As part of Fashion Revolution Week, 23 – 29 April 2018, the British Council have commissioned a series of 7 short films profiling the innovative stories of 7 practitioners across the world, including fashion designers, artists, architects and entrepreneurs. The films have been created in the spirit of the grassroots movement, using content produced by the practitioners themselves and directed by Kate Cox and produced by the Smalls. 

Cynthia Chamat Debbané, Beirut-based designer and retailer, creates clothes which are gender and culturally fluid in order to limit the amount of stock she produces and create sustainability. She takes an unusual approach by producing one-size fits all stock which is then tailored in store to fit the customer and make for a more personal garment. 

ABOUT CYNTHIA CHAMAT DEBBANÉ

A self-taught designer with no academic background in fashion design, Cynthia Chamat Debbané broke into Beirut’s new wave fashion scene in early 2014.

Growing up as the daughter of a fashion retailer with over 40 years of expertise, played a crucial role in her development; being exposed to designer brands such as Alaia, Gaultier, and Yamamoto, among others that her father retailed throughout his career, sparked in her an interest in the anatomical aspect of sophisticated garment creation, be it high-end finishing, textile manipulation and shape (de)construction - the pillars on which her own line is built.

Like most projects that start out of ‘frustration’, it is Cynthia’s earlier struggle with weight and her feeling of marginalization by the fashion industry that eventually, when came the time to design, instigated in her the fierce desire to create a clothing line that is alternative and inclusive of all body types and beauty ideals. And thus, came to life her brand, URBAN SENSE and her store, BOUTIQUE HUB. which stocks today more than 30 local emerging brands.