Lebanese fashion designer Rabih Kayrouz opens up about being caught in Beirut explosion and new change for his home
Maison Rabih Kayrouz goes back to its roots, returns to iconic pieces, breathes new life into it, and firmly expresses the DNA of the House….
On August 4, 2020, Rabih Kayrouz was one of many physically affected by the explosion in Beirut that rocked Lebanon. He hasn’t given a lot of interviews since. The famous designer suffered a brain hemorrhage, two clots and twenty-two stitches that day. As a result, there was a limited ready-to-wear collection last September, or no haute couture collection in January, as Kayrouz took a step back to heal physically and emotionally and to refocus her brand.
In an interview before today’s collection was revealed, the first obvious question was: how are you doing?
“My first response is that I’m fine. I am lucky to be in Paris, so I am grateful. And then I thought more and said, it’s horrible what’s going on. We had to go out and move forward despite all our injuries, moral and physical. I was renting the showroom in Beirut and the owners are rebuilding so we were lucky to have another location. My team is just amazing because I got injured and couldn’t move, and my team moved to a place next door, and the owners graciously gave it to us, and we were able to keep going.
“It’s my beautiful memory of the situation, but what will save Lebanon is the Lebanese. I give very few interviews because it was a tough time for me. Physically I am quite good but I am always moved by everything. I woke up with all the destruction around me. I’m the generation that built this part of Beirut and we were there in 1995, and got to see all of the construction, and it was moving to see the destruction.
Forced to a long convalescence, Kayrouz goes out slowly and goes back to work. “Despite the explosion in Lebanon, the world has been exploded by this pandemic and it is not an easy situation anywhere, so it is difficult to continue. I have the privilege of being in Paris, which is a civilized city. I don’t feel safe going back to Lebanon now, I’m really getting back to Paris ”, he thinks.
And now that he has returned, he has made a turn in Maison Rabih Kayrouz with only three letters: MRK, the initials which means that he will have two presentations per year, in January and July. Prices will be reduced by twenty to thirty percent, because the fabrics will come from the Maison’s archives and the partnerships with the manufacturers have changed. MRK will offer a wardrobe change with key pieces that will suit any occasion. Timeless pieces will always be an option, and couture pieces will be found in coats, jackets, shirts, pants and skirts.
“Despite the explosion, I had been thinking since last May of taking another direction and changing a lot of things in Maison Rabih Kayrouz. Due to what is going on in the world, I was thinking of moving my work to another level and getting out of this hectic system of fashion. Think less fashion and more clothes and make Maison Rabih Kayrouz a brand where we love clothes, where we want to make a perfect collection for the women we love.
“We return to our treasures, bringing them back with new energy and new fabrics. We have very specific fabrics that have been developed for us. Why let them go? For us, it’s about going back to our roots and our DNA and working with whatever we love, in terms of form and material. This is what I wanted since June, to bring MRK to this level and this explosion happened and I was forced to take a step back and in this way my team was able to work on the summer collection and I was able to be more present for the winter collection. We have taken all the iconic pieces from MRK, with the iconic fabrics, bringing the winter collection with this new energy. This way, our new wardrobe is more accessible because when we can think of our collection one step further, we can have more accessible prices.
The MRK fall winter 2021 collection was unveiled digitally today during Paris Fashion Week, with “cocoon” clothing that reassures and protects. The model featured looks at Bristol’s song “All Is Full of Love” with Yasmine Hamdan. Wrap coats, capes and trench coats, skirts, pants and shirts that fit anytime. Flowing charmeuse MRK signature blouses and dresses, graphic poplin shirts, clever stitching and architectural dresses, a golden ratio that is most visible in the film. Kayrouz and his team used various fabrics of double gabardine, wool, velvet and brocade. The color scheme ranges from black and white to vivid greens, blues and reds.
“I wanted my collection to be more accessible than before. The women I dress will be able to wear my clothes more than before. And in this way, we will attract younger and new customers. As a designer, it’s my dream to see people on the streets wearing my clothes, so I have to make them accessible.
Full member of the Chambre Syndicale de la High fashion, this means that MRK is a high fashion brand. Unlike his other Levantine fashion colleagues, MRK couture is not all about glitter and sparkle. “A strong woman does not need scenery to become what she is not. Suzy Menkes once said, “I am an architect in a world full of creatives. And I like it, he’s laughing. “It’s a question of cut, it’s a question of craftsmanship and respect for craftsmanship. It’s not about decorating to show something and what it’s not. I like to have meaning in my work and do the essentials. Not all of the glitter surrounding the pieces is real and I am not interested in making them. For 10 years in Paris I have been able to give this emotion in my RTW [ready-to-wear] pieces too.
Looking to the future and beyond the pandemic, Kayrouz is full of hope for fashion, but he sees these days as a reaction to the creativity that will come after Covid. “Fashion is always a reflection of what is happening in the world. There will certainly be a reaction as we haven’t been able to express our individuality for almost a year.
“For the past few years, we have been led by a certain mono-thought. This is what worked and we were rather guided by the commercial and marketing side, which makes the collections look alike. But with these two years of almost nothing, when we come back we will no longer have any reference between sales and sales. We will express our creations freely, beautifully and spiritually because we need to have fun, we need to express ourselves, we need individuality, and we will return with energy and responsibility. The world still needs 6 months to a year to get back to normal. ”
View MRK’s AW21 RTW Women’s Collection