Bonjour Beirut: Azzi and Osta and the battle against bling!

If the national dress in Singapore is hotpants and t-shirt, Beirut’s is a ball gown!

It’s a nation where one popular saying is ‘borrow money to dress up’, seeing someone dressed up to the nines just to cross the road to the grocery shop is not an uncommon sight. In some places you have to see it to believe your eyes!

It’s no surprise that there are dozens of designers specializing in evening wear and glamorous dresses. From  Elie Saab, to Rabih Kayrouz and Georges Chakra.

While some designers go seriously OTT and bling it like there is no tomorrow, others, namely the new generation, have stuck to a much more modern and stylish approach to glamour – understated elegance.

The perfect example of such designers and probably the forerunners for such style are Georges Azzi and Assaad Osta, whose label Azzi & Osta is gaining popularity and changing people’s views on what is glamorous in Beirut.

A breath-taking bridal creation from Azzi and Osta

Quirky and edgy Singapore label? AMEN to that!

It takes a lot of courage for new labels in Singapore to throw out the populist rulebook and decide to go their own way from the off.

Well, one such label is AMEN, traditionally accessories label that has branched out and released their  first clothing line, Femme with the debut  collection called Transmission.

Clinton Leicester and Nicole Wong, the couple behind AMEN, are not your average Singaporean label, and only one of them comes from fashion design background.

One look at their bold personal look followed by a glance at their quirky designs is enough to tell you that they basically design stuff they would actually wear.

Suited for Success: unusual and quirky, I'm loving this look which sadly
I could never pull off!

Bonjour Beirut: Dina Khalifé’s playful silk prints

Note: this is the first of 8 posts on Lebanese designers and cool emerging labels I met/discovered on my trip back home. Knowing there are so many talents in Beirut I couldn’t reach while living abroad, was behind my inspiration to explore the emerging designers in what has quickly become my second home, Singapore.

I hope you enjoy this series and can see that regardless where you are in the world, there are some amazing talents out there who deserve to be known everywhere else. So keep reading and join me on this part of my journey which is very dear to my heart.

Dina Khalifé

Dina Khalifé's vibrant prints are just so charming!

Who knew that in my recent visit back home, I would find out that one of my dear university friends has recently launched a fashion label?

Dina was my classmate at university majoring in Graphic Design, and always had a thing for doodling and illustration. It seems she has finally found a way to bring her cute illustrations to life, through silk scarves, separates and enamel accessories.

My Week as a Street Style Star

The past week has been a big ‘style’ week for me.

While I’m not big on ‘outfit of the day’ style posts on my blog, I was more than happy and extremely flattered to pose for street style photographers and bloggers (including Tokyo’s Rei Shito!), who captured my outfits at some of the Audi Fashion Festival shows (go to my media page to check them out).

the week was made even better by the fact that the post in her blog Style From Tokyo was ranked in the top 10 outfits of the day across the world by sartorial aggregation site Street Style News. 

But aside from these moment-in-time kind of photos, there was one style blog (lilreddotfolks.com) which wanted a little more; a-few-hours-long street style candid shoot, showcasing my personal style around my neighborhood, plus a little fun Q&A.

The shoot included a non-avoidable close up... do I look angry here?

Shoes versus bags – who is the winner? You of course!

While shoes and bags don’t always co-exist peacefully (remember the shoeholic /bagaholic war?), it turns out all they need is some balance whether in a shop or put together for an outfit.

I’ve recently visited Sole2Sole which despite the name, is actually a boutique that stocks as many awesome bags as it does shoes, and would win any bagaholic’s heart too.

And even I, a self-confessed shoeholic, couldn’t help but love the variety of unique handbags at Sole2Sole. The reason? Well they’re so much fun and interesting and couldn’t be more far from generic!

How much fun is this dress-up dolly handbag from LuLu Guinness? I'd be playing with it all day!!!