Reem Kachmar, a Lebanese fashion designerShe loves everything related to art since childhood. She decided to choose the world of fashion design to specialize in it, and honed her talent by studying between France and London. At first, she specialized in ready-to-wear fashion, but then she found herself working in the field of haute couture, so she was apprenticed by French designers. Upon her return to Lebanon, she worked with more than one Lebanese fashion designer, until she decided in 2011 to create her own line, and in 2015 to establish her brand, Reem Kachmar Couture.
Was your entry into the world of fashion and design planned?
By nature, I don’t make a decision or take a step without prior thinking and planning. I decided to enter the science of fashion and design since I was in school, and I started looking for places that would enable me to grow and develop my talent. My family supported me in achieving my dream and ambition, and they accepted that I travel abroad to specialize despite my young age at the time.
Who is behind your success?
In the first place, God’s satisfaction with me is what brought me to success and who I am today. As for the second place, it is personal, because I am striving for development, pursuing my work in all its fields from A to Z, and involved in every detail related to my professional life. During my years in the profession, I sacrificed a lot and worked hard to improve myself and develop my career. I always remember an interview I had with one of them, in which he said that “the secret of success is for the person himself to be the most dedicated and serious person he knows.” This is what I strive for every day, and I remind myself of it to reach the highest ranks. Finally, the support of my parents, family and friends who stood by me and supported me in all circumstances.
Is fashion design based on experience or study?
Fashion design depends on experience and study, as well as on passion and love for the profession itself. Experience is essential and comes after years of success and failure. It also requires long years of effort and work to develop it effectively. As for the study, it is the basic rule on which everything related to the field of fashion design is based, because it facilitates and enables the person to start and learn the basics of the field. And you must love the profession, and this is a prerequisite for success in it, because as much as it is rewarding and rewarding, it is very tiring and it is impossible for a person to succeed in it if he does not feel passion towards it.
Are you interested in following up on interviews with fashion designers..Follow the meeting with designer Arwa Al-Qadi: I like to combine the traditional touch with the modern style
Who is your idol?
I don’t have one person to look up to. I can say that every successful, strong, and persistent woman who has been able to prove herself in our world is my ideal, and I try as much as possible to benefit from her, her experience, and her speech. I feel personally proud when I actually see her successes.
Which wedding dress trend catches your eye?
Whenever I work on any wedding dress design, I have a magic formula that I always think of to get the best result. Firstly, the dress must be timeless, and when a woman sees her wedding day pictures after the passing of the years, she sees her dress as beautiful and elegant as it was on her wedding day. Secondly, the outfit must be suitable for her skin tone, body shape and height. Finally, for this magic equation to succeed, the dress must include simple details and a few numbers, to be different and unique. I don’t like to crowd ideas, and for the dress to be trendy, rather than classic. It suffices to include a few carefully chosen details, to break out of the ordinary, so I can use trends, but in a moderate and soft manner.
Tell us about your inspiration for your latest collection.
I am a person who loves all art, paintings and movies, and I adore nature in all its forms. On the other hand, I also love cities and streets, and I am in love with the person from whom I am also inspired. Everything that surrounds me is a source of inspiration, from which I draw new ideas and pictures that form in my head and in my imagination. So I accustomed myself to be a constant picker of all kinds of revelations that I could come across.
We noticed that the last collection contains pieces that suit women with a full stature, or those with prominent curves, was that intentional or a coincidence? And why?
What distinguishes our designs most is the corsage, which is an essential element in all our designs, and we have developed and improved it over the years. In this collection, I worked hard to show him, in many ways, to highlight his evolution. Perhaps that is why I suggested to you that I worked on this group for women with full stature, because the designs contain a lot of shapes and curves that the corsage itself imposes on us. The point was to highlight the development of this corsage more than it is to highlight the full figure of a woman. We work on different types of bodies, without bias or discrimination between women. Our duty is to improve and beautify the look of any woman. The lady is looking for distinction and uniqueness in her look, and she finds it in our designs that mix modernity and femininity, engravings, embroidery and cuts. In addition to the above, our innovations are also classic in terms of execution and overall look.
Also, from the world of design, we chose fashion designer Shahira Fahmy for you: We save our local heritage from extinction
What is your message to women through your designs?
Every dress I design is a one-of-a-kind piece, so I put a lot of myself into it through my touches on it. I load it with so much love, and it’s the way I express my art and myself.
Efforts are accelerating globally to achieve sustainable fashion. How does Reem champion environmental sustainability?
On all occasions and all the opportunities that I have to express my opinion, I say that fast fashion is one of the most dangerous factors in this world, and the environment in particular. Therefore, I try as much as possible that there is no waste in our workshop. I try to recycle leftover fabrics and stones from previous collections. If we are unable to recycle them in our workshop, we donate them to organizations and associations that recycle them and use them for other projects. I also work on two collections annually, one for couture and the other for wedding dresses, and each collection is sufficient to express the idea of the upcoming season, and includes everything I want to express annually in terms of trends, designs, cuts, and colors. We have also adopted solar energy in our workshop to mitigate environmental damage.
Tell us about bridal fashion trends for 2023.
The 2023 wedding collection is different from the collections of previous years that were based on colorful wedding dresses, from silver to gold and pink. This year, I focused my attention on white wedding dresses, which are made in a delicate way and with high-level elegance.
As for the embroideries, they are modern and far from what we have become accustomed to over the years, and include linear and geometric shapes mixed with flowers that require delicate and complex work, but appear simple and soft. Also, the 2023 wedding collection is based on the big bow, and is based on many drapé folds. The collection contains contrasting wedding dresses, including simple, unembroidered wedding dresses with a prominent veil, as well as fully-embroidered and busy dresses. We also adopted dresses with a very long tail, an oversized skirt, and somewhat straight and small dresses. This group, despite its contradictions, is complementary to each other in coordination and in its basic idea.
How can I get your designs and follow your new?
We can be found on all major social media platforms, including Instagram [email protected], as well as our website reemkachmar.com. We post regular updates about all our collections, such as couture and bridal collection.
We suggest that you follow the meeting with the two designers, Alia and Abeer Arif, to “Madam.net”: The Saudi arena is full of creative people.
