Dalida’s: hip and cool, casual wear
Published: Sep 8, 2010 17:49 Updated: Sep 8, 2010 17:54
Dalida Said breezed into the hairdresser: hip, cool and refreshingly young. She sat down to have her nails painted and chose a wild lemon color, oblivious to the surprised looks on the women’s faces. Yellow happens to be one of her favorite colors. Dalida, probably the youngest fashion designer in Lebanon, is juggling a budding fashion career and her business studies.
As far as she can remember, she has always loved fashion but everything started when she turned 16:
“I used to change my clothes and change them in a way to fit my own style, simple yet elegant, and the colors that I use make each design unique. And what makes them different from the others is that you can wear them on many occasions and they are not limited to one event only.
These infinite variations along with her fabric mixes are her forte. She uses mostly silk, satin and cotton and jersey for everyday wear and admits that royal blue, yellow as well as black and white are her favorite colors.
“The most requested colors for this winter are gray, royal blue, red and black. Leather is still fashionable and the 80s style and the padded shoulders are coming back” Dalida explains.
Her collection, available both in Lebanon and Bahrain, remains exclusive. Dalida is very much aware of the customers’ desire to buy something unique. Moreover, Lebanese women are well known for their legendary love of fashion: “They always look elegant and beautiful and they take care of themselves on a daily basis; they believe that dressing up and taking care of their looks is a must for them. Looking good gives them more self-confidence,” Dalida says.
This passion for fashion explains why the houses that still practice the art of ‘handmade to order clothes’ are increasing in the Middle East, especially in Lebanon. Beirut can claim to be the fashion capital of the Middle East. Its couture houses, led by the now world famous Beirut-based, Elie Saab, are attracting droves of customers from Gulf countries. Elie Saab in particular, with his glitzty, euphoric evening wear, is not only a dream seller but a marketing tool as most couture houses are moving into luxury ready to wear. As special orders and one-off buys are a growing trend, one wonders if a shopper can expect to find the best from a store by walking in off the street. Dalida Said with her innate sense of style, tells us that it is still possible. Although her clothes are available in a limited editions, they are affordable and well made. When much of what is termed luxury these days, isn’t luxury any more, Dalida’s clothes give the buyer a sense of real luxury at a bargain price. Dalida acknowledges the influence of Karl Lagerfeld, John Galliano, Mark Jacobs and Elie Saab but she gets most of her ideas from the way girls dress in the streets. She never designs something she would not wear “because if I do not love each piece I make I won’t be able to succeed in making it unique and original”. Besides her collection of clothes, sold under the brand name, “Dalida’s”, she has a line of accessories, mainly bags and shoes available in flashy colors:
“I believe as Coco Chanel said, ‘It is the unseen, unforgettable, ultimate accessory of fashion that heralds your arrival and prolongs your departure.’”
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NADA AWAR
Sep 9, 2010 18:09
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