Lana Sahely backstage at Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2017 Ready-to-Wear.
Photo: Hana Le Van
Among the sea of mothers, daughters, toddlers, royalty, and millennials at the Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2017 Ready-to-Wear show, Lebanese fashion blogger Lana Sahely stood out. The 27-year-old who runs the e-commerce site L’Armoire de Lana first forged a relationship with Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana at the house’s last fashion show in Milan. She was personally handpicked by the designers to walk the show as a “unique Arab influencer and fashion entrepreneur,” and received her invitation through email. “You should have seen my face when I first read the email,” muses Sahely. “I read it about ten times before grabbing the phone to call my husband,” she recalls.
Backstage, Pat McGrath creates the bold red lips and winged eye sported by Sahely on the runway.
Photo: Hana Le Van
Knowing that the designers personally selected each of the 140 “non-model models” to walk the runway made her feel even more grateful. Sahely was dressed in clothes she picked and accessorized herself a day before the show. “I wanted to represent my region in a beautiful way, with class and modesty,” she says of the silk, pajama-inspired set featuring white piping layered under a velvet, metallic-lined blazer, and accessorized with an ornate crown and beaded heels. “I headed immediately to the fitting from the airport,” explains Sahely, who was greeted by Dolce once she got to the headquarters. “There were over 130 looks, and it was so overwhelming, so I asked Dolce what he would see me wearing,” she adds. “We went through different pajama looks, oversized jackets, and pantsuits, before we settled on three looks,” she states. “The first look I tried, I wore on the runway.”
Lana Sahely walks the runway for the Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2017 Ready-to-Wear show.
Photo: Indigital.tv
The 27-year-old had three weeks to mentally and physically prepare for her glorious runway debut. “I practiced walking with my back as straight as possible, but I still almost stumbled down the stairs on the catwalk,” Sahely muses. “It was actually incredible, because this is the real me—as clumsy as ever,” she recalls. When the show was over, Sahely couldn’t help but burst into tears of joy. “Seeing the support of everyone in the crowd and people calling my name was so beautiful,” she explains. “Representing my region was life-changing.”
When asked if she could see herself walking the runway again, Sahely says: “Definitely—I’d love to walk for Elie Saab, Valentino, and Gucci.”
