Like many designers working in the present day, Cynthia Merhej has been grappling with massive questions within the run-up to presenting her fall providing. What does it imply to indicate a trend assortment towards a backdrop of conflict? The place is the road between private opinion and model assertion? Having spent the final 4 months in Lebanon, the place her household is predicated, and the place her mom produces Renaissance Renaissance garments in her atelier in Beirut, tensions within the Center East and the scenario in Gaza have weighed closely. “All I may take into consideration was absurdity, the performative-ness of violence,” she mentioned. “I don’t like literal references, however I began taking a look at photos of clowns.”
Simply as clowns mine disappointment for comedian potential, so Merhej took of their turn-of-the-century wardrobe of shrunken blazers with blooming shoulders, overblown pants and ruffs, and blended them with shredded sequins, fake leather-based and her signature experimental tulle to ship an evocative play on proportion and form. “I needed to take frivolous components like ruffles and sequins and rip them aside, making them tattered,” she mentioned, holding up a pair of tulle scorching pants appliquéd with raw-edged, toile-canvas ribbons.
It’s not exhausting to see why stylists love her garments: all-layered up, the seems to be have a theatrical high quality that makes an on the spot influence. However in addition they work in isolation, and for the on a regular basis. A khaki shirt with adjustable bows that collect within the cloth to create ruching on the hips exemplified Merhej’s simple-but-special method. Her designs are the sort of factor you attain for on a Saturday night time when it’s essential appear to be you’ve made an effort–however not an excessive amount of of an effort.
For fall, she experimented with Japanese fake leather-based for the primary time, creating an alluringly female tackle a bomber jacket with a gathered tulip hem. Merhej additionally debuted knitwear, a collaboration with Bielo, a second-generation Spanish provider that makes use of Japanese knitting methods. Tube skirts got here with gathered hips, whereas cashmere cardigans sported slashes down their fronts to offset any bourgeois leanings. And she or he pushed on with sneakers, creating patent ballerinas with raw-edged ribbon ties and boots for the primary time.
The adjustments Merhej made to the enterprise final yr, scaling issues again and specializing in nurturing key retail relationships, have paid dividends. This assortment felt like a step ahead, with refined particulars lending quirk and attraction. Regardless of the information cycle, Merhej appears happier, too. “It feels a lot better when you recognize your garments are going someplace the place they’re going to be well-displayed, well-received, given consideration and care,” she mentioned. “The human component is actually essential for me. I favor to remain small and secure.”
