Part style diary, part virtual inspiration board, the fairly new and fun blog beICONq8 was created by a group of two guys and a girl, MAHA AL WANYAN the photographer and editor, NAIF AL THUWAINI the graphic designer and YOUSEF AL TAHER the model.

“It’s about mixing all kinds of disciplines from fashion, to music, fine art and even acting. We want to show Kuwait and the world that fashion and art aren’t mutually exclusive. It’s about mixing both together to come up with iconic looks that are stylish and fashionable,” expressed Maha.

The group’s aim is to eventually get into setting up and styling fashion shoots in the future. “We don’t want to simply focus on big name designers. We want to explore various fashion looks, from boho to indie. It’s a reflection of what’s going on around us today. So many designers are inspired by what rock bands are wearing,” said Taher.

My favorite part of their blog is the photo shoots they created, that remind me of a group Gulf hipsters in New York’s East Village. More than ever we need alternative views on fashion from the region, and their take on style is a welcome breath of fresh air.

Written by Confashion from Kuwait

Images Courtesy of www.beiconq8.blogspot.com

Whether you’re heading off for a two-week Ibiza odyssey, taking the train for a day on Montauk or sitting on the beach , a well-packed suitcase is key for beach bliss. This time, leave the baggy t-shirts at home and follow our advice for a Dia-approved beach kit!

1)    THE SUIT: Break out of bathing suit boredom with a sleek suit from OYE. The Turkish designers behind the brand have created a tuxedo-esque suit and a maillot with ultra-flattering ruching. Or look to SPICYJUNE for bright bikinis with interchangeable elements.

2)    THE COVER-UP: Like we said: enough with the t-shirt. There comes a time when every woman has to retire her favorite concert/sorority/restaurant tee and upgrade to more sophisticated beachwear. Luckily, we’ve discovered Calm kaftans—breezy, breathable cotton, just enough embellishment, and roll-it-up ease make them an easy choice.

3)   THE SHOES: Stand out from the Havaiana hordes in Liwan sandals. These embroidered leather sandals bring a pop of color and refined finish to any beach outfit.

4)   THE BAG: Avoid confusing your beach bag with your neighbor’s by carrying a rainbow-striped tote from Sarah’s Bag.

5)    THE JEWELERY: You read right—this season, designers showed swimwear accessorized with handbags, hats, chandelier earrings and statement necklaces. Stay pretty in the shade with beaded earrings from Amrita Singh. For a dressier affair, try Bounkit’s gem-encrusted seashell earrings—fit for a mermaid.

6)    THE REST: Don’t forget a great beach read, and of course, the most important thing you can bring along to brighten the beach—a smile.

Love, Dia

Naturally, we have a few suggestions. Make the month of sports more fun by treating the next big game like a semi-formal or black tie ball. Any occasion that provides an excuse to wear a Georges Chakra dress is fine with us.

Or why not pretend you’re on the beach? Don a skimpy OYE monokini, a wide-brimmed straw hat and plenty of statement jewelry. The men may look confused, but we have a feeling they’ll make space for you on the sofa.

Although the WAGs (wives and girlfriends) of the players have been ordered to stay at home for the early stages of the contest, they still provide ample style leadership. Choose the many fashion ages of Victoria Beckham as your theme for a girls’ World Cup party. Just think of the possibilities: one friend can show up wearing long, straightened hair, cut-off denim shorts and a bright orange tan; another can dress like Posh on a day off. Of course, you’ll save Ms Beckham the serious fashion designer as a look for yourself.

The truly daring can consider going Gaga, creating their own theatrical costumes out of household goods. Punctured football shoulder-pads, anyone?

Is it our hard to find pieces from designers like Karen Karam, Bounkit or OYE?

Is it our online magazine updates, or must-know fashion and lifestyle news?

Is it trend reports, natural beauty products, or jewelry to die for?

Whatever your dia-boutique.com obsession, play editor for the day and help us shape the site to YOUR liking AND GET A $25 VOUCHER* from Dia - click here to fill in our online survey.

*The first 100 respondents will instantly receive a $25 voucher to be used on any purchase made on dia-boutique.com, valid until December 30, 2010.

To experience Beirut is to be constantly surprised by new discoveries; an obscure jewelry museum in a former Ottoman palace, a boutique hotel carved out of a 1930s town house, or a gallery of mid-century modern furniture upholstered in Bedouin textiles. All of these images make up Beirut today.

On my last trip to the city I discovered an intriguing boutique called Designers’ Entourage. Conceived by NEIMAN AZZI and GHENA HARIRI, Entourage isn’t simply an exclusive boutique selling expensive clothes – it’s a platform for ideas, serving as a regional hub of rare finds, including fashion, design and exhibitions. In the few weeks since its grand opening, packed to the gills with everyone from art students to designer ELIE SAAB, the store has become Beirut’s hippest destination. Its roster of bespoke designers from around the globe includes AZZA FAHMY (fresh from a collaboration with British design duo Preen), NIKOS KOULIS and MARIJOLI.

I loved the boutique’s spacious interiors, boasting arched windows and stone and antique wood details, alongside a modern minimalist aesthetic; creating the perfect setting for the designers’ work on display. The boutique is located in Beirut’s Saifi Khan building and you can visit Designers’ Entourage blog and Facebook group to view photos of currently displayed products.

Written by Confashions from Kuwait

Images courtesy of www.confashionsfromkuwait.com & www.deentourage.blogspot.com

Massenet, who looked gorgeous in a Carven dress, spoke of how she and the designer met, proclaiming Mr Henry a “young Saint Laurent”. Due to my full time internship (and an early morning appointment the day after), I wasn’t able to interview him the next morning before he traveled back to Paris. Luckily for our DIA readers, I did get to chat with him about his experiences and the transition between designing for Givenchy and PAULE KA, before his arrival at the House of Carven.

By now, what was once the best kept secret in Parisian fashion is out. For the last couple of seasons Henry has been carefully transforming this storied couture house into a must-have label known for its young, edgy take on glamorous French ready-to-wear. His debut collection was quickly picked up by COLETTE and MARIA LUISA in Paris, as well as Net-a-Porter.

Established in 1945 by MADAME CARMEN DE TOMMASO CARVEN (who is still alive and kicking at 100), for half a century she was the preferred designer to young girls and petite women (Carven herself was only 5’-1”), with a roster of famous clients including actress LESLIE CARON.

Green, her favourite colour (and a symbol of good luck) became the house’s signature shade. To celebrate the label’s reincarnation Henry commissioned Laduree to create anise-flavored Carven macaroons, packaged in the house’s signature green and white stripe box. Although sold exclusively at Ladurée’s rue Royale HQ, guests at the dinner got to take a box of the tasty treats home with them.

Written by Tala Samman

Photography courtesy of Myfashdiary.com and Carven Paris

Whether embellished in sinuous Arabic calligraphy or 1950’s Egyptian movie posters, part of Sarah’s appeal is her ability to capture images from popular Arab culture and repackage them in a thoroughly modern way. Her work ultimately reflects that of a new generation of Middle Eastern designers exploring their own cultural identities in the 21^st century through design.

Yet the unlikely story behind this luxury brand is as intriguing as the handbags themselves.  While a student in Beirut researching her thesis on the lives of women in Baabda Prison, Beydoun realized there were few opportunities for work available to these women once released from prison.

To empower them and help rebuild their lives, she began employing inmates to make bracelets which she sold; distributing the profits amongst them. The line soon grew into an iconic handbag collection packed with social consciousness. Though beautifully made and coveted all over the world, Sarah’s Bag as a brand continues to pursue its mission to better the lives of less fortunate women.

Continuing her exploration of Arab culture, Beydoun recently launched a line of handbags called Sabah Forever, named after the iconic Lebanese singer and actress whose prolific career spans over six decades beginning with her début in Egyptian cinema in the 1940’s.

At the launch party Sabah was the guest of honor amongst a throng of people who came to view Sarah’s latest offering embroidered and silk screened with Sabah’s image.

By Areej at www.pinkmsg.wordpress.com

Images courtesy of www.pinkmsg.wordpress.com

The chocolate fudge brownie mix created by the angels at Catwalk Cow are, indeed, fat free. Not only that, they are also free of preservatives, artificial fat and sugar substitutes, colorings and additives.

The mix is made from a rich ‘designer’ Belgian cocoa, raw natural sugar cane, unbleached flour and real vanilla pods. The inventor of this dream mix believes the world is too full of over-processed food and wants her children to be eating the best quality food, made with natural ingredients. SAMIA ATAYA, manager and founding director of Catwalk Cow, feels more people are in favour of adopting healthier eating habits and are willing to cut out nasty additives, excessive fat, sugar and salt quantities in their food. The trouble is, there are very few options available. For now, Samia is experimenting with her to-die-for brownies, but she hopes she can take it further with other delicious deserts.

Catwalk Cow is based in Sharjah but the brownie mix is distributed in 13 top Spinneys across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, with more outlets to be added shortly. Samia prides her company and product on being one of a kind in the UAE and says her goal is to preserve the integrety of the product and continue to use premium ingredients. Good news for all you dieters and and health nuts who constantly check the packet before you place something in the shopping cart. It all seems a little too good to be true, but I guess we’ll all have to try them to be sure!

www.catwalkcow.com/

Written by Fiona Davies

Images courtesy of Catwalk Cow

Even though the answer would be an endless list, my all time favorites are street style blogs. Not just any street style blogs… Photographers that create art and inspirations with a great eye for style. My favorites include JAK AND JIL, VANESSA JACKMAN, THE SARTORIALIST and MR NEWTON. Just like people enjoy looking at art, street style shots are just the same; which then lead on to inspire in many other ways.

Last September I met the very talented, Mr. SCOTT SHULMAN of THE SARTORIALIST, alongside his Streetstyle blogger girlfriend, GARANCE DORE at his book signing at Liberty, London. If you haven’t picked up his book, I strongly recommend having a look. Following on, one of the biggest highlights of my Paris Fashion week trip was meeting and getting shot by VANESSA JACKMAN.

Street style blogs to check out:

-thesartorialist.blogspot.com

-garancedore.fr

-vanessajackman.blogspot.com

-mrnewton.net

-jakandjil.com/blog

Written by Tala Samman

I have been interested in the current events taking place in Beirut over the past week or so. Home Works, the biennial forum on cultural practises in the Middle East, spands for approximately two and a half weeks and began Wednesday April 21^st and will continue until May 1^st.

The multidisciplinary platform for discussion and debate is run every other year by ASHKAL ALWAN for Contemporary Arts. They invite artists, cultural practitioners, writers, and thinkers to gather for ten days in order to share their works, which take the form of exhibitions, performances, lectures, videos, artists’ talks, workshops and publications. The participants are linked by their approach at answering some of the Middle East’s most common and timely questions, centering around political, social, economic, and cultural realities.

The program has been running since 2002 and every year the event takes place, a new set of topics and questions are posed to the performers, artists and thinkers. It has now become one of the most vibrant platforms for research and exchange on cultural practices in the region and further afield. I have been interested to see what topics have made up this year’s forum.

The first question participants have been asked to consider is: “In and out of education…what can we teach nowadays?” There is a recognised crisis in art education throughout the world; but despite there being several art degree granting universities in Lebanon, there is a widening gap between what is being taught in education and what is being practised professionally. “In and out of education…” asks how Lebanon can develop an experimental approach to art education that is challenging and creative but also responsive to the city’s issues.

The second topic: “Where is Beirut, Ramallah, Cairo…from the Saadiyat Island?” is a broad topic that may involve questions such as: ‘How does the Saadiyat Cultural District converse with and resonate through artistic practices in the region?’ and ‘What kind of economic effect could this project generate regionally and internationally?’ The idea is to get artists and thinkers to reflect on the future of art institutions, the global economy and the conditions of artistic production and circulation.

Sound & Citizenry is the third topic chosen for exploration. Looking at the relationships between citizens and sound, slogans and activisim, the politics of music and poetry and revolution. Such questions that could be asked are ‘how does sound relate to citizenery?’ and ‘what sounds do citizens make?’ The fourth area of debate is The Odd Years, a look at the events and experiences of the 1960s. Ashkwal Alwan has asked the performers, artists and thinkers to recreate work that shows how the 60s continually affects their contemporary modes of practise. Not only should they look at the disillusioned, dream-like and rebellious nature of the odd years (‘65, ‘67, ’69 for example) but they should give a more complex, detailed annalysis of the period that goes beyond the global student protests.

Lastly, Ashkwal Alwan has asked artists and thinkers to draw on the subject of Militarism, exploring how the army has a great influence over politics or governance in certain countries such as, but not limited to Syria, Turkey or Israel.

This year’s program has been packed with dance performances, exhibitions, lectures, panel discussions, film screenings, theatre and music performances and book launches that are running between 11am and 10pm in nine venues around Beirut. You can find a full run down of the program on Ashkal Alwan’s website and get an up to the minute scheduling of which performances and lectures are occuring by following the Home Works 5 Twitter.

Written by Fiona Davies

Images courtesy of Askwal Alwan: Home Works 4 2008