Meet the Lebanese Designer Inspired by the Atelier Her Great-Grandmother Built in Beirut

In the late 1920s, a woman by the name of Laurice Srouji established an eponymous couture atelier in Palestine. After immigrating to Beirut, Lebanon in 1948, she stepped away from designing; eventually her daughter’s daughter took up the family business and reopened the atelier. Today, her great-granddaughter Cynthia Merhej works out of that very atelier, now called Nos Intuitions and overseen by Merhej’s mother, Laura. Inspired by their long history of working in fashion and her lifelong immersion in the craft, the 29-year-old Merhej decided to establish her own brand Renaissance two years ago. Currently, Renaissance is only available through special order online but in the spring, the label will be stocked exclusively with Opening Ceremony in New York. “The name means rebirth,” Merhej says. “I am focused on the most fundamental aspects of clothing, like construction and form, and how it has been utilized to inform our identities as women.”

Merhej has an artistic approach to fashion design thanks to her former work as an illustrator, but she learned to cut and sew and fit during her time spent in the family atelier. Her clothes are crafted to fit any woman’s body and accentuate their curves, a technique that Merhej achieves with ruching, pleating, and boning. She designs beautifully minimalist treasures like dresses with ballooning at the hems, delicately draped tops, and sharply tailored trenchcoats. In a post–Phoebe Philo world, these clothes will resonate. As Merhej explains of her aesthetic, “While growing up in this very unglamorous atelier, watching my mother working with and fitting women of all shapes and sizes, I absorbed the essence of what couture really is.” She adds, “Years of continuously observing firsthand how a woman’s body intersects with different garments really formed my DNA as a designer, and I’m motivated to draw on those experiences and push couture forward into the future.”