TIDBTW Guest: Cynthia Merhej, designer Renaissance Renaissance, established in Beirut
"It's home, it's where I grew up, it's my mother, it's our seamstress Nona. It's its own little world of creation and that's what makes it so special."
October is a month that stands for incredible joy in my personal life, and for insane darkness on a global and human level. Within the last year as my heart grew so much, it also ached and continues to break every day. For the victims and survivors of the massacre of October 7th, for the hostages (writer Musa Okwonga put this into words where mine fail), for the people of Palestine and now for the people of Lebanon. Their pain is palpable. And while we cry out at the immense horror, in the western world we should also be the ones moving on behalf of others, for peace. I’m writing this to myself as much as to you dear TIDBTW readers, as I don’t have the answers and I too often feel overwhelmed by sadness. If we don’t know how to move, at least we have to talk about what is happening. And then I think it’s a good start to ask the ones who might know – because it’s their lives – about what they need right now.
Things we should absolutely buy this week
As the situation in Lebanon escalated, I felt helpless once again. Although I’ve never been there, especially Beirut seems weirdly familiar; maybe because of research projects by my friend, curator Clementine Butler-Gallie, and also Arthur’s artistic relationship with the region. And probably because of all the stories I’ve seen through Carmen Atiyah de Baets’ lens of hot summers, and an abundance of inspiration for her namesake guesthouse and store in Amsterdam. If you’ve read me before, you know I feel strongly about that place. Maybe the closest to Beirut besides Beirut itself. Looking back through my photos of our stay there in March 2022, it was of course here where I first heard of Etel Adnan. And where I sat down with her Shifting the Silence.
Next I saw a instagram story of Carmen’s, offering a gesture:
Coming from the Carmen team, whose energy and aesthetic I appreciate so much and who seem to thrive on the beauty and pride of Carmen’s personal cultural heritage from Lebanon, I realised I can support designers, creatives, and artisans, despite the insulation of my distance. Maybe instead of just criticising our pretty bubbles for their natural restrictions, they can sometimes offer a path towards more direct support and connection? From above’s post, please find some the glassware collection here and the Relax slippers in purple & aqua.
Are there are some individual profiles or organisations you would like to share? Please let me know. In the meantime, I follow Carmen’s lead, linking the donation page of the Lebanese Red Cross.
The emotional body of fashion
It comes to no surprise that today’s interview partner and Carmen go way back. It was in fact here where I saw Renaissance Renaissance first, its vibrant quality talking to me through the photos. Fashion seems trivial these days, but fashion too, can move. Fashion has an emotional body and fashion can, in the best way, sustains the lives of those working with it. Which is maybe why, after admiring her work for so long, I finally reached out to Cynthia Merhej, designer of Renaissance Renaissance, originating in Beirut. The other reason is obvious – I’m once again absolutely in awe with her SS25 collection “Fall to Earth Again” that she just presented in Paris. You can read more about collection’s inspiration here. And before that, also so many things I actually do want to buy (and style!) immediately. Impossible to post everything, but here’s an idea:
All I wish to be when out of t-shirt and jeans, my lion alter ego:
As I listened to Carmen’s (who we see wearing the pink dress in the post above, she’s a leitmotiv in today’s edit) interview with Advance Copy the other day, I heard her saying the following: [Beirut is] “a place where there was a lot of love, a lot of family, a lot of food.”
And that’s what I can see and feel in Cynthia’s work. A country, a city I have never been too, which seems so full; so full of light, love, pure lust for life, that you immediately want to be a part of it. Or at least wear it.
This week after just coming out of the Paris Fashion Week marathon and as devastating news from Lebanon unfold every day, Cynthia took the time to reply to my questions. She shares a little insight, a personal image. Maybe you carry it with you and out into the world today. And maybe if we purchase something, a good thing, is where we all can meet. xx
TIDBTW Guest: Cynthia Merhej, designer Renaissance Renaissance, established in Beirut
Things I didn’t buy this week: Congratulations on your new collection that you just presented in Paris, it looks absolutely incredible. I have many pieces I would like to wear immediately. Communicating a new collection to the world is a huge undertaking, but particularly so with the backdrop of the current tragedy. How are you and how have the past days been for you?
Cynthia Merhej: Thank you so much! It means a lot to me that you feel like wearing them. It's been very emotionally nerve-wracking. Most of the people working with me are Lebanese and it's really difficult to see everyone in so much pain and also at the edge of their nerves with fear and worry. At the same time it's really incredible how everyone is pulling through to keep going and make this happen. I work with really amazing people and I am in awe of everyone honestly of the strength and compassion of each person. I am surrounded by angels.
TIDBTW: I’ve been an admirer of your work for a long time, first seen at Carmen’s in Amsterdam. I love the dreaminess and the craft, the volume and the bold elegance. I can see how the name Renaissance Renaissance encapsulates all that perfectly. Who do you see wearing it and when?
CH: That's so amazing you saw us at Carmen's, I love them so much! I think it's for a woman who escapes definition, who is constantly evolving and dressing playfully and with her intuition.
They are boyish and girlish, elegant and experimental, intellectual but has a sense of fun and humor. I think as women we are so complex and interesting, and that's who I see attracted to the brand.
TIDBTW: I read about your remarkable family history and the tradition of couture, going back to Jaffa in Palestine and the 1920s. Now you are a regular with your collections in Paris and your brand is available at the most important international retailers. Can you tell us a little bit about how you arrived where you currently are? What does success mean to you?
CH: It means a lot to be here, I never forget it. Because generationally we have been through so much, and each generation has taken up the trade and pushed it a little bit further. I only got this far because I am surrounded by an incredible community of collaborators. I've been really lucky.
Editor’s note: The caption for above’s post reads: Laurice Srouji (center), Cynthia Merhej’s great grandmother, in her atelier, Jaffa, Palestine, early 1920s.
Editor’s note: The caption for above’s post reads: Laurice Bouri (front left), Cynthia Merhej’s mother, at her boutique with her sister and atelier team, Beirut, Lebanon, mid 1990s.
If you are looking to buy some pieces by Renaissance Renaissance, I can recommend looking at SSENSE or, even more so, I’m obsessed with the gorgeous grey NEW YORK PANTS (also come in black) available at Carmen’s, the sheer DAVID PANTS and the ADEN JACKET, all available at Carmen’s.
TIDBTW: On your website I found a portrait in your studio in Deir Tamich, Lebanon. What is special about working (and living) there?
CH: It's home, it's where I grew up, it's my mother, it's our seamstress Nona. It's its own little world of creation and that's what makes it so special.
TIDBTW: I’ve wanted to go to Beirut for some time, after hearing so many anecdotes about its beauty and warm people. How would you describe it to someone like me, who has never visited.
CH: It's beautiful and absurd and it will make you understand the world a little bit more but also leave you with a lot of questions. It's like that Buzzcock song goes - Ever fallen in love with someone you shouldn't haven fallen in love with? (Editor’s note: Listen to it here)
TIDBTW: Fashion is not only meant to last in an environmental way, but also emotionally, it holds memories and meaning. Do you have a favorite piece of clothing in that sense?
CH: I have waaaay too many, I try not to have anything in my closet that I don't feel that way about to be honest. My favorite pieces and the ones I cherish are the jackets my mother made when she was designing of which I have a couple.
TIDBTW: What is sustainability in terms of fashion to you?
CH: I think it's about not growing beyond a certain limit, in all senses. To not encourage overconsumption and buying for the sake of buying.
TIDBTW: In your opinion, what can we all do to support artists and designers and the people of Lebanon at this moment?
CH: Thoughtful interviews like this, highlighting more designers and artists living and working there, and buying from them most importantly because business has completely stopped and they have no other livelihood.
TIDBTW: Thank you so much for sharing, dear Cynthia.
Things I really want to buy this week: 3
Renaissance Renaissance Grey NEW YORK PANTS (also come in black) 457,32 €
Renaissance Renaissance Sheer DAVID PANTS 413,06 €
Renaissance Renaissance ADEN JACKET 732,68 €