'Rising' is inspired by the stories of tenacity and resilience my family shared with me from surviving the 15 year civil war in Lebanon.
With the focus often being on the negative ways in which the war impacted the country, the work attempts to shine a light on how positive attitudes stemmed from the devastation.
As part of my thesis, 'All’s Flair in Love and War' (2021), the research investigated the interplay of fashion and conflict post civil war. It became apparent that the trauma instilled a "seize the day" mentality in Lebanese people.
In order to manifest this mentality in my collection, focus was placed on the permeating positive and resilient attitudes whilst remembering the dark place of hardship that evoked it. Using colourful taffetas and chunky knits to represent positivity, black tulle, knit and embroidery were used to represent the scars, as without one, the other would cease to exist.
Rising
The Phoenix Dress
The Dress of Many Stories
Pom-Pom Crazy
