What We Loved (and What Needs to Change) About ESMOD Beirut’s 2025 Fashion Show

On Tuesday, June 24, 2025, ESMOD Beirut held its annual fashion show at ABC Verdun’s garden, featuring 23 senior students and their final collections.

Big shoutout to Lana Itani for attending on our behalf and collecting insights straight from the designers themselves!

Dear ESMOD: Time For Change?

We really believe it’s time ESMOD Beirut rethinks a few things. First: the location. It didn’t reflect the energy or ambition of the students. We get that managing 23 collections isn’t easy, but when students pour their souls into their work, the setting and experience should rise to meet that.

When it came to styling, the same hair, same makeup, and same mood ran throughout. It flattened the individuality of each collection. What if students had more control? Let them choose their models, their music, their full vision. This isn’t criticism for the sake of it.

We’re saying this because we believe in the students and their talent. They deserve to be heard. Just give them the space to show it fully.

Congratulations to all the students who showcased their work. It takes courage and months of dedication to reach this moment, and every one of you deserves recognition.

Now… let’s talk about what we did like:

Who Brought the Drama?

Mireine Beaini — World of Mimes

“Turning everything normal into absurdity.” That’s what Mireine set out to do, and she did it.

We all grew up hearing: don’t do this, don’t wear that, why can’t you just be normal? Especially from the people closest to us. And if you dare to express yourself freely, you’re suddenly the weirdo. The freak. This collection says: so what?

Mireine took inspiration from clowns and octopuses. Creatures that shift color, texture, and identity to suit their surroundings. In her work, that idea becomes metaphor: what if style, self, and so-called “normalcy” weren’t fixed points, but fluid? What if change wasn’t something to hide, but something to wear proudly?

Best Use of Fabric

Zak — The Wow Signal

Working with goat leather is no small feat. It’s both thin and tough, demanding precision and control to shape without tearing or overworking it. For a first attempt, Zak gave it a real shot. It’s not an easy material, but he put in the effort, and that says something.

Then there’s the denim, stonewashed for that lived-in depth. The process involves tumbling the fabric with abrasive stones, breaking down the fibers to create a faded, softened effect. It’s gritty, physical, and unpredictable.

What made it even more interesting? Zak incorporated Nazca Lines as stitched embroidery across the garments. Ancient, mysterious, and visually striking, the symbols added a thoughtful layer of meaning. It’s rare to see someone blend tactile experimentation with historical references so subtly.

Caline — Inherited Echoes

Her collection, Inherited Echoes, is a heartfelt tribute to her mother, the woman whose style shaped her growing up.

She drew textures straight from the late ’70s and early ’80s: soft satin, delicate lace, sheer tulle, and structured leather. Materials that could’ve easily clashed instead moved in harmony, each echoing a different side of the women who came before her. No single fabric carried the load alone.

Balancing that range while creating looks that felt sexy, feminine, and powerful takes real instinct. That was Caline’s gift. Honestly, great job!

Best Storytelling

Mark Khoury — Étincelle

Mark, a ballet dancer and teacher, brought a forgotten story to the runway—one rooted in the darker corners of the 18th-century Paris Opera.

His collection, Étincelle, shed light on a time when ballerinas were admired on stage but mistreated behind the scenes. In other words, as sex workers. Figures like Marie van Goethem weren’t just muses; they were survivors. Mark carried their stories, and their silence, out of the shadows.

Soft pinks and washed greys glided down the runway like fragments of a memory still unfolding. You could feel the weight behind every look.

The wolf, a symbol of the predator hiding in plain sight, lingered throughout. And then came his words:

“As she runs away from the big bad wolf,
With ribbons undone and broken resentment,
The exhaustion consumed her,
Turned into a star in the sky.”

Gregory Ayoub — “Disasterology”

Greg’s collection, Disasterology, isn’t just about clothes. It’s a profound visual story diving into moments when everything falls apart, yet something new emerges. Imagine being trapped in destruction, but finding a strange beauty within it.

His entire vision springs from a haunting question in the song “Disasterology” by Pierce the Veil: “Can you create something beautiful and destroy it?” This single line sparked Greg’s exploration of that fragile, painful paradox. The tension between creation and destruction.

His garments powerfully capture this unsettling space. They don’t shy away from the raw intensity of the moment just before everything collapses, when the dust hasn’t yet settled. Through pieces that feel intentionally raw and beautifully rebuilt, Greg invites us into the space where something beautiful can be born from what’s left behind.

What did you think about ESMOD Beirut’s 2025 Fashion Show? Let us know! You can check out the Creative Space Beirut thesis collection showcase here:

Enjoyed reading about ESMOD Beirut’s 2025 Fashion Show? Check out: What This Year’s ALBA Fashion Show Said About Young Lebanese Designers