This month’s fashion and beauty news round-up brings new retail destinations, one digital and the other a high-end physical store, an exciting new line and collaborations.
Luxury at Your Fingertips
The online retail destination Ounass entered the Qatari market with its local website showcasing selections of women’s, men’s and children’s ready-to-wear collections, homeware, lifestyle and beauty products. Ounass presents a carefully-curated edit of exclusive capsule collections from local and international designers. The online destination has boasted over 300 luxury brands since launching in December 2016 as Al Tayer Group’s first exclusively luxury e-commerce site. Partnerships with top brands such as Gucci, Dolce&Gabbana, Valentino, Saint Laurent and Balenciaga give the Qatar-based online shopper a unique experience. With the launch of its Sustainable Steps edit, the company highlights the brands playing their role in encouraging the environment-first philosophy. Ounass operates exclusively within the Middle East and is dedicated to local talents and services. Customers can shop at ounass.qa for faster local shipping and fulfilment.
Italian Flair
The FIFA World Cup 2022 has attracted a lot of attention to Qatar and many boutiques have opened in the country in the past months. One of the newest is FENDI in the North Node Central Concourse, the latest expansion of the Hamad International Airport. Designed by the brand’s internal architecture department, it embraces the FENDI universe, drawing inspiration from timeless Roman architectural elements. The 220sq/m store features a wide selection of women’s and men’s collections. A futuristic LED backdrop installation is there temporarily and will be replaced by a sculptural fountain composed of alternating silver metal columns and 7,500 crafted glass disks, internally illuminated to emulate the fluidity of water flowing. The sculpture will provide a special place for the Qatar-exclusive items that will be exhibited around the fountain. From March 2023, the second floor will feature the first permanent FENDI Cafe globally. Currently, the FENDI Cafe can be found a few steps from the boutique as a temporary installation.
Inseparable Duo
Well-known for their footwear, Malone Souliers are launching a handbag collection for the first time. The Holiday Bags Collection marks their venture in the field of carriers. A natural progression for the brand as shoes and bags are made for each other. The designs translate the brand’s love for traditional crafting and innovative creations into a new medium; they echo the shoes’ inspirations but always with the product purpose in mind. Among the line, the Audrey design brings a sophisticated square silhouette with a flap closure for metropolitan appeal. In a structureless shape, Ingrid is a bucket bag with a statement-making metallic handle. “This collection was an opportunity to apply our meticulous manufacturing techniques and a keenly refined aesthetic to a new area, to push ourselves into uncharted territory, and to approach the task with excitement and optimism,” said Mary Alice Malone, Malone Souliers Founder and Creative Director.
Green Goddess
The House of Meraki x Gemfields J’aime Collection is a partnership between Gemfields, a world-leading miner of responsibly sourced coloured gemstones, and House of Meraki, an emerald-focused fine jewellery brand. Featuring a carefully curated selection of responsibly sourced emeralds from Gemfields’ Kagem mine in Zambia, these exquisite creations have all been handmade in House of Meraki’s London atelier. J’aime translates as ‘I love’ or ‘may God protect’. Emeralds are associated with hope, growth, life, fertility and peace and are thought to possess healing properties. The collection features earrings – from dainty studs to stylish hoops – as well as rings, bracelets, necklaces and pendants. They pair delicate emeralds with 18-carat yellow gold, diamonds and pearls. No matter the cut, round or pear, the emeralds dominate each piece, their many facets representing the dimensions of a woman’s personality.
Garden Meets Art
The handbag brand Moynat Paris partnered with artist Mark Hearld to create a festive collection: Le Jardin Anglais. Mark is a prolific artist/designer from York, in the UK, who creates imaginative and unconventional works influenced by the flora and fauna of the British countryside. Inspired by the natural world, Mark’s paper-cut designs are enlivened in exquisite leather in this special collaboration using Maison Moynat’s leather marquetry technique. This crafting method requires precision from the artisans that connect individual leather pieces to form a seamless motif. The jigsaw elements used are a sustainable way for Moynat to reuse the high-quality surplus materials from previous collections. The result is a visually appealing collection with an environment-friendly purpose. Established as a trunk maker in 1849, Moynat is a Parisian label with unique imagination and skilled artisans. Leather handbags and the Canvas 1920 M Monogram are signatures of the maison.