The founder and editor in chief of Beirut-based magazine JDEED discusses her inspirations, biggest achievement, business tips and more
Tell us a little about your background.
I was born and raised in Luxembourg, a tiny European country, to a Belgian-Italian mother and Lebanese father. I’ve been wanting to pursue a career in fashion ever since I was 11 years old.
With that in mind, I completed a BA in Fashion Design at Istituto Marangoni after which I flew to NYC to join the Hugo Boss Studios then ran by Jason Wu for a year and finally pursued a MA in Fashion Journalism at London College of Fashion. I now live between Beirut, Dubai and Luxembourg but am most likely always on the road.
What inspires you?
People with the right dose of self-confidence and people who built their careers from zero. I’m truly inspired by ambitious, risk-taking individuals. Each and every person in my family has also been a source of inspiration at some point; they’re all pretty much everything I just described.
Favourite city and why?
I think people who know me will laugh when they read this as I mention my love for it at least once a day, but I definitely have to say New York City. I can’t really explain what attracted me to this town but I would literally dream about years before I ever even went.
I started learning English on my own, telling my parents I’d one day live there and hence had to know the language (my mother tongue being French.) I eventually lived there and I keep returning; the energy, the people, the food, the activities…I love everything about it.
Perhaps it’s because I don’t feel like I belong anywhere and that the people of New York are from just about everywhere, that I feel a special connection to it?