Beirut's houses and balconies are drawn on dresses... A designer evokes the architectural memory of his city at Paris Fashion Week

- “Beirut is not just a part of our past, but rather a continuing source of inspiration and a legacy that deserves to be rediscovered and presented with a contemporary vision.” With these words, Lebanese fashion designer Bilal Al-Dana summarizes the idea from which he started to design his spring and summer 2027 collection, drawing inspiration from the architectural features of the Lebanese capital, in designs he presented during Paris Fashion Week.

Speaking to the Arabic website Ofoq News, Al-Dana explains that Beirut has always been more than just a city for him, because of the stories, memories, and architectural details it stores that reflect its identity. He was struck by the contrast that characterizes its architecture, where heritage buildings juxtapose with modern architecture, and the facades, arches, and balconies preserve traces of different stages of the city’s history.

From here, he wanted to transfer these elements to the world of fashion, not by literally imitating buildings, but by drawing inspiration from their lines, sizes, and details and transforming them into cuts and embroideries that evoke the features of Beirut. Beirut houses and buildings were present in the group’s embroideries, while the spirit of architecture was reflected in the structure and lines of the designs.

Combining heritage and modernity was not just an aesthetic choice, but rather a fundamental axis of the design vision. Al-Dana explains that Beirut is distinguished by its ability to maintain its identity despite the transformations it has witnessed, which he sought to express by re-presenting its ancient architectural elements within contemporary designs.

The idea, as he points out, was not to restore the past as much as it was to rediscover it and formulate it in a way that reflects the image of the city today, without abandoning its roots. This vision was also reflected in the choices of fabrics and colours.

Al-Dana adopted organza and chiffon because they provide lightness and flow, along with taffeta, which gives the designs cohesion and helps highlight their shapes and details. As for pastel colors, he chose them to enhance the calm character of the designs and achieve harmony with the embroidery inspired by Beirut architecture, without overshadowing its details.

As for presenting the collection in Paris, it gave the designer an opportunity to present elements of his city’s identity to an international audience, and to introduce its heritage through contemporary language. Al-Dana says that fashion is a universal language capable of conveying the story of a place even to people who have never visited it, explaining that his goal was to present a clear and honest Lebanese identity, while maintaining his own vision as a designer.

Thus, Beirut's presence in the collection is not limited to evoking its architectural features, but rather extends to presenting its culture within a broader space of dialogue about fashion and creativity. Regarding the challenges facing Arab designers in building a clear design identity capable of communicating with a global audience, Al-Dana believes that reinterpreting heritage does not mean changing its identity, but rather searching for new ways to express it.

He believes that the connection of the source of inspiration with a real story and a place that has its own uniqueness gives the designs depth and meaning, and turns fashion into a means of telling stories, not just a visual reflection of them. As for his upcoming projects, Al-Dana confirms that he does not want to limit his experience to one style, but rather seeks for each group to carry its own story and independent personality.

He points out that Lebanese culture and traditional craftsmanship will remain his main sources of inspiration, while continuing to search for contemporary methods that give these elements a renewed presence in the world of fashion.