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Lebanese Designer Racil Chalhoub’s New Book Clutch is a Nostalgic Ode to Beirut

Racil Chalhoub. Photo: Courtesy of Racil

Lebanese designer Racil Chalhoub has launched in collaboration with Olympia Le Tan, a limited-edition book-shaped minaudière dedicated to her hometown of Beirut. The London-based brand Racil’s latest Beirut Nostalgia book clutch is handmade from a light yellow canvas, and gold tone hardware with a popelin lining. All the details are hand-embroidered with silk thread and the characters with felt appliqué.

Chalhoub reminisces the beauty of Beirut by illustrating some key elements that resonate with her and bring her back to the city of peace, love and happiness, with the iconic Raouché rock, glamorous beach goers and skies, old-school tawleh players with their coffee, an oud musician, Lebanese homes, a church and mosque beside each other, and a Lebanese airline that transports the cosmopolitan Lebanese society in and out of the city.

Photo: Courtesy of Racil

“Beirut will always inhabit an immense chunk of my heart. It is impossible to epitomize all its glory in one clutch, but I really wanted to have a small piece of it that makes me smile with me at all times. Clutches are a great conversation piece, and this one is a good way to keep talking about Lebanon!” Chalhoub says.

Photo: Courtesy of Racil

The designer has committed to donating 10% of all proceeds from the clutch to Beit El Baraka, a Lebanese non-profit organization.

The 20cm x 14cm x 3cm clutch is a limited edition of 75, and each piece is embroidered with a unique number at the back. It is available for personalization with the clients’ initials while pre-ordering only, which can be done on the designer’s official website racil.com from June 23 onwards.

Photo: Courtesy of Racil

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