Since its establishment 25 years ago, ESMOD Beirut has had a long-lasting impact on Lebanon’s fashion scene as an international school renowned for its techniques, ready-to-wear, and concepts.
After two years of absence due to external factors, the graduate fashion show returns. Taking place on Saint Joseph University (USJ) Huvelin’s campus, the iconic garden and the choice of natural light leaves the spotlight on the runway.
Ghada Kazan, third-year Fashion Design Professor and Head of Event Management at Esmod Beirut, told the 961 that this new fresh and natural runway allows the audience to focus on the concepts and the designs being presented.
This also serves as a way to escape materialism and focus on being ecofriendly.
The fashion show revolves around the senior class that is presenting their final year collections. Exceptionally, first and second-year students were given the opportunity to showcase their works as a way for ESMOD to encourage their upcoming classes.
To end the annual show, three awards were presented to the graduating class:
The Fashion Design prize was awarded to Sarah Kareh. As she explained to 961, she chose to speak about the unity that holds us together to fight these hard times.
The roots on the sleeves, the shared memories through the patchwork, and the resilience shown through the stitching are all part of our identity and community, she noted.
The Pattern Drafting Prize and the Jury Prize were won by Abed Al Rahman Morsal. His collection “I am” talks about our shadows, or in other words everything we cannot see in ourselves.
He explained to 961 that he built his collection by “imagining that the shadow is a huge piece of fabric taking over the body and captivating it, and, every time a negative thought has been confessed, a piece of the shadow is cut out.”
Christine Haddad, a second-year student, was one of 10 chosen to showcase their project. As she told 961, instead of creating one of the four options she was given, she decided to combine all four to create a deceptive perception.
