Daily Star – Lebanon
Aug 11 2008

Fashion designer works to promote new talent

By Megan Bainbridge
Special to The Daily Star
Monday, August 11, 2008

BEIRUT: Rabih Kayrouz knows a thing or two about fashion. Having
launched his first solo collection in 2004, under the name Maison
Rabih Kayrouz, Kayrouz has recently turned his attention toward
fostering Beirut’s up and coming designers.

"In Lebanon, we have haut culture but not a young, fresh attitude"
laments Kayrouz from a fashionable Gemmayzeh apartment.

He worries that without guidance, talented designers will find it
difficult to transition after graduating from school. This results in
the loss of fresh ideas, which has a negative impact on the vibrancy
of Beirut’s broader fashion scene.

"We will lose their energy."

In order to support emerging artists, Kayrouz has brought together
four recently graduated designers: Missak Hajiavedikian, 25, Lara
Khoury, 23, Krikor Jabotian, 22, and Rami Kadi, 22.

These designers have been working hard over the past month and a
half. They have each developed a 12-piece collection and each of these
dozen "looks" features clothing, shoes and accessories.

The works are to be exhibited at the Mzaar Intercontinental on August
16 and will represent an important occasion for the young designers.

"The festival is a great opportunity" says Kadi.

Khoury, creator of the Ilk label, agrees. "It is a chance to launch
ourselves in the fashion world in Lebanon."

The four graduates have taken differing sources of inspiration for
their unique designs.

Hajiavedikian has drawn inspiration from his Armenian roots. The main
theme of his collection has been drawn from the paintings of
Armenian-born painter, Arshile Gorky, whose painting are featured on
Hajiavedikian’s designs.

Flexibility is the key to Khoury’s designs. Magnets are a hidden
feature of her evening apparel, allowing the style of her garments to
be changed easily according to her client’s mood.

Jabotian strikes a balance between the practical and artistic,
believing that it is important to "keep a touch of myself in my work"
while ensuring his elegant pieces are practical enough for the public.

As well as overseeing the development of the young designers’
stylistic maturity, Kayrouz offers them practical assistance. He
provides marketing and accounting advice, fundamentals which can be
overlooked in fashion degrees. Without this knowledge, opening
individual boutiques can be a daunting prospect for young designers.

These newly acquired skills will be tested in the six months following
the fashion show.

Kayrouz has made a downtown boutique jointly available to the four
artists for a six-month period. There they will have the opportunity
to display their designs, helping them to gain exposure, publicity and
foster their own clientele. This will become invaluable when they look
to open individual boutiques.

They will be the first four artists to benefit from Kayrouz’s
long-terms plans for the downtown retail space. He hopes to showcase a
series of works by emerging designers over successive six-month
periods.

Kayrouz hopes that emerging talented artists in various disciplines
will be able to utilize this space and gain exposure for their
work. In this way, he hopes to foster fresh talent and ideas well into
the future.

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