Fostering homegrown flare

ENAR

To the untutored eye, the minimalist Starch boutique looks much like any other high fashion store. Its rails are stocked with avant-garde designs from up-and-coming names – accessories by Dina Khalifé, urban fashion from Mira Hayek and designs by Marc Dibeh, previously known for his ‘Love the Bird’ lamp that subtly incorporates a detachable sex toy. But there is a key difference between Starch and the innumerable gleaming multi-brand boutiques mushrooming all over downtown Beirut. Uniquely, Starch stocks exclusively Lebanese designers; what’s more, it is a non-profit foundation dedicated to their advancement.  Once a year since 2008, Starch has scouted four to six young Lebanese designers and given them a crash course in creating and marketing their collections, which are then sold exclusively at the Starch boutique. Members also participate in international exchanges, such as the recent seminar organized by Starch at the American University of Beirut, ‘London Meets Beirut’,