August 20, 2020 |
What will you find in Miami? Well the sun, and of course there’s the sea. Oh, and maybe a bunch of art lovers who flock to the city’s white shores for Art Basel once a year. Whilst it’s uncertain the latter will be able to take place in the flesh this year, there’s no pressing pause on the immense talent coming out of the city. Just take Shahini Fakhourie, for instance. Founded back in 2017, the black-owned, eponymous label is bringing a taste for sustainable streetwear to Miami. “I had always wanted to work in fashion but I recognized the lack of women-led, high-end streetwear brands,” explain Fakhourie. “[This] gave me the drive to start my own.”
Her interest in fashion blossomed on her grandmother’s kitchen table, where she was taught how to sew. Fakhourie’s grandmother made all her own clothes, prompting a young Fakhourie to take her wardrobe into her own hands in her formative years. Growing up in the 1990s, it was all about Tommy Hilfiger for the designer. Yet a slew of design internships in New York diverted her tastes towards the likes of Tom Ford, Alexander McQueen, Rei Kawakubo and the Antwerp Six.
Upon setting up her own brand, two pillars of her business were of particular importance to Fakhourie, that her clothes were both sustainable and at an affordable price range. “I want to price the pieces I create in line with the fabrication and production costs, not by any arbitrary set standard,” she affirms, adding that she will always be transparent with her customer that if prices fluctuate, it will be down to the quality of the product.
The designer’s latest collection – dubbed La Reverie – is inspired by the concept that “power can be found in submission.” Cycling shorts are soft to touch, embroidered with ‘Controller’ at the waistline. There’s a camel-hued cape, also, equipped with an added pocket on the back stamped with ‘Controller disconnected’. “Sometimes a soft touch and a willingness to accept one’s mistakes can embolden an individual,” continues the designer. “This softness is represented in the collection through minimalism and attention to finer, more subtle details of embroidery, hidden pockets, couture techniques and sustainable fabrications.”
Shahini Fakhourie’s ‘La Reverie’ collection is available online now.
