Sandra Mansour (Q9087)
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Sandra Mansour is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Sandra Mansour |
Sandra Mansour is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
Translated from French into English, “Dance to the Sound of the Drum” is the title that Sandra Mansour bestowed upon her latest collection with its two unrelated yet upbeat reference points: traditional Zaouli dance and the French Riviera. “It was really about movement,” she said. Like previous seasons, her dressy lineup yielded a potpourri of statement looks that could satisfy myriad special occasions and soirees. And as she spoke about her expanded showroom in Beirut—“minimalist yet feminine”—this reviewer was imagining the hypothetical experience of being there and deciding between a crimson mousseline, floor-dusting sheath flocked with stripes and a black button-front bustier dress with a dropped ruffle. Mansour singled out a few of her key creations, starting with a dress that featured her themes embellished playfully down the front, followed by a semi-sheer number covered in a delicate spray of fireworks and encircled by lustrous fringe.For all the playfulness of the colorful print, plus jewelry in the shape of drums and umbrellas, the woven fringing seen in the first lookbook image and a swirling pattern of sequins applied directly to net in the third spoke to Mansour’s pursuit of distinctive technique, which would be persuasive for anyone choosing her designs over the masters of second-skin embroideries. To this point, there was also something revealing about the dresses covered in small Lurex jacquard flowers: They weren’t revealing at all. As a young female designer predominantly focused on eveningwear, she is aware that there are women who prefer romantic over risqué.Her business partner, Yasmina Layla Farha, noted that they have been reconsidering pricing, given that their production is all in house. This could make the label more attractive to more international retailers, not just direct customers. Of course, the individuality that comes forth in Mansour’s designs is her value proposition: You march to the beat of your own drum.
30 September 2018
Long story short, Sandra Mansour grew up in Switzerland, studied business management to appease her father even though she really wanted to paint, eventually made it to fine art school in Geneva, serendipitously ended up an intern at Elie Saab designing embroidery patterns, took an intensive one-year fashion design course at L’Institut Marangoni in Paris, and returned to Beirut where she set up her namesake atelier in 2010.Now that Mansour has firmly established herself as a designer, that trajectory continues to play out in the collections, which partly explains why the designs make such singular statements. You need only scan her dresses patterned with bronzed pleather scales like savanna topography, her reframing of 17th-century art themes, and her fauvist interpretation of the aurora borealis as neon green tulle on a peach gown to detect a self-assured pursuit of offbeat elegance. She mentioned that some of her looks were inspired by artist Laurent Grasso (look him up if you’re unfamiliar), while others emerged from writing down her dreams. As a doubled-up surrealist expression, some dresses captivated instantly, while others landed a little flat. Her approach to fabrics felt wild card in a good way—from vivid yellow velvet to, yes, wild cats. One imagines that women in Beirut (and beyond) are welcoming her approach.“I have this feeling that thefemme Arabehas evolved,” she said, respectfully defining herself against the aesthetic proposed over and over again by Saab and fellow Lebanese success story Zuhair Murad. Added her business partner, Yasmina Layla Farha: “People search for designs that are personal and different in terms of style and that’s what we try to offer.”In addition to introducing cast-metal accessories this season, Mansour drew all her motifs, including the tender heart split in two. Raised from the front of a shirt and hand-finished, it’s the type of idea that would resonate universally if only her price point weren’t so high. Here’s a thought: She could draw on those business years to gain the reach her designs deserve.
13 March 2018