Brazilian stylist Faissal Makhoul is hoping for a hot summer in 2009. To create his collection for the next year he defined as his theme the California of the late 1970s, with many elements of the Middle East. Sun, camels and, mainly, marquetry of Arab furniture inspired the colors and forms of the checkers used by Makhoul, who owns brand Attention Deaf Disorder (ADD), in São Paulo.
Earthy colors, colors of the desert, yellows, greens and beiges mingle with white and mauve.
From California, where the stylist - who is also a surfer - lived for two years in the 1980s, came the prints and designs, which are not lacking in vignettes. Another characteristic from the region is the trousers, with slightly broader ankles, inspired on bell-bottoms, a global icon in the 1970s.
According to Makhoul, despite being so distant and different, both regions occupy the same meridian and the mixture of both worlds married perfectly in the collection. "I wanted to show a poetic message of peace between the East and West," he said. In a certain way, it also represents globalization and the Internet as a vehicle connecting people worldwide.
"I basically showed the eastern world through Arab furniture and the western world through the vignettes of the end of the 1970s," adds the stylist, who is of Syrian origin with strong tradition in the textile world.
His father, Badih Makhoul, was born in Syria and his mother, Afif Metne, is a daughter of Syrians. "It is important to say that I did not create the collection inspired on the Middle East because I am of Arab descent, but because it is the great theme of the moment. It is all connected to summer and to our idea of seeking inspiration in the warm meridians," he pointed out. The last collection was inspired on Mexico.
Always seeking new themes and ideas that may become fashion, the stylist is going to make use of a trip to Indonesia, scheduled for the end of August, to surf and seek references for the new collection. "I want to explore theme 'Man and survival alone in the wild'," he forwards.
Although he has already traveled very much, Makhoul has never been to Syria. The only Arab country he knows is the United Arab Emirates. For 2009 he is planning a trip with his French wife Catherine. "We want to travel from Turkey, crossing several Arab countries, until we reach Suez Canal and the Red Sea," she said.
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