I am pleased to participate in the Christmas-month newsletter. I hereby happily step into the new year together with my FIPI members that are spread worldwide.
Here is a hand-picked selection of ideas and inspirational stories that could help us build a better image in 2023, worthy of our followers and potential students.
I am happy to bring you the most notable moments from the “Big Four” fashion weeks that took place in September 2022. (New York, London, Milan, and Paris). Global designers showcased their visions of what we’ll be wearing in 2023:
CARGO PANTS are still expected to be seen, exactly like in 2022, but now introduced in softer fabrics like the satin versions seen at the Fendi and Jil Sanders shows.
LAYERING is still a major theme for the upcoming season. Long dresses over pants were a theme that kept popping up on the runways.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS:
2022 was the year of “digital fashion” and reducing one’s wardrobe over environmental concerns. Digital fashion has unfortunately offered some of the same scope to define one’s image on social media at a significantly reduced ecological cost.
Moreover, relying on alternative materials and replacing pollutants like plastic and petroleum-based synthetic fibers with more ethical material was part of the way forward in many fashion houses. Adidas, Stella McCartney is going through a transition towards more sustainable leather-alternatives. Stella McCartney’s latest show, held in the courtyard of Centre Pompidou in Paris, sent leather-alternative jackets, shoes, and bags down the runway.
Burberry and Balenciaga are using less environmentally taxing materials as well (from lobster shells to lotus stems).
We are told “buy less”, I reply “easier said than done”. Although, opting for fewer, higher-quality garments instead of owning heaps of pieces, is a wise idea. Considering renting instead of buying, recycling, and up-cycling can also offer a hand to reach a sustainable timeless elegance.
EGYPTIAN CHIC with contemporary designers:
AZZA FAHMY broke onto the jewelry scene in the late 1960s, becoming one of the first women apprentices in Cairo’s historic jewelry quarter, Khan El Khalili (the authentic bazaar in Cairo). Fahmy’s first collection was inspired by Nubia and traditional Egyptian architecture. She has continued to draw inspiration from Egyptian heritage and culture, and mostly Arabic calligraphy. Fahmy designed pieces for iconic actresses and worked with the Egyptian/Global director Youssef Chahine on designing jewelry for some of his movies. Azza Fahmy currently has stores across the MENA region as well as in London and the United States.
Accessories brand OKHTEIN was founded by Egyptian sisters Aya and Mounaz Abdel Raouf. Their 2014 bag line incorporated quality Egyptian brass craftsmanship, while the sisters used their social media smarts to market the brand. Their leather accessories are worn by celebrities including Beyoncé, Demi Moore, and Emma Watson. Their brand’s pieces are sold at retailers around the world.
MAISON YEYA, a French-Egyptian global luxury fashion house founded by Yasmine Yehia. Her brand received international media attention when Jennifer Lopez wore one of its designs to the BAFTAs in 2019.
TARA EMAD, a young Egyptian actress, model, and cover girl, who took her first modeling and acting apprenticeship at Shirley Shalaby Academy, is now the first Chanel Face from Egypt. The latest work of Tara Emad was her role at the Arabic version of the Netflix “Suits” series.
Italian Luxury brand STEFANO RICCI celebrated its 50th anniversary in Luxor, at the Hatshepsut Temple. The show was against the backdrop of the majestic temple. Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli opened the ceremony by singing pieces from Verdi’s opera Aida.
This brings me to the topic of Shirley Shalaby’s latest book “Timeless Beauty”, Now selling on Kindle Amazon.
Timeless Beauty is Shirley Shalaby’s perception about beauty standards and its evolution through adopting a resilient style. Timeless Beauty is a live autobiography about an encounter with the world of style. A practical manual designed to assist the readers reach a sustainable lifestyle with “realistic” and “adaptable” standards.
Having lived in Montreal, Calgary, Houston, London, and Cairo, with “Timeless Beauty,”, Shirley Shalaby conceptualizes an up-to-date guide to a sustainable, global lifestyle and a short-cut to a signature style.
It is her third book, after “The Art of Etiquette” and “Beyond Charm”. She offers tips, concepts, a colorful history of global fashion, and suggestions that her dear readers could use every day.
Timeless Beauty celebrates fashion as a status maker that brings a dose of happiness to its wearer and observer.
Although, “detecting one’s personal style, and it’s psychology makes us look younger, taller, curvier, trimmer, and it increases our personal value, much more than wearing an unsuitable fashionable outfit.”
Style is eternal, “it is our identity and individuality”.
“ Taste is not expensive, and money does not buy taste. One’s endeavor does.”
“Confidence, personal individuality, and charm are not birthrights. They are developed and nurtured by us.”
The Timeless Beauty manual is used over and over; it is a guide to renewable and resilient beauty.
Shirley Shalaby
Canadian/Egyptian Published Author, Columnist, Sustainable Image Consultant, Trainer, Veteran Educator and High Energy Speaker; authored 3 books “The Art of Etiquette” in 2000, “Beyond Charm” in 2011 and, “Timeless Beauty” in 2022.
President and Founder of Shirley Shalaby Academy (1989), the very first Modeling and Finishing Institute in the Middle East, in Cairo, Egypt. Launched her first signature classes that ran throughout, the 90s and into the 2000s. Title “Professional Modeling and Finishing Program for teens”. Her alumni are among Egypt’s finest TV personalities, actors and actresses and prominent entrepreneurs. Speaker at several international conferences in London, Amman, Tunis, Karachi, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi.