The Middle East is home to some of the best luxury handbag brands that one can possibly find. This exciting development is what seems to be influencing the global fashionistas’ rush to visit the region and explore the amazing variety it has to offer. The latest front-runner taking everybody by storm is LaLaQueen, founded by the Lebanese-born, UAE-raised Sally Sarieddine who finished her education in Britain.
Sarieddine got into the business of designing handbags because she knew she had a specific taste in fashion. “This knowledge led me to trust my instincts about how I really wanted to design a handbag that I would personally carry anywhere I go,” she said.
The fact that she makes beautiful handbags today is proof that what she does means a great deal to her. “The research and design philosophy is something that I love, and to actually see an idea or a design concept come to life is even more exciting,” she said.
For all of this to come true, Sarieddine studied design at Central Saint Martins in London.
The beauty of LaLaQueen bags can be gauged from their architectural framework including the shape and size. “My bags are unique and timeless pieces, all handmade in Lebanon. We’re also advocates of sustainability,” Sarieddine said. “This is another reason why our bags are adored by those who have them.”
In order to achieve sustainable results, Sarieddine prefers to use material such as brass and genuine leather, which are finished in a natural way in order to maintain the look and feel, and also to make it age gracefully.
Moreover, the color paradigm is vital for Sarieddine to work on. She said, “I choose to work with classical colors that reflect elegance and sophistication. I mix classical earth tones with different color tones and hues to bring vibrancy and fun to the piece. Each color has its own energy and so I choose specific colors to bring that energy into the bag. For instance, I chose the color pink for love energy, the color red for power energy, etc.”
For Sarieddine, the essence of inspiration means staying connected with nature, architecture, books, cultures, people and beauty. “It all helps me weave stories in my mind, and find ways to express them in shapes and colors. Being Lebanese, my heritage is filled with beautiful stories and inspiring sites so it’s easy for me to be influenced by lots of unknowns. I love it.”
It is no wonder that every collection she creates has a story. For example, her “Moon Collection” is inspired by the moon and its cycles, how it affects water levels, and thus, our moods because more than 75 percent of the human body.
LaLaQueen bags perfectly suit those women who are trendsetters in their own way. “She is someone who is confident and speaks her mind and has a big heart, an inspiration to those around her,” Sarieddine said.
Middle Eastern women are certainly leading the race with their fashionable lifestyles. “They’ve set some international standards in the fashion and style industry. Besides, we have many famous designers who have reached an international audience,” she said.
Sarieddine believes in every person who is genuine and authentic and has a positive impact on their community and environment.
The latest collection entitled “Geometric” is inspired by the beautiful crystal formations in nature. Her “Dr. Collection” is the signature line one that has always been in the news. The metal clasp and the design of the bag make it special because it has a vintage feel with a modern twist.
She always carries the Dr. Mini-bag because the color and shape is so versatile that it matches nearly all her outfits.
Even though Sarieddine has found the fashion industry competitive, she has nothing but praise for it. “It has strengthened my determination, and taught me many things about the business. As a brand, we’re injecting our business values into the industry and we choose to work with people who are the same,” she said.
The human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin Clooney and Indian actress Neha Dhupia have been seen with her designer bags on several occasions. She is open to adding many high-profile people to her A-list clientele. It’s crystal clear that Sarieddine acknowledges how helpful celebrity endorsement is when it comes to bringing international exposure to the brand.
Eager to take her brand far and wide, Sarieddine has some amazing projects in the pipeline. “There is always room for growth in life. We’re taking it one step at a time. We recently opened our first boutique in downtown Beirut which is a big milestone for the brand,” she said. “This will never change i.e. I would like my brand to be known as authentic, ethical, sophisticated and timeless.”
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LaLaQueen bags lure fashionistas in a big way
LaLaQueen bags lure fashionistas in a big way
Aquazzura’s Edgardo Osorio talks Saudi expansion amid ‘cultural revolution’
DUBAI: Fans of Italy-based luxury shoe brand Aquazzura are in good company, with the likes of Princess of Wales Kate Middleton, Beyonce and Meghan Markle showing off the label’s heels on numerous occasions. With new boutiques in Riyadh and Jeddah, creative director and founder Edgardo Osorio sat down with Arab News to discuss his decision to tap into the Saudi market.
The brand, founded in 2012, is going through a speedy expansion in the region with new boutiques opening in the Kingdom, Bahrain and Kuwait in 2024, with another UAE boutique sscheduled for 2025. This is after the brand’s first regional outlet opened in Dubai in 2018.
“It’s a very special time to be in Saudi and be a part of cultural revolution,” the Colombian designer said of his foray into Saudi Arabia at Riyadh’s Centria Mall and Jeddah’s Al-Khayyat Center — the brand’s first mono-brand concept stores in the country.
“We have a very large Saudi clientele already existing, at the shop here (in Dubai) the shop in London, and the shop in Paris, so for us it was a natural step.”
Fashion aficionados the world over will be familiar with Aquazzura’s often-copied designs, including the gem-encrusted Tequila Collection, the sparkling Gatsby Collection and the popular Twist line with its butter soft nappa leather and double padded insoles.
“The best sellers are the best sellers worldwide, but I think that Saudi women tend to dress up more,” Osorio said of Saudi footwear trends.
While a distinct focus on attention-grabbing heels is part of the Aquazzura design ethos, Osorio is keen to reiterate that the brand was born out of a desire to provide comfort.
“The reason (this) exists is because one summer I was invited to 13 weddings. I went to 12 … and I noticed women complaining about their shoes — and this was a time pre-designer sneakers, pre-there being all heel heights … Comfort was a dirty word in fashion at the time,” he said.
“And so I said … there’s an opportunity in the market to make beautiful, comfortable shoes because if you can choose, which one would you choose?”
That savvy insight proved to be the making of a designer who showed his fashion chops from a young age, interning at fashion companies in his native Colombia at the age of 14 before moving to London to study at the London College of Fashion at 16.
After dropping out to pursue a career at Italian accessories label Salvatore Ferragamo, Osorio found himself as the head of footwear at Roberto Cavalli at just 23.
His own venture began with the study of the human foot, a far cry of the glitz and glam of the red carpet where Osorio’s designs would end up.
“I worked with a technician who had been studying the human foot and making shoes for over 40 years and the way (our) shoes are constructed, the weight of your body is more evenly distributed … so our shoes are more ergonomic. The weight of your body is more evenly distributed between the front, the arch and the back.
“I also use extra-soft materials and I put in memory foam,” he said. “Almost nobody works like this. I don't know why except for me … and so obviously women feel the difference.”
Women and fashion’s leading awarding bodies, it seems, for Osorio has just been named Footwear News’s 2024 Designer of the Year — a prestigious prize in the international style industry.
Osorio was named Designer of the Year once before, in 2015, and he is part of a cohort of previous winners including Jordanian Romanian celebrity designer Amina Muaddi, London-based Charlotte Olympia Dellal and Italy’s Gianvito Rossi, among others.
“It’s obviously a huge honor to be recognised by my peers and by Footwear News … this is a very pivotal moment for the brand,” he said.
“(We are) part of a major expansion for the brand, in the major face of growth in a difficult moment, people are believing in us and people are choosing to buy and wear Aquazzura.
“When I launched Aquazurra, we were in the middle of an economic depression and everyone was telling me ‘you’re crazy to open a brand and to leave Cavalli’ … I read somewhere ‘crisis means opportunity’ … and in the moment of crisis is when you need to get crafty and creative,” he said.
Twelve years on, as his latest gilded boutique in the Middle East joins his growing list of international outlets, it seems the designer took a step in the right direction.
Saudi influencer Yara Alnamlah’s brand heads to Selfridges London
- Moonglaze’s UK launch is ‘just the beginning,’ founder tells Arab News
DUBAI: Moonglaze, the beauty brand founded by Saudi influencer Yara Alnamlah, is set to make history on Dec. 4 as the first Saudi beauty label to launch at Selfridges London.
For Alnamlah, this is much more than just a business accomplishment; it’s a cultural moment, she told Arab News.
“For Moonglaze to be the first Saudi beauty brand at Selfridges is an exciting and proud moment,” she said. “This isn’t just a win for us as a brand; it’s a moment of recognition for the Saudi and Arab beauty community as a whole. It shows that we’re not only consumers of global beauty trends but also creators who bring something unique to the table.”
Alnamlah emphasized that this launch will open doors for the brand beyond the Middle East.
“London is a beauty and fashion capital,” she said. “This exposure will undoubtedly help us expand beyond the Middle East, connect with international beauty lovers, and establish Moonglaze as a brand that brings Middle Eastern beauty innovation to the global market.”
The Selfridges debut will feature Moonglaze’s new blush range, designed to suit a variety of skin tones, Alnamlah said, adding that it represents the next step in Moonglaze’s evolution, complementing the brand’s existing highlighter sticks and multi-use brushes, which have already gained a loyal following.
The creation of Moonglaze has been a deeply personal one, shaped by Alnamlah’s background as a makeup artist. “Our products are inspired by my belief in healthy, glowing skin as the foundation of any great makeup look,” she said. This belief led her to begin her brand with skincare products before expanding to blushes and highlighters.
The use of ‘moon’ in the brand name is inspired by the fact that, in Arabic (qamar), it’s used as a description “someone who is perfectly luminous, just like the full moon,” according to Alnamlah.
“The idea of using makeup to highlight natural beauty rather than mask it is something that I wanted to reflect in every Moonglaze product,” Alnamlah added. “Growing up in Saudi Arabia, I’ve always been inspired by the cultural appreciation of beauty and the importance of glowing, radiant skin.”
Reflecting on the challenges and lessons of building her brand, Alnamlah shared how staying true to her vision has been key. “I’ve learned that beauty isn’t just about the products, but about how they make people feel,” she said.
Alnamlah has made a name for herself on the fashion circuit as a blogger, beauty influencer and makeup artist over the last few years. Besides her beauty brand, the architecture student is also an entrepreneur and has a coffee store called So Matcha in Riyadh.
In 2021, she was featured in French luxury fashion label Jean Paul Gaultier’s campaign as they celebrated Saudi Arabia’s 91st National Day — its first-ever launch dedicated to a Middle Eastern country.
The Selfridges launch marks a pivotal moment for Moonglaze, but Alnamlah’s ambitions extend far beyond London.
“The Selfridges launch is just the beginning,” she said. “We are excited to expand into more countries. As we grow, we’ll continue to innovate with new product launches and collections, like our blush range.
“The ultimate goal is to create a brand that empowers people to embrace their natural beauty,” she said.
Rawdah Mohamed promotes Dolce & Gabbana eyewear campaign
DUBAI: Somali Norwegian model Rawdah Mohamed took to social media to celebrate her latest campaign with Italian label Dolce & Gabbana.
The model took to Instagram to share a video of the marketing materials, on show in an eyewear outlet in the UAE’s Dubai Mall. Mohamed posed for the Italian luxury label’s latest eyewear collection and can be seen showing off sunglasses while wearing various patterned hijabs.
“What a moment! Thank you to the @dolcegabbana team and @nimabenati for always capturing my beauty,” Mohamed captioned the post, highlighting Italian fashion photographer Nima Benati’s role in the project. She now walks the runway for storied brands and stars in luxury fashion campaigns, but Mohamed’s early years were marked by upheaval as her family fled Somalia’s civil war for the safety of Kenya when she was just a baby. Alongside her parents and nine siblings, including an adopted sister, she spent her childhood in a refugee camp before relocating to Norway at the age of eight.
Mohamed previously told Arab News that she “sort of stumbled into modeling” after a mutual friend put her in touch with her manager while she was at university studying for a degree in behavioral analysis and healthcare.
Mohamed said: “I went to a fashion show in Oslo at the end of 2018 where I met my manager. He told me about what they were doing and I went to his office for a meeting and I said I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a model but I wanted to work in fashion.”
Fast forward to 2024 and she is fast becoming a recognizable face in the industry, working with brands like Boss and H&M.
Mohamed walked the Roberto Cavalli show in Dubai in September, wearing an all-black three-piece suit consisting of a structured blazer, a fitted vest, and wide-legged trousers, all crafted from a subtly textured fabric. The outfit was completed with a dramatic wide-brimmed black hat that was styled over a black hijab.
“A privilege to walk the runway of @roberto_cavalli show. Sublime collection,” she later wrote on Instagram.
She was also spotted on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival in France in 2023 and 2024.
Guerlain perfumer talks Arab perfume traditions in Riyadh
RIYADH: Thierry Wasser, the in-house perfumer of French luxury beauty brand Guerlain, sat down with Arab News on a recent visit to Saudi Arabia to talk all things fragrance at the reopening of the flagship Guerlain boutique in Riyadh Park.
The perfumer shared his insights on the differences between typically Middle Eastern scents and their European counterparts and even touched on his previous visit to Taif in the Kingdom, which is famous for its distinct roses grown at high altitudes.
The perfumer shared his experience of visiting Taif’s 1,800-meter-high Al-Sarawat Mountains, home to the Taif Rose variety, saying “It's a zig zag when you go … sometimes you have a place you don't expect the altitude to be so high.”
With more than 200 perfumes to his name, the perfumer revealed his favorite scent as Habit Rouge by Guerlain, an oriental woody perfume with notes of earth, warm leather, and the forest, launched in 1965 by the iconic Jean-Paul Guerlain.
“It's like a shining armor. It was a disguise of a man, a manly, masculine disguise. It shaped me. My attitude changed … I kept it all my life like a lucky charm,” he said.
Wasser's journey with the brand began in 2008, when was appointed as the first non-Guerlain family member to be the in-house perfumer of the storied house founded in 1828.
“When you manufacture and source it, you get intimate with the formula and the fragrance from your predecessors and you are responsible for the integrity of them,” he said.
Wasser learned fragrance is typically applied on clothing in the region, as opposed to directly on the skin, which is common practice in Europe.
“So I changed my approach and I made all my trials on cotton handkerchiefs,” he explained.
The fragrance house's iconic bee emblem reflects a commitment to sustainability. In 2021, Guerlain became one of the first luxury houses to join the Union for Ethical BioTrade and initiated a verification process for 50 natural ingredients.
“Sustainability is not exactly a marketing tool or communication tool, it is a state of mind,” Wasser said.
*This article was updated on Nov. 29, 2024, to correct quotes by Thierry Wasser.
Keke Palmer shows off vintage Azzedine Alaia look in New York
DUBAI: US actress and author Keke Palmer made an appearance on “The Drew Barrymore Show” in New York this week wearing a vintage look by late Tunisian couturier Azzedine Alaia.
Hailing from his Spring/ Summer 1986 ready-to-wear collection, the denim power suit featured a cross-body zipper, oversized sleeves and statement lapels.
Based in Paris, Alaia shot to international fame in the early 1980s and was quickly dubbed the “King of Cling.” Alaia won the Designer of the Year and Best Collection of the Year prizes at the Oscars de la Mode by the French Ministry of Culture in 1985.
Palmer showed off the look as she promoted her new book, “Master of Me.”
The “Nope” actress released the book in November and has been promoting the title at various media appearances, including on “The Drew Barrymore Show.”
In a conversation with Barrymore, the pair connected about the experience of being child stars, with Palmer stating “I’m not a victim, I’m a victor” after she praised her parents for supporting her career, which began with 2004’s “Barbershop 2: Back in Business.”
“In her own raw and intimate words, Keke talks about everything from her struggles with boundaries to unconditional love, forgiveness, and worthiness,” the book’s description reads.
“Throughout the book, Keke also poses readers with the questions needed to get them through their own challenging times by sharing personal stories and lessons she’s learned along the way,” the blurb adds.
Palmer also sat down with US Iranian actress Yara Shahidi to discuss the book.
She took to Instagram shortly after the sit down, saying: “One of my favorite girls @yarashahidi discussed the themes of my book ‘Master of Me’ this past week. We had a great conversation in Boston around her old stomping grounds at Harvard! The excitement around the Many Masters Tour and the people I get to speak to is that we learn there are so many unique paths that lead to self-mastery and the exciting part is in creating your own path.”
