VOGUE ARABIA | 22 March 2018

Vogue Arabia has previewed Marzook’s Fall 2018 collection, photographed by Eli Rezkallah, in collaboration with Signe Pierce.


Vogue Previews Marzook’s Fall 2018 Collection, an Ode to the Millennial Trailblazer 

By Philippa Morgan

The Kuwaiti designer siblings Fahad and Shouq Al Marzook of maison Marzook (the duo behind one of fashion’s most photogenic spherical handbags) have done it again. They’ve caught our attention. But this time it’s for the Fall 2018 season. The new collection, titled ‘Pink Noise’, is a riff on the concept of ‘white noise’ but rather than silence, the collection name highlights the unstoppable feminist movement that is sweeping the globe at present. Vogue.me peels back the layers of girl-power behind the brand’s latest offering in conversation with the founding directors.

Marzook is perfectly aligned with the empowered, modern woman who is speaking up, unashamed of her context, and proud of her uniqueness. “We live in an age right now where there is a thin line between digital and reality… There’s a fine line. This is the new norm. We wanted to show the importance of the movements where women are being heard all around the world,” Shouq Al Marzook softly recounts to Vogue.me. The designer’s approach is bang on the moment as we witness the meteoric rise of the #metoo campaign and settle into the news of Saudi women being able to drive in the Kingdom come summer 2018.

Marzook‘s future-proof collection is directly influenced by the digital era where we live betwixt and between digital and physical realities. Marzook refer to this state as “The Myth of Narcissus, a cautionary tale of straddling the nature of self Vs selfie.” In the Fall 2018 shoot, a ‘neon Mona Lisa’ holds a spherical glitter clutch, coated in unapologetic glitter, holding an iPhone over her eyes to reveal the world’s most recognised, classical stare. One comes to wonder if the new look book is a presentation of what’s new for fall or a cultural dissertation poised to challenge our perceptions of modernity and introspective endeavour? But then, the house of Marzook has always prided itself on igniting a high culture meets high fashion dialogue with its growing customer base. Testament to this fruitful approach comes from a cursory glance at its A-list clientele, including names such as Amal Clooney and Cara Delevingne.

Way back in Spring 2017 the house of Marzook broke out of its own comfort zone and strayed from the orb-like clutch-come-handbag and launched its first backpack. The design materialized as a harness for its iconic clutches. Then came the 48-piece capsule collection last Ramadan in collaboration with Saudi calligraphist Nughamshi. For Fall 2018, the sibling act have teamed up with Lebanese fine-art photographer and creative director of Plastik Studios, Eli Rezkallah. “This is our fourth look book that we have worked with Eli Rezkallah,” Shouq Al Marzook tells Vogue.me in conversation. “He lives in the most beautiful imaginary world. He can make ideas come to life. We wanted to mix a little bit of art futurist – self vs selfie.” And that’s where the new collection’s shoot deftly brings in US reality artist and performer whose perpetual subject is the questioning of hyper reality. “Signe Pierce has always been a big inspiration for us,” Shouq tells Vogue. “We have merged iconography and tech era for women, and this is exactly what Pierce does.” The meeting of minds that sees Rezkallah, Pierce, and the Al Marzooks serve up some thought provoking imagery, and no doubt will land the collection in the brand’s global stockists once more, including the likes of Alostoura, Kuwait and Les Suites, Paris.

The collection itself is versatile and sits nicely with your ‘material reality’ of jumping between office, family life, and social worlds. Ironically, Marzook Fall 2018 collection will also look well on your Instagram feed: from the juxtaposition of the feminine feathers and the tough-girl leather day bags that are new for the brand. “We have also created a day bag as opposed to evening… It’s different, it’s new. We like designing bags that are multi functional. We have made it more wearable and accessible. It can be a clutch or belt bag and it has a chain inside so you can carry it,” adds Shouq.

Showing no signs of slowing down, Fahad and Shouq exclusively told Vogue Arabia that they are making moves to launch into ready-to-wear for the first time and will be sharing its first clothing collection in time for Ramadan 2018. So watch this space come May.

The duo are grounded, despite having made a global impact with their brand that is only a mere six seasons showing amongst international designers in Paris. “Coming from the Middle East it wasn’t easy to establish oneself as an international designer,” reflects Shouq in conversation with Vogue.me. “Our bags are very eye-catching. We love art and we love design and through that we figured out a way to be a focal point of a woman’s outfit.” Diamonds? In 2018, a glitter-loaded Marzook bag is the millennial’s best friend.

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