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Like many designers working today, Cynthia Merhej has been grappling with big questions in the run-up to presenting her fall offering. What does it mean to show a fashion collection against a backdrop of war? Where is the line between personal opinion and brand statement? Having spent the last four months in Lebanon, where her family is based, and where her mother produces Renaissance Renaissance clothes in her atelier in Beirut, tensions in the Middle East and the situation in Gaza have weighed heavily. “All I could think about was absurdity, the performative-ness of violence,” she said. “I don’t like literal references, but I started looking at images of clowns.”
Just as clowns mine sadness for comic potential, so Merhej took in their turn-of-the-century wardrobe of shrunken blazers with blooming shoulders, overblown pants and ruffs, and mixed them with shredded sequins, faux leather and her signature experimental tulle to deliver an evocative play on proportion and shape. “I wanted to take frivolous elements like ruffles and sequins and rip them apart, making them tattered,” she said, holding up a pair of tulle hot pants appliquéd with raw-edged, toile-canvas ribbons.
It’s not hard to see why stylists love her clothes: all-layered up, the looks have a theatrical quality that makes an instant impact. But they also work in isolation, and for the everyday. A khaki shirt with adjustable bows that gather in the fabric to create ruching on the hips exemplified Merhej’s simple-but-special approach. Her designs are the kind of thing you reach for on a Saturday night when you need to look like you’ve made an effort–but not too much of an effort.
For fall, she experimented with Japanese faux leather for the first time, creating an alluringly feminine take on a bomber jacket with a gathered tulip hem. Merhej also debuted knitwear, a collaboration with Bielo, a second-generation Spanish supplier that uses Japanese knitting techniques. Tube skirts came with gathered hips, while cashmere cardigans sported slashes down their fronts to offset any bourgeois leanings. And she pushed on with shoes, creating patent ballerinas with raw-edged ribbon ties and boots for the first time.
The changes Merhej made to the business last year, scaling things back and focusing on nurturing key retail relationships, have paid dividends. This collection felt like a step forward, with subtle details lending quirk and charm. Despite the news cycle, Merhej seems happier, too. “It feels much better when you know your clothes are going somewhere where they’re going to be well-displayed, well-received, given attention and care,” she said. “The human element is really important for me. I prefer to stay small and stable.”
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