As you probably have seen from my Instagram, I'm traveling to London, Beirut and Milan today with my sister! I've been planning this for quite some time. I know The first thing we're all thinking-- WHAT ABOUT SCHOOL? Yep--It's definitely going to take a toll on my school (and definitely hers), but I know that that can always be made up for, and my professors are very understanding about my blog, being in the Business School. I'm graduating in May (inshallah), and I'm just making sure I'm SUPER organized about all my classes and missed days.
My main intention for the trip was to take part in London and Milan fashion week. However, a few weeks ago, I found myself communicating with the dress designer of my dreams in Lebanon, and now I'm flying there mid-trip to customize a gown with Saiid Kobeisy! The aspect I really appreciate about working with Saiid Kobeisy is the flexibility and creativity in creating a modest gown that will still be beautiful, simple and elegant for our wedding ceremony in July. While I'll only have a little less than 48 hours in Beirut, I'm looking forward to making the most out of it! The last time I traveled to Beirut, I was 13 years old, so I can't wait to see the changes, good and bad, over the years. It's always nice to get a little dosage of the Middle East, ever since we stopped visiting our home town of Syria every summer.
As for London Fashion Week, like I mentioned, this is my first time! While I'm not attending as many shows in London, I'll take this opportunity to tour the city and spend time with my favorite girls. As for Milan, I'm super excited to have all sorts of invitations throughout the day, and I've become a bit concerned about the amount of free time. Regardless, it's going to be a beautiful experience, and I can't wait to bring some modest colorful fashion to the streets of Milan with all the pieces I'm taking along with me from upcoming designers.
This definitely took a lot of planning, emails, scheduling, and overall screen time on my laptop over the past weeks-- it's not as effortless as it appears online! I'll be in London and Milan with my great friend Marwa Atik as well-- stay tuned!
I received a lot of questions last week as to why I missed out on NYFW. Honestly, I didn't want to burn myself out with planning all of the invites, accommodations, etc while balancing school a week before my next trip to Europe. I felt that I had been to NYFW quite a number of times (can you believe five!?), and wanted to save my energy and enthusiasm for Europe. I also had been a bit sick in the past week dealing with a flu, and knew that traveling to NYC would only make it worse (with all the cold weather and outdoor walking). I just took the time off to focus on different plans, and rest at home, but I loved seeing everyone's images, and I'm excited to go next season for sure!
Ultimately, never did I ever imagine I'd have the opportunity to travel internationally for fashion week, let alone design a wedding dress with a couture Lebanese designer. I'm so thankful for the opportunity you all have created with me, and I can't wait to take you along this trip!
P.S. I'm going to have so many photos to share from the little time I'm abroad! I'm planning to share all about London and Milan first in order to match live time, then skip back to my Beirut trip in order to give the images the full time I'd like. Stay posted!