Founder of Ingie Paris celebrates first anniversary of the Dubai Mall store.
Designer Ingie Chalhoub takes a moment from her busy schedule of showing the Fall 2019 collection to press and influencers in Dubai to discuss her current muse Cleopatra, the state of the fashion industry in the Middle East and the importance of being persistent.
Talk us through the inspiration behind the Fall 2019 collection.
This collection was inspired by a very strong personality from the past – Cleopatra. But the Cleopatra that is avant-garde and modern, contemporary, a rock and roll Cleopatra wearing leather boots and leather pants. Why Cleopatra? Because she was the Queen of Egypt, but she was also the Queen of Romenand she brought together two cultures, which is very similar to Ingie Paris. It was born between two cultures, the East meeting the West. I wanted to imagine Cleopatra today, and this is how I imagine her so you will see all the embroidery and glamour of Egypt and Rome.
How has the brand evolved?
Part of the Ingie Paris DNA is the pearl because Ingie means ‘pearl’. Also you have a lot of glamour, a lot of flowers, prints and embroidery. The whole idea is to be more assertive when mixing cultures. The Roman twist, which is the new terminology I have created to describe my collection, offers a new modern romance. Feminine but not too feminine, romantic but not too romantic and not copying the past.
Describe your design process.
You can’t stop creativity, it has to be wide and then you convert. This collection was inspired by a documentary I saw in Paris on Cleopatra and then I was invited by the First Lady of Egypt to visit and it all clicked. You have to be receptive to what’s around you.
How has the fashion industry evolved in the Middle East and how do you see it growing?
I see it very much evolving and growing. Dubai has become the number one place in the world to find all designers. London was number one but now Dubai has beaten London in the number of stores and new designers, I read this few months ago in a magazine. If you succeed in Dubai, you can succeed anywhere else in the world, I believe in that. Ingie Paris is a French brand born in Paris, but my first store, and today I’m celebrating the first anniversary, is in the Dubai Mall. Before opening a store in Paris, I would like to succeed in Dubai first because here I grab all nationalities.
How important is it to balance online and in-store experiences?
You cannot ignore the growth of digital today. We are selling a lot online, but mostly to the West and to places where we are not present like the States where American customers buy through Farfetch. We can’t grow everywhere physically, brick and mortar are important to me, but you can’t grow as quickly. Store experience is important for fashion and luxury because you need to touch, see the style, even when you see it in the window you won’t be able to see the elaboration of the design unless you touch it. Both are important.
What is the best piece of advice you ever received?
To be assertive, and be more true to my DNA. And to call my brand Ingie because I was going to give it another name but my consultant who has been in the fashion industry for 25 years said to me ‘everybody has to know it’s your brand, your DNA’. I was shy at the beginning.
What is your most precious possession and why?
Maybe the pearl, because I’m very attached to my name as it means ‘pearl’. At the beginning I hated my name, even now I have a hard time with people saying or spelling it, but it’s my identity and the pearl is part of it.
What advice would you give to aspiring designers?
It’s very important to be persistent in what you believe in. Don’t start unless you know you have someone to support your back and you are going to be persistent and go all the way.
Ingie Paris Fall/Winter 2019 collection will be in the Dubai Mall Fashion Avenue flagship store from July.
Images: Supplied
