Ichtus Magazine RONI HELOU
Born in Lebanon in 1992, Roni Helou is a conscious ready-to-wear designer based in Beirut.
In 2016 upon his graduation from Creative Space Beirut, progressive fashion school that offers free design education, Roni showcased his collections at Fashion Forward Dubai for two seasons under the patronage of Rabih Kayrouz and the Starch Foundation.
In 2017 Roni was awarded the Boghossian Foundation Fashion Prize, offering him a residency at Villa Empain in Brussels. His previous works were displayed at Les Nouveaux Créateurs in Paris as part of Exposition Mode émergente du monde arabe, co-curated by Institut du Monde Arabe.
More recently, Roni was named RTW winner of the first Fashion Trust Arabia (FTA) edition launched in 2019. Furthermore, the brand’s SS20 and RH’20/21 collections were exhibited respectively at Paris and Milan Fashion Weeks.
Sustainability, free education, human and animal rights are at the heart of the RONI HELOU brand.
Roni and his team work to uphold these values in everything they do, from sampling to production
and everything in between.
The Roni Helou brand has been featured in prominent international publications. New York Times, Vogue US, British Vogue, Vogue Arabia, Vogue Italia, Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, Elle India, WWD, The Business of Fashion, Wallpaper, DAZE, i-D and HUNGER TV talked about him.
FASHION FILM
Wars, forest fires, explosions, animal cruelty, pandemic.
“Road to Exi(s)t” is a commentary on our modern day lives. The film tells the story of a young man, numb from the constant stream of horrific news that surround us, unable to escape this downward spiral, until faced with blissful nature. Through this film, Roni Helou hopes to remind us that adopting a simpler, greener life might be the strongest form of resistance against current systems.
Shot in three different locations during lockdown, the film opens on a young man watching news in the designer’s traditional Lebanese home. He then wanders through a maze of a gloomy, industrial area aimlessly attempting to escape this cage. In the last scene, the young man finds himself in an open field of green, breathing in a new, more hopeful outlook on life.
In a color palette of grey, white, black and soft prints, the garments showcased range from coats, to blazers, to shirts and pants in various dead-stock fabrics inlcuding poplin, gauze, cotton knit, denim, crinkle and bachette. This menswear collection is available on ronihelou.com “Road to Exi(s)t” was made possible through a successful collaboration.
Produced by Ghiya Haidar and directed by Pedro Hasrouny, the filming’s grassroots approach of using an iPhone camera in the two first scenes highlights. The restrictions we are currently facing and mimicks the need to go simple. The film will be released on January 30, 2021 at 8:50 pm (Dubai time). During the Arab Fashion Week’s and Roni Helou’s social media platforms.
ARAB FASHION WEEK
The Arab Fashion Council © (AFC) is the world’s largest not-for-profit organization that aims to
establish a fashion system (infrastructure) by uniting the 22 Arab countries under the umbrella of creative economy, based on knowledge and production; by making use and sharing collective
know-how, experience and resources of the industry.
The AFC was formed in 2014 to represent the fashion industry in the 22 Arab Countries. This is a trademark registered under UAE federal law. It is funded by industry patrons and commercial sponsors. It leads the industry through creative influence and is strategically taking the necessary steps to position Arab fashion industry in the global fashion economy.
The AFC’s strategic pillars are; economy based on the creative knowledge, made within the Arab
Fashion System, reputation, education, sustainability and fashion for humanity.
AFC works to establish a coherent fashion system in the region with an important focus on
education and cultural development, an initiative that contributes to the promotion of cultural
diversity and support to creative industry, which is in line with activities that UNESCO Office in Doha is also undertaking.
The AFC has redefined the terms of the current luxury market by defining a new term in the fashion dictionary, Ready-Couture ® , which represents over 70% of the luxury market share.
In addition, the Arab Fashion Council © endorses & coordinates the Arab Fashion Week, which is the
main fashion platform that represents the Arab countries, enabling Arab brands to promote their
creative work globally.
Nicolas Lopez
