Roni Helou Spring 2018 RTW with shoes in collaboration with Poise Design. FFWD, d3. Courtesy of Poise Design
“Working with upcoming designers is always a challenge and a pleasure,” says Poise Design’s Emma Boutros to Vogue Arabia. “Each, in one way or the other, affects our style and are part of its evolution,” she adds. Having previously joined forces with couturiers Mohammed Ashi and Rami Kadi, the Lebanese footwear designer, who launched her brand in 2011, certainly knows a thing or two about designer collaborations. For the milestone tenth season of Fashion Forward, which opened its doors in Dubai Design District from October 26-28, Boutros teamed up with Roni Helou and 2015 Fashion Prize winner Hussein Bazaza to create the unique footwear sported by models on the catwalk. “My previous collaborations were usually for couture designer’s collections, but this time I wanted to venture into ready-to-wear— More commercial styles for every day.”
For Helou’s presentation, Boutros dreamed up a lineup of quirky slides in an array of different prints that matched that of the collections. Each piece she created featured material fold-over, which added an extra oomph to the design. “Emma, with her entrepreneurial vigor and groundbreaking brand, personifies the essence of the Spring 2018 collection,” reveals Helou, adding “The collaborative pieces combine both of our innovative and fashion-forward style.”
Photographed by Tarek Moukaddem
Meanwhile, Bazaza’s runway models slipped into pointy, sling-back pumps with block heels in pearl, sky blue, olive green, teal, and black colorways. However, this wasn’t the designers’ first time working together. “Season after season, my collaboration with Poise proves to be so successful,” reflects Bazaza. “When we get together to create the final design of the current collection’s shoes, it is always rewarding to have Emma’s touch and creativity because we try as much as we can to produce heels that have the same feel and mood of the collection, and they finally turn out to fit so exactly well with the pieces. Despite being such a dear friend of mine, her professionalism and attention to detail are impeccable.”
Boutros chimes in, “Collaborating with Hussein has been a ritual we are not planning to break anytime soon.” Here’s to many more.
Read Caterina Minthe’s review of Roni Helou Spring RTW 2018 here
Read Caterina Minthe’s review of Hussein Bazaza Spring RTW 2018 here
