Posted by BeautyandtheEast on 01-30-2012 | Comments | Share | Filed under: Fashion-Eastas, Fashion
The National: At just eight years old, Rachel Zoe began establishing a name for herself in fashion by styling her neighbour for school. Now 40, she is one of the most sought-after stylists in Hollywood, with her own fashion line launched last autumn to boot.
Success in America opened doors for the Rachel Zoe Collection across the world - the Middle East included.
“We have seen a lot of interest from the Middle Eastern buyers,” says Zoe. “They like the variety of lengths in the silhouettes, the layering options, the flowing fabrics and attention to detail.”
Zoe’s resort 2011 began selling in the UAE last year in Saks Fifth Avenue, Harvey Nichols and Symphony Boutique in Dubai. It is distributed in Lebanon, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
It helps that her collection respects Middle Eastern traditions and yet comes with a sophisticated, modern DNA. The designer was already a fan of the unique fashion sense that can be seen across the region before putting her clothes in stores here.
“I love all the rich textures, bright colours and shine, lots of layering pieces,” she says. “It is just so sophisticated - it’s everything I stand for.” Over the years back in her home country, Zoe has been on the receiving end of some harsh criticism. Some said all her clients looked the same. Others whispered that she influenced them to lose weight drastically. She famously fell out with some of them, most notably with Nicole Richie. Through it all, Zoe stayed silent, putting out one stunning red carpet look after another.
“It’s something that has always come so naturally for me,” she says. “I would find myself subconsciously offering styling tips to people all the time.” Growing up in Short Hills, New Jersey, it was her parent’s interest in travel and collecting art that exposed Zoe to different cultures and eras from early on. “It helped me absorb variety – of what was going on in the world. You need that in fashion or you’d be boring. You need that in life, period.” And then there was the bible of fashion – American Vogue. “I like to argue I was born with one in hand,” she jokes. “But honestly, I have been reading fashion magazines ever since I can remember - probably before I could even read. I used to just flip through the pages and admire the pictures.”
At 15, she made her first significant fashion purchase; like a true-blue fashion lover, she did it in Paris. “I bought the monogrammed Louis Vuitton messenger bag,” she remembers. “I took all of my saved money, literally every penny, from my bank account.”
Although her parents were not pleased, the purchase laid the groundwork for an appreciation of quality and faith in her own judgement. In the years to come, Zoe would move to Hollywood and apply it all to her first client - Jennifer Garner. The likes of Cameron Diaz, Keira Knightley, Eva Mendes, Liv Tyler, Anne Hathaway, Kate Bekinsale, Kate Hudson and many more would follow.
“I am so fortunate to work with some of the most incredible women in Hollywood,” she says, skirting the issue when asked to name her favourite. “I love all my clients. We always have so much fun when we are together - they’re an extension of my family.”
In September 2008, Zoe cashed in on her own growing celebrity status with the debut of her reality television series, The Rachel Zoe Project. The series followed Zoe, her two fashion associates, Taylor Jacobson and Brad Goreski, as well as her husband and business partner, Rodger Berman, as they went about the art and business of dressing celebrities.
By the time the fourth season started last year, Goreski had left Zoe to work on his own. Goreski was accused of using the show and Zoe to build his profile and of taking clients with him as he left – and has since made a successful name for himself in the world of celebrity stylists. His own reality show, It’s a Brad Brad World, started in the US this month. On reports the pair have not spoken since the split, which was portrayed as amicable, Zoe says only “it doesn’t affect me at all”.
Last year Zoe gave birth to her first child, a boy named Skylar who is arguably the best dressed tot in Hollywood. Much as she’d love to spend every waking minute with him, Zoe still managed to launch her fashion line – the Rachel Zoe Collection – with the ultimate aim of developing it into a lifestyle brand.
“As a stylist, I really learnt to appreciate great tailoring,” she says. “I learnt what silhouettes flatter certain body types, what fabrics mix well with certain textures - I think I have always been subconsciously filing this information away for my own collection one day.”
Autumn/winter 2012 will mark the first anniversary of the fashion line. What has inspired her for the new collection? “I find inspiration everywhere I go – mainly Paris, London and New York. I am inspired by old films, music, books, actors and actresses.”
True to her unique mix-and-match vibe, fashion icons of the 1960s and 1970s, such as Brigitte Bardot and Bianca Jagger, along with modern influences such as Carine Roitfeld and Marc Jacobs, find resonance in her vision.
Many celebrities have tried to branch out into fashion. Apart from Victoria Beckham, not many have been taken seriously. What sets Zoe apart? “Passion. I am a huge believer that you must love what you do in order to be successful. Determination and commitment - it’s a very long process, nothing happens overnight. And of course a great team - I know I could never have done this alone,” she says.
“I think it’s ultimately really about the clothes. I just wanted to put out a collection that I was proud of.”
Tags: rachel zoe, middle east, uae, dubai
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Posted by BeautyandtheEast on 01-16-2012 | Comments | Share | Filed under: Entertainment, Fashion-Eastas, Fashion
Beauty and the East TV’s Best Dressed winners from the 2012 Golden Globe Awards are:
OUR BEST DRESSED WINNER: ANGELINA JOLIE
LEONARDO DICAPRIO
JESSICA ALBA
MATTHEW MORRISON
NICOLE KIDMAN 
DIANE LANE
HEIDI KLUM
Tags: 2012 golden globes fashion, best dressed, angelina jolie, leonardo dicaprio, jessica alba, matthew morrison, nicole kidman, diane lane, heidi klum
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Posted by BeautyandtheEast on 10-17-2011 | Comments | Share | Filed under: Entertainment, Fashion-Eastas, Fashion, Beauty
(CBS)
Kim Kardashian was in Dubai to promote her signature fragrance at Sephora in the Dubai Mall and open the first non-U.S. Millions of Milkshakes location, according to E! Online. That doesn’t mean she can’t have some fun shopping: Kardashian confirmed she tried on traditional burkas and even a niqab at a local marketplace on her Twitter account.
“That’s me!” she tweeted, adding a retweet of a picture of her trying on the garments.
People at the fitting told E! Online that the bodyguards had to protect Kardashian and her mom as people, who sounded like fans, called out to them. Kardashian also tried on caftans and tunics as well.
The Daily Mail said that Kardashian opted to buy one of the outfits and left the store wearing the burka, but opted to keep the face-covering veil off. The reality TV star flashed some leg as she walked around the marketplace. Still, it was a far cry from the sheer blouse she wore entering the store and her typical curve-hugging outfits.
According to Kardashian’s Twitter account, she’s really enjoying visiting the United Arab Emirates. “Good morning Dubai! I’m having the best time here! I got some amazing traditional souvenirs to bring home to the fam, they’re gonna love!” she tweeted on Oct. 13.
Tags: kim kardashian, dubai
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Posted by BeautyandtheEast on 09-26-2011 | Comments | Share | Filed under: Entertainment, Music, Fashion-Eastas, Fashion, Beauty
Newsweek: When 20-year-old Hind Sahli, a brown-skinned young woman with dark shoulder-length hair, was growing up in Casablanca, she used to watch television shows like America’s Next Top Model and daydream about being on a fashion runway. Sahli was appropriately tall and thin, but in Morocco, the beauty ideal is a voluptuous figure. She was mercilessly teased for her spare frame and would soothe her hurt feelings by sashaying around her living room.
Sahli, who is both Arab and Muslim, was also growing up in a culture where modeling bumps up against significant cultural taboos. As a matter of religion and tradition, female modesty is expected—not the kind of provocative and exhibitionist behavior the mainstream fashion industry rewards.
As Sahli strutted around the room, her mother—a deeply religious homemaker who wears the hijab—was amused by these preoccupations. Sahli’s father, a policeman, was not. Still, neither of them had much to say. It was just make-believe, after all.
About that same time, in the tourist town of Nabeul, Tunisia, a young woman with the gamine features of Audrey Hepburn was having similarly fanciful thoughts. Hanaa Ben Abdesslem had always drawn lingering glances because of her soaring height and impossibly thin frame. The stares made her self-conscious and shy. But when she flipped through fashion magazines, she’d gaze at those “tall, thin, beautiful women, and I thought perhaps someday I could feel at ease.”
Five years ago, the Arab world was mostly disconnected from the global modeling network. In the absence of established agencies and international magazines, modeling wasn’t even a defined profession. Foreign travel was difficult both logistically and culturally. Then there were all manner of preconceived notions from around the globe about what it meant to be an Arab woman.
To accomplish their goals, Sahli and Ben Abdesslem would have to step outside the boundaries of tradition, leave the security of their families, and breach the confines of once unyielding cultures and prejudices—not just in the Arab world but beyond it.
And that’s precisely what they have done. In the last year, especially, both Sahli and Ben Abdesslem have made significant headway—between them, they have walked in shows for labels such as Givenchy, Ralph Lauren, Louis Vuitton, Jean Paul Gaultier, Vera Wang, and Phillip Lim. They have posed for Italian Vogue and French Vogue and shot advertisements for Top Shop and Lancôme. Though they have crossed paths only a handful of times, the two women are now inexorably linked through timing, culture, the assumptions others make about them, and their desire to represent 21st-century Arab women to the world.
The fashion industry tends to treat cultural differences as entertaining biography; ethnicity as little more than aesthetics. But the recent experiences of Sahli and Ben Abdesslem show them to be charting a new course on the global runway. For them, fashion is not about gossipy chatter and luxurious indulgences, or even primarily about commerce and entertainment. It is about empowerment, opportunity, and modernity. It is a chance for these young women to be seen, to be heard, and, quite simply, to be.
“It’s given me independence,” Ben Abdesslem says of her career. “It’s given me confidence in myself as a woman.”
Paradoxically, women from the Arab world have long been among the most voracious consumers of fashion. Indeed, the economics of the French haute couture industry relies on Middle Eastern customers. But their consumption is mostly private. The industry adores places such as Marrakech as backdrops for an exotic fashion shoot. Yet while the runways have welcomed models from South America, Eastern Europe, Africa, and the rest, Arab women have until now been largely absent.
READ THE REST OF THE STORY HERE
Tags: new faces of islam, muslim models, sahli, hanaa ben abdesslem
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Posted by BeautyandtheEast on 09-04-2011 | Comments | Share | Filed under: Fashion-Eastas, Fashion
SWEATER & MAXI SKIRT COMBO
THE COLOR JADE
BRIGHT COLORED PANTS
CHUNKY SWEATER & SKIRT
POLKA DOTS
Tags: fall 2011 fashion trends
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Posted by BeautyandtheEast on 04-30-2011 | Comments | Share | Filed under: Fashion-Eastas, Fashion
Bridal fashions have come a long way in the past decade but one trend that we are glad to see go out the door is the tube top wedding gown. It doesn’t look good in pictures - it’s as if the bride stepped out of the shower with a towel wrapped around - and it’s uncomfortable to watch her pull and tug at it all night long to prevent wardrobe malfunctions. Thanks to Kate Middleton’s Grace Kelly inspired gown, we can rejoice that sleeves will be back in demand. For ladies who are looking for a gown that is stylish but meets their modest sensibilities, the time couldn’t be better to follow this trend. Let’s enjoy Kate’s dress as she steps out and introduces her perfect bridal look:
Tags: kate middleton wedding dress modest long sleeves
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Posted by BeautyandtheEast on 11-17-2010 | Comments | Share | Filed under: Fashion-Eastas, Fashion, Beauty
Tags: alo hayati magazine
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Posted by BeautyandtheEast on 08-31-2010 | Comments | Share | Filed under: Fashion-Eastas, Fashion, Beauty
Read an exclusive interview with Beauty and the East TV’s founder and fashion designer Samira Atash! “Fashion-Easta” (the name of Samira’s upcoming original web fashion/beautyseries):
http://www.illumemag.com/zine/articleDetail.php?Samira-Atash-Fashion-Easta-13264
The fashion world is full of labels named after their designers: Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, to name a few. But it’s still rare to see a Muslim name on a popular brand of clothing in the west. Regardless, Samira Atash has managed to create two lines of stylish clothing, one of which proudly bears her name.
As a first generation immigrant who’s family moved from Afghanistan at the start of the Russian-Afghan war, Atash understood the value of hard work from a young age and showed promise as an entrepreneur even as a young child. Despite her passion for fashion she listened to her parents and agreed to get a formal education in the far less glamorous field of marketing, but after graduating from university she realized she couldn’t wait any longer and enrolled at the world renowned Parsons School of Design in New York City.
Today, Atash has an eponymous label of “east meets west” fashion and a modest but stylish line of maternity clothing under the label Its A Miracle. She has also recently launched an English speaking video blog called Beauty and the East which aims to unite Middle Eastern and South Asian culture with the West through entertainment and style.
Atash graciously agreed to this exclusive Q&A about her work for ILLUME:
What was the catalyst for you becoming a fashion designer?
Since I was a young girl, fashion has been a strong element in my life. My mother taught me to sew from a young age. I didn’t really think I would become a fashion designer until later in high school, but I didn’t pursue it because at the time, my parents pushed for a traditional education. I completed a 4 year program at GMU and received a B.S. in Marketing. I worked in the corporate world for a while before realizing that I wasn’t happy in it. So, I enrolled myself into Parsons in an intensive program, and launched a self-funded independent label in 2001 (SAMIRA * ATASH), followed by a maternity label in 2003 (It’s A Miracle Maternity).
You have a very strong point of view as a designer, but how do you describe your personal style aesthetic?
Personally, my style can be very classy, feminine, or folksy/artsy. I don’t like to follow trends, I like to make them. I wear colorful prints and beautiful embroideries just as much as I love a simple sheath dress paired with a futuristic jacket. It all depends on my mood. As a business, my collections have definitely evolved over the years, and reflect the many journeys I have been on personally, spiritually and emotionally.
Where do you find your design inspiration?
For the SAMIRA * ATASH line, I started designed evening wear for the masses, but now it has evolved into a “Silk Road Style” label, with inspiration coming from Eastern tribal embroideries and influences. I design clothes for both women and men. For the It’s A Miracle Maternity label, inspiration comes from creating modest and stylish designs that pregnant women need. As a new mom, I now have a better understanding of maternity clothing design that is not only fashionable, but practical.
What do you think women want when it comes to their clothing?
I think it’s different for everyone, but in general, women want to feel beautiful, comfortable and stylish. These days, with the economy the way it is, they also want to buy quality, investment pieces that they can wear for years.
Who are some of your personal favorite designers?
Chanel, Anna Sui, Oscar de la Renta, Marchesa, Catherine Malandrino, Valentino. They have a specific point of view and never go too far from it.
What made you decide to launch a maternity line?
About 7 years ago, I started seeing an untapped market – women who like to look stylish without showing too much skin. I launched a maternity line that incorporated a lot of modest pieces – higher necklines, long sleeves, long hemlines – that did very well with mainstream women, as well as pockets of women that adhere to clothing guidelines, including Muslim, Jewish and Christian. I will be re-launching soon with stylish, modest maternity & nursing pieces that Muslim women will welcome and need. Stay tuned!
What do you think makes your maternity line unique and special compared to the standard styles you see in stores like A Pea in the Pod or Motherhood Maternity?
I have designed many signature pieces that appeal to pregnant women who want stylish, classy, and modest clothes. For example, a line of maternity tees called “Undercover” is cut in a way to appeal to these women and have been a smash hit with our company. A new maternity and nursing collection will be available soon.
What advice would you give to other young women who are interested in pursuing a career in fashion?
Get a lot of technical training, learn the business side of fashion, work with fashion companies to gain valuable experience, and be prepared to work very hard. It’s a tough, competitive industry so you have to have thick skin.
What was the inspiration behind your web tv network Beauty and the East TV?
In addition to fashion, I have experience both in front of and behind the cameras. My passion is creating - fashion, tv, film, music, business, marketing- you name it. Particularly after 9/11, I wanted to be involved in projects that unite the East with West, especially since there are so many misconceptions about the Middle East and Muslims. I truly believe that if we create a strong voice in the arts in entertainment, or create our own media, then we can change the stereotypes that are out there.
So, in 2009, I launched Beauty and the East TV, a hip, English-language web tv network that unites cultures through entertainment. It features popular and emerging actors, musicians, comedians, designers, film-makers, and more - all from diverse religions, backgrounds, and cultures. Positive connections are created, and stereotypes are broken, so the world can see “the beauty of the east”.
This fall and winter, we will be organizing a comedy tour in LA, NYC and D.C. with PlanetPix Media called “FUNATICAL: Taking Comedy to the Extreme!” The tour will include famous Muslim, Jewish and Christian comedians who will laugh at themselves and each other, because the joy of laughter is universal. The goal, of course, is to break stereotypes and unite cultures through comedy. We need that more than ever today.
Tags: Samira Atash, Beauty and the East TV, It's A Miracle Maternity, PlanetPix Media, Funatical Comedy
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Posted by BeautyandtheEast on 05-03-2010 | Comments | Share | Filed under: Fashion-Eastas, Fashion
Check out a new line of Muslim swim suits:
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Posted by BeautyandtheEast on 04-18-2010 | Comments | Share | Filed under: Fashion-Eastas, Fashion
The dress of Muslim women walks a fine line between conservative and chic. In this video clip, Chechnya and Iran, politics affect how much skin one can show. Pakistani fashion designers rebel against Taliban influences while Afghan designer Rabia Z makes stylish clothes that is modest and chic.
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Are you a Muslim/Middle-Eastern/South Asian actor, musician, singer, comedian, designer, film-maker, journalist/host, or have a special story? Show us what you got!
