Lebanese fashion designer Perla Maalouly has created a collection of edgy costumes that is worth being featured in Science Fiction movies and worn by pop stars.
Perla, the creative director and founder of the growing Lebanese label, Hardcore Beirut, told The961 that she actually worked on this collection in 2019, but has been keeping it under wraps because she felt Lebanon wasn’t ready for this kind of style.
“People here tend to go for ‘pretty’ things rather than bold, powerful, and dark designs,” she observed. “Maybe they are afraid of it or afraid of showing their edgier side.”
Perla herself derives her dark aesthetic from experiences in her own life inspiring her to turn difficult situations and ‘dark times’ into unique statement pieces.
An example of this is her project, Be for Beirut.
In the wake of the Beirut Port Explosion, she designed a collection using fabric damaged in the blast and dedicated it to raising funds for people whose homes were damaged in the tragedy.
Without further ado, here are some of the costumes from her Death Addict collection: