in pink gold andgreen enamel, set with diamonds
“I’ve seen open mining in Thailand, on the ground; I’ve experienced the bohemian side of the business,” reflects Mouzannar. “It’s nothing special being a jeweler in the family. It’s not an honorable thing, it’s actually the easiest path to take.” His father was a modest jeweler working out of Beirut’s old souks, but upon his return to Beirut in 1993, the younger Mouzannar stuck out on his own. “There was a conflict of ideas [with my father]. Nothing major, but I decided to start alone,” he shares. His flagship store opened in 2006, the year Israel and Lebanon went to war. Seeing that his prospects within the coun y were limited, and not just because of the war – “There was no room to grow,” he recalls – he chose to look further afield. “I decided to enroll in major exhibitions abroad and found out how much the international market was interested in my designs, in Paris, London, and the UAE. In particular, an exhibition under the foundation of Sheikha Shamsa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum – the impact was amazing,” he says, a little wide-eyed. Today, his work is sold at Harrods, Net-A-Porter, Bergdorf Goodman, and Le Bon Marché, and is worn by Jennifer Lawrence, Michelle Pfeiffer, Emma Stone, and more.
Istanbul pendant
Mouzannar’s clientele share his values: they first seek something they are comfortable with. “Something that gives them joy through the colors I use and, like everyone, we all want to own a timeless object. I always try to find this sort of client,” notes the jeweler. The key to his success is his artisans, and his ongoing love of learning and self-improvement. “I go back to the artisans. I don’t believe a designer can be a real designer without knowing the minimum of the business. The progress, how the piece starts and finishes… You can’t design something without understanding the process. This is why I am always in the workshop,” he says.
Gala Gonzalez in Selim Mouzannar jewelry
It’s this dedication to craft that sets Mouzannar apart. His pieces are easy to spot: there’s a distinct, unapologetic style. “The world of gems is huge, it’s part of the earth, and part of nature. You must have your own DNA. It’s so easy to get into the trend, but you will be like a sheep, just another manufacturer, like many on the market,” he states. Mouzannar’s business is niche enough to bestow a degree of rarity to each design. ” There are thousands of jewelers out there, but precious few have such a personal s˜ le as his. Mouzannar’s latest collection is called Aïda. Replete with transparent mineral enamel, the pieces are a kaleidoscope of greens, blues, and oranges. It’s a poetic name, bringing to mind the opera and Egypt in its heyday. “By coincidence, my mother’s name is Aïda,” smiles the jeweler. Alongside it is Rose de France, a collection featuring special hexagonal step cuts mounted in a contemporary style with gold, paying tribute to the Republic. “If you see the map of France, it looks like a hexagon,” he explains.
Rachel Brosnahan in Selim Mouzannar jewelry
To date, Mouzannar has launched 15 collections. Each is unique as he doesn’t conform to a set approach, giving free reign to his creativity. “I do what I love, over more than 40 years of working. I was 21 when I started in Saudi. I learned so much, more in a day than you learn here in years, and that experience carries from one place to another,” he offers. In the same way that a gemstone is polished, Paris polished Mouzannar, professionally and personally. “For me, both Paris and Beirut are the most important cities. I believe in universalism, I love many cultures, which I learned to appreciate ¡ om Asia to Europe to the Arab world,” he says. It’s this appreciation for culture, for universal style that informs every Selim Mouzannar piece – unique and universal, it speaks to a creator steeped in culture and always striving for excellence.
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Originally published in the May 2022 issue of Vogue Arabia

Rami Kadi in his atelier photographed by Tarek Moukaddem
Lebanese designer Rami Kadi is all set to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of his eponymous fashion house. On June 9, Walk of Cairo (WOC) will host the couturier for a fashion show, making it the first time Kadi has been welcomed by the Egyptian pedestrian high street destination. Kadi’s latest SS21 Retrospective 10 collection and a selection of iconic dresses from the FW21 Dessiner le Vide collection, among other exclusive designs, will be presented. Along with the show, there will be an exhibition that commemorates the fashion house’s journey of iconic and unique moments and designs spanning a decade.
The fashion show will be styled by renowned regional celebrity stylist, Yasmine Eissa, whose work has been featured on top regional and international media platforms.

Speaking to Vogue Arabia about his 10-year anniversary, Kadi shared that the last decade has been one of experimentation, learning, and growth. “We have explored themes ranging from the individual to the collective, inspiring ourselves from festivals, books, films, events, inanimate objects, and many others,” he says. “During those 10 years, we have been fortunate to receive the support of many celebrities and influencers, with whom we retain sincere relations, and to who we are utterly grateful. Similarly, the press has been a supportive force, featuring us in print and on screen, and to those people in the press industry we owe a great deal,” he adds. As such, Kadi believes that it is only natural that the Retrospective 10 collection be dedicated to the 10-year mark, and the event thank all the people that have worked with his fashion house and brought it success.
Kadi expresses his excitement to celebrate the anniversary in the chosen location of WOC, calling it a luxurious space with a beautiful landscape and architecture. “Cairo and Egypt in general have a vast culture and are known well in the fashion and cinema industry, so I’m very excited to be there and have my show there for the first time,” he tells Vogue Arabia. “I’m mostly looking forward to meeting my customers because we’ve never done anything in Cairo,” he adds.
Myriam Fares in Rami Kadi. Photo: Courtesy of Rami Kadi
At the early age of 25, in May 2011, Kadi started paving his professional designer career, with the launch of his own showroom and his first atelier in the heart of Beirut. Looking back, Kadi fondly recalls three memorable moments that he considers the highlights of his career. “The first one was in 2014 at the beginning of my career when Myriam Fares wore my design. This built momentum for my career as people started to know about the brand and who I am. The second time was my debut fashion show in Paris, during the couture week, and the third time was when Kendall Jenner wore my design at the Vanity Fair Oscar’s party,” he says. Having had significant international reach and recognition already, Kadi’s eponymous label has also been worn by Rachel McAdams and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
Kendall Jenner in Rami Kadi. Photo: Getty
This kind of widespread support was especially crucial in the wake of a majorly heartbreaking setback in Kadi’s, and many other celebrity-loved designers’, career when his atelier was left shattered with broken glass and scattered with fabric after the August 4 explosion in Beirut.
Kadi grappled with the tragedy by launching limited-edition T-shirts embroidered with feminist messages, to support families who were affected by the deadly blast, and a number of celebrities, including Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Kourtney Kardashian, purchased the designer’s shirt to show support for Lebanon.
Just two months after the devastating damage, Kadi and his team bounced back bravely to unveil a new collection laced with poignant hope, the FW21 Dessiner le Vide. He dedicated the collection to the resilience of his country, using the pieces to highlight the holes left by the tragedy. As a proud Arab designer and representative of the Middle East internationally, his goal is to compete with international fashion designers and be at their level, and to be known as an “international Arab designer.”
Photo: Instagram/@Ramikadi
The designs of the collection to be showcased at WOC were created by digging into years of archives of his work. Ultimately, the selection process was based on two key criteria: signature status and endorsement. The former denotes a dress that can be easily recognized as Rami Kadi Maison de Couture, whether in terms of cut, embroidery, or treatment, while the latter denotes a dress that was worn by a major celebrity or that was met with popular or critical acclaim.
Kadi’s Retrospective 10 label consists of 10 pieces, and in contrast with the chromatic boldness that usually typifies his fashion house, Retrospective 10 bases itself on metallic colors such as gold, silver, platinum, and bronze. While this collection is to go on display in the WOC, Kadi says that his favorite collection so far is Tourbillon Celeste. “It was inspired by a very special experience I had in Venice that’s very close to my heart,” he shares. “I was inspired to recreate it in my own way and the way I dream of it.”
Rami Kadi fall 2019 couture. Photo: Patrick Sawaya
Indeed, Kadi’s decade-long journey in the fashion industry has been like no other, brimmed with defining moments of stardom and vicissitude. Having come a long way since inception, the most notable changes that Kadi has observed in the industry over the years are that most designers are opting for sustainable fashion and cruelty-free materials, using less exotic skin. “The industry is being more environmentally friendly and that’s a good step for the future,” the UN Goodwill Ambassador tells Vogue Arabia. Reminiscent of the time he started out and how he overcame numerous hurdles courageously over the span of his work, Kadi states that ambitious fashion designers and fashion students may dream of a lot, but the industry is not as easy to break into as it may seem. “My advice for aspiring fashion designers is that they need to be up to date of every single detail in this industry and to work really hard to be recognized in the fashion world,” he adds.
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Photo: Courtesy of L’Atelier Nawbar
Lebanese jewelry brand L’Atelier Nawbar and fashion blogger Nathalie Fanj have joined forces to create a capsule collection that pays homage to an unforgettable fashion trend from the 90s. The collection consists of six unique rings, each reviving era synonymous with all things bright and bold. Titled Jem Pop, the vibrant capsule puts its own spin on the ever so iconic plastic jewelry that came out of the 90s and is now being sported by stars like Dua Lipa, Miley Cyrus, and the Hadid sisters.
Photo: Courtesy of L’Atelier Nawbar
Founders of the brand, Dima and Tania Nawbar, and Fanj recall growing up in the 90s and being surrounded by an exuberance of vibrant colors, vintage cassettes, neon everything, Jane Fonda’s workout videos, and a plethora of 90s pop-culture memorabilia, all of which is nostalgically translated in the rings. “I’m obviously obsessed with jewelry, especially fun and colorful pieces,” shared Fanj with Vogue Arabia. “I’m also totally obsessed with the 90s and its trends so I was so excited that they’re having a major comeback now, especially the accessories.”
Each of the six rings is gold plated with intricate and playful detailing, such as an eye, a yin-yang sign, a cassette, a smiley, and a heart that comes in two different colorways — black, white, and grey, and red and pink. 
Photo: Courtesy of L’Atelier Nawbar
Fanj adds, “Whether you grew up in the 90s or not, looking at the pieces alone will put a smile on your face because they scream fun I think. We have all been through so much this past year and it’s still not entirely over so it hasn’t all been rainbows and butterflies necessarily, but I hope that the rings will add a bit of happiness to whoever is wearing them and I truly want everyone wearing them just to have the greatest time.”
Photo: Courtesy of L’Atelier Nawbar
The Nawbar sisters tell Vogue Arabia, “We enjoyed every bit of this collaboration, it was so much fun creating this collection with Nathalie, especially since it brought back very special childhood memories. When she approached us with her idea, we instantly had so many design ideas in our minds and we started immediately brainstorming and throwing ideas back and forth. The brainstorming and design process were both so much fun because it felt as though we were going through our old drawers and boxes from our childhood years and revisiting everything. All of this and the memories came back to life through this capsule collection with a colorful and modern twist and we couldn’t be happier with the outcome.”
The collection will be available on the L’Atelier Nawbar‘s website today.
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