Lebanese designer Fadwa Karout Baalbaki creates elegant designs while ensuring social responsibility and sustainability in the creation process, as well as inclusivity and diversity in her team.
Her brand has been producing beautiful pieces made locally in Lebanon, from materials sourced from France and Italy, and with a commitment to a zero-waste approach.
Born in Beirut in 1969, Baalbaki has been cultivating a fashion interest from a very young age.
She fled Lebanon to France during the Lebanese Civil War and settled down in Paris. She soon acquired a passion for thrift shopping and would spend her free time thrifting in Paris and alternating pieces.
This led her to pursue her passion for fashion and was eventually influenced by the designs of the late Azzedine Alaia and Yoji Yamamoto.
In 1994, she returned to Lebanon, raising her three children, yet found it difficult to pursue design when facing a lack of creative hub for young designers in the country back then.
She went on to open a concept store in Beirut, the Little Black Dress, in 2008, allowing emerging artists to showcase their talents.
In 2011, she opened her atelier, also in Beirut, where she experimented with fabrics to create stunning pieces for her clients.
Since the beginning, her atelier has been only producing a limited quantity of outfits according to the demand, with every piece having “a new identity each season”, so no surplus is destroyed and no waste is incurred to affect the environment.
In 2014, she released her first couture collection in Abu Dhabi, which gave her access to more exposure in the MENA region. Since then, she has been designing mesmerizing couture and bridal collections for her namesake brand.
Fadwa Baalbaki’s brand has dressed up acclaimed actresses on red carpets such as Oscar-nominated actress Gabourey Sidibe, British actor and singer Hannah Waddingham, and numerous Bollywood actresses, among others.
Here is a sneak peek at her designs:
