Beirut Loves Paris

Dee, Beirut Loves is back this year with a new destination "Paris". Last year Beirut Loved Jaipur. This year Beirut Loves Paris. It is a pop up store which takes us to a different city over a period of 15 days.
Lamps, candles, furniture, books, dresses, skirts, shiny espadrilles and many more are being sold. Hurry up before everything disappears.
The store is located at Patriarch Howayek Street, Bab Idriss, Beirut
I Leave you with Some pics of the opening! Enjoy.

Spun by Heatherwick Studio

Rush,

It was so lovely to have you here in London, even if it was a very short visit!
Have you ever seen the Spun chair by Heatherwick Studio? They are everywhere in the V&A museum because there is an exhibition for Heatherwick Studio's work. Their work is really amazing, they challenge simple solutions to simple problems, having said that , the simple solutions are still very complex!

Here are few photos of the Spun, they are great fun and comfortable!

Re Picasso and British Artists

Dee, I guess Picasso 's saying is so true ‘Good artists copy, great artists steal.’
The art works look amazing as usual, do you happen to know the name of the painting that took your breath away?

Picasso and British Artists

Rasha,

I finally had the time today to go see the exhibition of Picasso and British Artists at Tate Britain which opened in February and will be on until July 15th. The exhibition is about Picasso and the influence he had on British artists such as Ben Nicholson, Francis Bacon, Henry Moore, David Hockney and a few others.

I have to say that I was really excited to go see the exhibition and I went today and left a bit disappointed. They showed his work from the early 1900s up to the late 1930s and it's really amazing to see the chronology, eventhough this wasn't very evident in the exhibit. Putting his work next to the British artists didn't work really well. You feel that they have tried to copy him but they failed, and it is quite undermining for British artists I felt. Picasso was way ahead of them, they have reproduced their 1920s 'Picasso inspired paintings' in the 1930s when Picasso was already exploring other styles and ideas.

There were some amazing paintings especially by Francis Bacon and David Hockney but it was hard to see the relationship with Picasso.

The only exhibition I have been to and is comparable to this one is Piet Mondrian exhibition in Rome in November last year, where they showed his work alongside other artists of the same era, I find it was more engaging and much clearer.

One of my favourite paintings in the exhibition is 'Head of a Woman' and Picasso's little costume design illustrations that he did for a Diaghilev ballet show in London.

I wish it was a solo Picasso exhibition, it would have probably worked better, but this doesn't mean that it's not worth seeing. Some of the work displayed is just fascinating.

There were a few paintings with the title 'Head of a Woman' and this is one of them
I couldn't find an image on the web of the one that took my breath away!

Heterotopies

Dee, I went to Bird on a Wire 's first solo show today held at Studio PK450 in Bourj Hammoud! It was purely art. As you enter the place, you feel lost am I really in the right place? Car spare parts, etc were  lying everywhere. And suddenly, you arrive to whole different universe, the universe of Bird on a Wire. 

The collection is called Heterotopies and it aims at creating fluid and airy clothes resembling dancers. I loved the way the outfits are hanged, a real piece of art. The wooden structure in the center has pedals that when you press on them the outfits move. As for her jewellery line, it takes the shape of the neck. Laser cut wooden blades and brass layers were the main component. 

About The designer: Rayya Morcos, graduated from Esmod in 2006 and worked as the head of design at Maison Rabih Keyrouz for 6 years. She founded her own label: Bird on a wire in 2009 where she sold her debut collection at Starch Boutique in Saifi Village. In 2012, she decided to devote herself to Bird on a wire. 

I leave the pictures below to speak!

The Designer Rayya Morcos and my friend Joumana

Re Louboutin celebrates its 20 years in fashion

Dee, 

I love frozen yogurt, the best non fat desert :) Pinkberry opened at ABC mall, it is yummy!

And I don't want to disappoint our readers :) so i thought of posting some Louboutin shoes pics since you couldn't take pictures. Truly art pieces. Enjoy!!

Images via www.7ajidude.com

Louboutin celebrates its 20 years in fashion

Hello Rash!

I am writing from Selfridges food hall while having a yummy frozen yogurt from Pinkberry. I think you have it in Beirut no?
So it's been 20 years since Louboutin was established and they are celebrating in 3 of his shops in London including Selfridges. I just visited the exhibition they have on the ground floor of Selfridges for the occasion. They are showcasing a 're-issue' shoe collection of the most iconic pieces across his career, for both men and women, 6 bags and the book that he just released highlighting all his creations. His shoes are truly art pieces, regardless if they can be worn or not. Unfortunately photography is not allowed, but here are some photos of the window display.

The pot hole gardener

Rasha,

Check this gardening blog http://thepotholegardener.com/ , it's so cute! Creating miniature gardens in the holes found on the streets, in the pavement, in the walls of the city, from London to India. I really like the idea, it raises awareness of the importance of having green spaces in the city, and lets the creativity flow!

Possibly something along the same line for Beirut? I heard about the Green Beirut Project http://beirutgreenproject.wordpress.com/ and I have been following what they do. I would love to be involved! Hmmmm will have to think how I can do it from London, any ideas?

Have something else to tell you about tomorrow and it involves shoes ;) , will keep it quiet until then !

Make Designers not clothes

Dee,

Have you heard of The Creative Space - Beirut? It is a free, non-profit educational program in fashion design, based in Beirut, where ambitious fashion designers who don't have the opportunity, collaborate to create a couture collection.

Each cycle of The Creative Space involves several months of work followed by a showcase of that work. This exhibition involves an auction in which the clothes are sold and the money divided between the students and the program. 

Their second exhibition is happening on march 16 at the Beirut Art Center which is the same date as my birthday :)

Check out their facebook page or their blog http://creativespacebeirut.com/

Here are some sneak peak pictures

Images via Thecreativespace

Arabia Late at The British Museum

Rasha,

I went after work to the British Museum to see The Hajj exhibition since Fridays here are usually late nights for museums, only to find out that it is Arabia Late event! It was a surprise! Lots of talks, performances and workshops were happening across the museum. We watched a band playing traditional Arabic songs, participated in Sufi drum playing and watched people writing in the Arabic Calligraphy workshop. Was really worth it! Wish you were here to see it with us!