Anna Cleveland in Assaad Khalaf for Flexform. Photographed by Pierpaolo Ferrari
Flexform has unveiled a surreal new campaign and it features model Anna Cleveland wearing a Syrian designer. The daughter of supermodel Pat Cleveland stars in a series of visuals for the Italian luxury furniture brand, dressed in an upcycled haute couture dress from Assaad Khalaf’s namesake label.
Flexform’s Gregory XL sofa. Photographed by Pierpaolo Ferrari
Directed by Christoph Radl and photographed by Pierpaolo Ferrari, Cleveland stands on a ladder in front of a bookshelf and towering what takes the spotlight in the campaign — Flexform’s Gregory XL sofa. The statement piece is designed by Antonio Citterio, and as the name suggests, boasts large seating cushions for maximum comfort. What’s more, the sofa is modular in nature which means its sections can be arranged to suit your living space. The design features a metal structure and cast aluminum feet in various finishes contrasting with sophisticated color pairings of cowhide webbing in neutral shades. As for the cushions, they are outlined by grosgrain piping with couture tailoring and offered in a range of materials from velvet to linen and cashmere in earthy colors.
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This combination of design and style is echoed throughout the campaign as designer Khalaf was enlisted to lend his couture creation. “The main idea and concept of this dress was, upcycling fashion. That is, to take what is old and transform it into new; to save from waste, pollution and to turn the old into useful and beautiful things,” shares the Damascus-born creative. “This skirt you see belonged to a wedding dress that I made 10 years ago,” he adds. “It was smaller and white, but I was working on the idea of my new collection, and had many ruffles in my mind. I changed the gown which was taffeta at the time and I reattached all the flounces on a cloud of tulle. I also added other flounces and we dyed everything in a salmon shade.” The Academy of Costume and Fashion in Rome graduate created the dress in Damascus with a purpose. “I want to emphasize this fact because for almost 10 years nothing has been heard in the media other than news of war,” he says. “I and many other Syrians work in our country and we would like to underline there isn’t just war in Syria. Here, we produce and create modern beauty by respecting and thinking about the environment that surrounds us.”
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