Cynthia Merhej On Being The First-Ever Arab Woman To Be Shortlisted For The LVMH Prize
From her exclusive partnership with Net-a-Porter to the joy she hopes to bring women when they wear her clothes, the Lebanese creative director talks sustainability, inclusivity, and shares her hopes for the future with Bazaar
At the end of summer 2020, Lebanese Creative Director and founder of brand Renaissance Renaissance, Cynthia Merhej found herself fleeing Beirut after the explosion that devastated the Middle Eastern city. Talking from her apartment in Paris – where she has spent the last several months in an “extreme” lockdown – Bazaar hooked up to Zoom to speak to her about her recent achievement as a semi-finalist for the LVMH prize 2021, her exclusive partnership with Net-a-Porter, the work-in-progress that is sustainability and inclusivity, and the joy she hopes to bring women when they wear her clothes…
Cynthia in her atelier in Beirut
Congratulations on becoming a semi-finalist for the LVMH Prize, can you tell us about that journey?
I applied this year as it wasn’t the right time last year, but before that they scouted me to encourage me to apply. It was a really nice surprise getting to the semi-final and a huge deal for a company like Louis Vuitton to recognise us and the work we’re doing. Personally it was really meaningful to me because no-one like myself – a Middle Eastern woman, who has built a business in Lebanon in really difficult conditions – has been nominated before. Although we didn’t make it to the finals it’s really helped for future customers to see this kind of stamp of approval and will give them more confidence in the brand.
Renaissance Renaissance is exclusive to Net-a-Porter, tell us about that partnership?
They’re amazing – they believed in the brand when I never thought they would be interested so I was surprised and very happy as obviously it’s incredible to be working with Net-a-Porter. I have so much respect for them and as a partner they are incredible. I’m a part of The Vanguard programme where they offer mentorship sessions and they have been super-considerate about the situation in Lebanon and have really guided me with the payment structure which has helped a lot, especially during this difficult period. It’s just great to be on a global platform so people from all over the world can get access to our clothes.
The Summer ’21 capsule collection features no fastenings, zips or buttons in an attempt to be more sustainable. Where did the idea come from?
Last year there was a lot happening in Lebanon and I wanted to tighten up all the things I needed to make one piece, which would help me a lot in production. Then I did this interesting workshop with a woman who said that nothing is really sustainable unless it’s just a piece of fabric that you can recycle, because there’s usually so many elements to one piece of clothing. I wanted to challenge myself to do it for this collection, although it was very ambitious of me to do it while moving countries, getting married and picking up the pieces after the explosion. But it was a great exercise in thinking differently when designing clothes, however it needs a lot of work and a bigger team to work on whole collections dedicated to this idea. To change the mindset of the consumer and to not use zippers or buttons isn’t easy, as people nowadays are accustomed to convenience and that’s a whole other challenge aside from the design.
With that in mind, do you see your pieces as classics that people can wear time and time again?
For sure, that’s the intention with the way that they’re designed and how they’re made. I was never raised to think wastefully. I come from four generations of women who have been through wars and had to leave their homes and restart all over again, so there’s never been this concept that you can use stuff and just throw it away. My mum has a bag of scraps that she’s collected over the years that we always end up digging into to use for a sleeve, for example. It can’t just be a design that’s cool for a picture, it has to be well made, from quality materials and quality finishes so it can last for a long time.
Who’s the girl that’s wearing your pieces?
I would say she’s someone who loves the joy of getting dressed up and discovering things that are beautiful. Beauty for her isn’t something that’s expensive or has a logo on it –she really appreciates the finer things in life. She can enjoy a Chanel bag or suit as much as she would enjoy a beautiful vase she found at a flea market. She’s very driven by beauty and not afraid to be vulnerable.
What does body inclusivity mean to you and Renaissance Renaissance?
Body inclusivity is something I’ve been thinking about since I started the brand. My mum was a maestro of accommodating every body type, so growing up in an environment where my mum had women of all shapes and sizes coming in to her atelier made it clear to me that the way we currently make clothes isn’t very inclusive because the system is based on making things as fast as possible. A size 36 can differ from one person to the next and I want my clothes to fit different people within that same size point with different body types. Our bodies aren’t industrial and we’re made to believe that are bodies are at fault, but no one can control how our bodies our made. We can control how clothes are made and it goes far beyond how to design them on a mannequin. It will be a slow-burning process, which will require a lot of tinkering over time.
With your great-grandmother and mother both couturiers, did you always know you wanted to be a designer?
My great-grandmother created clothes in her atelier in Palestine and it skipped a generation to my mother who was addicted to designing, and now to me. Sadly, I didn’t get to meet my great-grandmother but my mum was inspired by her and throughout my childhood I spent a lot of time at my mum’s atelier in the suburbs of Beirut after school. I really didn’t think I wanted to be a designer, and my journey to becoming one was different to the norm. I watched my mum making dresses and I loved copying her, dressing my sisters up and doing photoshoots. But I became disenchanted as I didn’t agree with the skinny models and fashion of the early 2000s. I went to study Visual Communications at Central St Martins but I realised that everything I did lead me back to fashion. It really started when I began to make my own clothes after witnessing the high street culture in the UK and my own high-street purchases would disintegrate quickly over time. By 2016 I was financially and mentally ready to create my own business and soon realised it would be dumb not to tap into my mum as she’s a huge resource.
What are your hopes for the future?
That we don’t all burn from climate change [laughs]. I’m very excited for the next five years of the brand as it’s now developed a personality so I’m looking forward to growing it; not in sales, but where it can go in terms of reach, sustainability and inclusivity. It’s easier now to think of the future than it was in Beirut where all my thoughts are how to survive. Now I can really focus on what I’m doing so the hope is to keep going and develop and inspire people with creating really beautiful products that will be long-lasting – that’s the dream.
Your collection is so feminine and joyous; tell us your thought process when creating clothes?
Once again, my experience of being in my mother’s atelier and seeing the joy on the women’s faces and the comfort they find when trying on a piece that looks good on them. For me, this is what clothes are and how I’ve experienced garments in my life. I want to keep that legacy of my mum and my great-grandmother of bringing women joy through dressing up and through clothing that is very well made; made with consideration.I also bring a more feminist point of view to my collections. My clothes are not to attract a man, but just for the joy that they will bring. The voluminous skirts are so we can swirl and flounce around to make us happy, because no man will say, “Wow, look atthe way that skirt moves!” [laughs]. My mum never made anything that was for the male gaze, but my generation is even more about consciously breaking away from that, so I design for a woman and what will make her happy because she’s the kind of person who’s dressing for herself – not to impress anyone. She just wants to wear something that will make her feel good.
The collection is available exclusively on Net-A-Porter.com