Lifestyle
7.20.2020
Sandra Mansour, the first Arab designer to create for H&M
Originally from Beirut, Lebanon, Sandra Mansour has teamed up with the Swedish brand to create a clothing collection. An unprecedented event, the young woman being the first woman from the Arab world to collaborate with the ready-to-wear multinational.
An unprecedented collaboration
Who on the planet has never heard of H&M? Hennes & Mauritz is well known as a pillar of the global textile industry. For an artist or designer, working with the ready-to-wear brand is a guarantee of notoriety or even international recognition if successful work is accomplished.
Over the past two decades, H&M has produced lines with Stella McCartney, Lanvin, Sonia Rykiel, Erdem, Versace, Alexander Wang, and many other illustrious names in the fashion world. Yet the group has never worked with one of the many great Arab designers who are used to international runways, at least until now. An anomaly that has now been repaired with the announcement of a collection project involving the Swedish brand and Lebanese designer Sandra Mansour.
Have you heard the news? We can’t wait. ✨ https://t.co/kfxOJBNJeN
— H&M (@hm) July 16, 2020
She did not fail to react to this announcement by underlining both her pride but also the hope that surrounds this choice on the part of Hennes & Mauritz: “I want to speak to women all over the world by sending a message of hope, which is what we really need at the moment”.
A collection with majestic tones in the continuity of the artist’s work
Renowned throughout the world and particularly in the Arab world, Sandra Mansour’s career probably took off when her eponymous label was launched in 2010. Crowned with success, her creations are available all over the world, from Farfetch to Harrods. And although her productions are sold in the four corners of the globe, every piece of her high-end collections is still made in her Beirut workshop.
For her collaboration with H&M, Mansour was inspired by the work of Toyen, Dorothea Tanning, Lena Leclercq, and Bibi Zogbé. She also draws her creative energy from the works of painters. Her top-of-the-range clothing line for weddings is a perfect example of this. Her work was adored by Princess Ekaterina of Hanover, who wore one of her custom-made dresses at her wedding in 2017.
Mansour named the collection she produced for H&M “Fleur du Soleil” after being fascinated by the way a sunflower follows the sun from day to night. This inspiration can be found in the polka-dot, floral, and sunflower motifs of all the models she made. The range runs through a strictly muted palette of mushroom grey, ivory, and black. “Poetry and painters inspired the selection of fabrics – dark laces, jacquards, and embroidered organza.”
See you on August 6th in the ready-to-wear stores to discover the collection!
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