OBSERVATIONS & OTHER ACCIDENTS

In London, after the rush of Fashion Week, I met Mira Maktabi — a designer whose path is marked by persistence more than spectacle. With her first collection on the horizon, she spoke of craft, clarity, and the slow process of building identity in fashion.

During a recent stop in London, in the aftermath of Fashion Week, I met Mira Maktabi — the Lebanese designer trained at Central Saint Martins, recently highlighted in The New York Times and a finalist of the Fashion Trust Arabia 2024. On the cusp of unveiling her debut collection, she spoke about her creative path, one that bridges heritage and modernity.

Mira described her years in London as both a challenge and a revelation, a place where she learned to balance the weight of tradition with the urge to carve out her own vocabulary in fashion. Rather than chasing trends, she spoke of discipline, craft, and the constant refinement of her ideas. London gave her exposure, but it also gave her distance — a chance to see her work and her origins with sharper clarity.

Reflecting on the transition from student to designer, she explained that progress is less about sudden breakthroughs than about layering — a slow construction of confidence, resilience and voice. Recognition, like her recent spotlight in international press, is not an arrival point but encouragement to keep going.

Mira emphasised that the beginnings are fragile and require patience, highlighting building slowly, step by step, until a language of her own could emerge. She described her process with wardrobe essentials as deeply considered, stating that the search for the perfect shirt or jacket is both physical and aesthetic: “I want a piece that feels effortless yet refined, slightly exaggerated but never overdone, with that subtle detail that gives it character.”

She spoke about her approach to fabric, noting that it’s crucial to allow it to flow naturally, almost in dialogue with the hand, rather than imposing rigid ideas. Observing women — their behaviour, their style — also informs her work: musings on how they move and express themselves guide the silhouette and shape her vision.

“I want a piece that feels effortless yet refined, slightly exaggerated but never overdone, with that subtle detail that gives it character.”

Mira highlighted the importance of balancing intuition and discipline. Creativity comes in waves, but discipline gives it form. The daily practice of refining, editing, and testing pieces allows intuition to manifest fully. Seeing how women feel when they wear her designs is a compass for her choices, she explained.

Catering by Studio Deïmé —
a flawless touch for the presentation, combining architectural vision with artful food curation.

Photo: Margherita Allievi

Exposure to broader artistic and cultural references is central to her method. The right stimuli — people, art, designers — cultivate the instinct needed for originality. She described moments of unexpected inspiration, sometimes in the middle of the night, which discipline then shapes into tangible design. Her time at Central Saint Martins was formative in teaching her to trust both herself and her intuition, guided by mentors who emphasised clarity, identity, and the purity of materials.

Her first collection promises precisely this: a considered articulation of identity, rooted in heritage but looking forward, where every piece reflects both her origins and her aspirations.