The Beirut designer talks making sustainable clothes in a fast-fashion world and NYC First Lady Rama Duwaji’s inauguration coat.
Photo Credit: Michele Aoun
For the Palestinian-Lebanese fashion designer Cynthia Merhej, fashion is both an art practice and a way to honor her family’s legacy. A third-generation couturier and the founder and creative director of the Beirut-based brand Renaissance Renaissance, the Central Saint Martins-educated designer makes clothes that speak to the duality of the modern woman. Her designs are experimental yet rooted in tradition, unapologetically feminine but gender-bending, and playful yet elegant: in any given collection, you could find dreamy tulle skirts and sweet bows alongside meticulously constructed jackets and crisp shirting.
