> Link to MM Corporate website

The planet is on hold, so are our events...

However, we are actively working in content creation and online video production! If you'd like to know more, click on MM-corporate.com !

> Launching MM corporate for flawless events!

I've been working in #ArtDirection for many years and it does feature a lot of things, but my favorite have always been EVENTS, CONFERENCES, TRADE FAIRS... SO here am I specializing into it! Watch this video to know more & follow MM corporate on facebook & insta !

> Shooting in Cinque Terre

From one Jaune Catalogue to the other, I have been busy working on the vlog, and one exciting project you'll soon here about all launching in a few weeks. but today It's time to share the Summer 2019 JAUNE campaign, all shot in Italy, inspired by the beautiful mediterranean villages of Cinque Terre.

Watch the video to discover the beautiful footage and why we chose this destination:

>JAUNE fall winter behind the scenes

You've been wondering what happened since the last time I was here? Well... Fall happened! And with it the busy schedules, winter campaigns, shop windows... But it gives me nice things to share, like what we shot for JAUNE. 
Aviation and jet travel was the theme and we were lucky to shoot in two great locations: MEA training center & conference center, as well as Cedar Jet.
Watch the full video for more:

> How TV Series Inspire Fashion & Street Style

In this vlog you'll discover that no matter in which time or era the series take place in, and no matter how scary or fictional, we are destined to dress like their characters...



More posts on the matter:

http://seenbymaya.blogspot.com/2012/08/thus-proving-my-point-fashion-goes.html

http://seenbymaya.blogspot.com/2012/08/downton-abbey-perfect-art-direction.html

http://seenbymaya.blogspot.com/2010/08/fashion-has-gone-mad-men.html

> Lebanese Men are Boooooring!

Why? Because they dress all the same! And they think their manhood is in danger if they try out some colors... Whereas on the contrary, what we search for in a guy is: individuality!!
Watch the video for more:

> Art Direction Behind the Scenes

You always ask what I do for a living; well, I create moods and stories for publications, events, fashion editorials and video shoots. Here's the latest one I directed for Kerkor Jewelry inspired by the Far East. Press play and enjoy!



My earrings are by Elsa O
My necklace is by Rouge Pasteque

> Scarf styles!

I wanted to name this post "Scarf Face" 
but Lea & Joe were going to kill me ;-DDDD

So why do my friends call me Madame Foulard? Because it's an essential in my wardrobe... Scarves can be tied in 101 ways and change your outfit from top to bottom. Watch the video to discover scarves... seen by maya ;-D

> Plastic is NOT Fantastic

It's that time of the year when we are almost always outdoors, in picnics, barbecues, parties... and the last thing we want is dishwashing! So what do we do? We use disposable plates and cups :-(
I am just saying that instead of plastic that lasts thousand of years in our environment, simply use paper... 
One thing i forgot to mention in the vlog: you can also use wooden cutlery instead of plastic as well.

Brands featured: Rana Salam

Disclaimer: All names and brands i feature in my vlog are my own favorites, when the post is sponsored, it will be mentioned.

> Accessories that rock !

One question I'm often asked: "Where did you get that necklace?" 
I really never go over budget with my accessories, but i simply love a piece that tells a story.
Each time I find a piece that's bold, wherever that might be, even on a street stall, I buy it and wear it with a simple outfit so that it shines on its own... 

Watch the video to discover some of my favorites like Karma, Issorya, Elsa O and Riwaya...

> Lisbon Stories

Ever since I saw Lisbon Story by Wim Wenders I fell in love with this beautiful city! And each time I revisit, i find new places and spaces... Here are my favorite spots since I know a lot of you are choosing Portugal as a destination this summer!

As you see, we were lately for a JAUNE shooting so I'm happy to share part of the work here, done in Caparica:



Last but not least you can still win a trip to Lisbon with Jaune: Check out the details here.

> ALWAYS ROCK ON!

As part of my collaboration with Kerkor Jewelry and Imad Elkhoury this year, i worked on two projects:
The Spirit of Seasons launched at the Malt Gallery during Beirut Design Week, of which I will reveal to you a piece each month of the coming year...

And Rock On! Which was their annual Christmas celebration:

For this, inspired by Heavy Metal concerts and Rock festivals, we actually shot Elissar's hands many times with front and back lights;
front like a music stage and back to shine on the jewelry pieces... And we layered them altogether as you can see.

The best part of all this was the active participation of every guest in the event, from the youngest to the oldest, and from the most traditional to the craziest one (me?) (!) So cheers to the Lebanese people, you surely know how to party!!!

Our annual Christmas event

A post shared by Kerkor Jewelry (@kerkorjewelry) on Dec 15, 2017 at 4:23am PST

Painting the Roofs of Paris in JAUNE !

Thrilled to share with you our latest work for JAUNE, the Lebanese Men's Style brand!

"Les Toits de Paris" campaign was done as a guerilla-shooting in Paris and would not have been possible without the flexibility of the small (but GREAT) team: Jonathan Caillat as main model & producer, Imad El Khoury as photographer & videographer, myself as art director & film director, backed up of course by the JAUNE style & production team represented by their manager Joe Daher who was so cool he did not even mind ironing the outfits ;-)
Hats off also to Daniel Baradie as well who always does wonders with our rushes...

I leave you with my favorite images from the lookbook:

If you like the clothes, they are available in all JAUNE shops!

> Pool Beauty Essentials

Summer heat, beach parties, inflatable donuts (!)... here we are again!
As much as I love the SSF trinity (Sea, Sun, Fun not Sacred Saint Family;-), my skin though tanned, dries quickly, my hair looks awful with chlorine and mostly I can never put anything to enhance my look except waterproof mascara... Right? WRONG!
I had the chance to work on the latest issue of Samoa Tendances and now I'm the Pool Yodaaaaaa:

 Well yes Samoa have lots of pool friendly makeup and a huge palette of colors!

So here's what you do: 

1- You read the mag online here

2- You shop the looks online on Feel22 and you get them straight to your door in 24 hours

3- You get a super discount, simply by adding my code MAYAMETNIFEEL22 !

This Velvet Lips page above is actually my favorite; It really embodies what I always say about Art Direction: be it a huge conference, a fun event, or simply art direction on a photo shoot followed by a neatly designed page, if you're doing it right you get the same adrenaline rush...

Summer 17 Tendances marks our last collaboration this year with Samoa. You must have heard of the #Samoa40andFAB campaign, the blogger collabs, the fun online management with JoesBox... We really enjoyed this opportunity and look forward to new adventures.
Till then, stay cool while you're twisting' by the pool!
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> Behind the scenes of #Samoa40andFAB

This campaign has been so overwhelming, and with so many highlights that I don't know where to start!!

Samoa Cosmetics has been on the Lebanese market for 40 years! 

I discovered it when i was a kid in my mom's vanity, and was always amused by the image of the samoa woman, confident and cheeky at the same time... Then the years passed and somehow it was always part of the scenery, but in a more demure way.

Therefore i was more than excited when Samoa reached out to me for the #Samoa40andFAB campaign!

So i unleashed my glitter and sparkles and had fun all the way!!

Creating the image of the campaign and the whole set of packaging...

Collaborating with Joe for the online strategy, we sent 40 countdown gifts with a daily personalized message to beauty and fashion bloggers across the country, and i loved playing Mr Darcy !

We also added a Style page to the Samoa Website, where you can check the latest trends and how to match them with your makeup:

And the official campaign launch happened at Memory Lane, where we had even more fun than our guests:

The next surprise is a blogger collab for the holiday season, but I will not reveal it now: keep following Samoa's insta and fb for more. Also, make sure to share your favorite product with the #Samoa40andFAB hashtag for a chance to win the fabulous collector box or even the FAB PARIS TRIP!!

> JAUNE Pop Memories FW 2016-17 campaign

Here it is!!! Our latest work for the JAUNE campaign!

With huge thanks to Chasper Sarott, who welcomed us in his unique flat. It was a pleasure to shoot between those exclusive artworks...

And a round of applause also for Tarek Chemaly who collaborated with us on many levels this season; his pop collages were the perfect setting for the fall winter collection:

You can check the full catalogue here, or simply let yourself immerse in our mood with this short clip:



Cheers to the dream team: Imad, Joe, Tania, Ghina, Bechara, Carole, Gheith, Daniel... and myself, creative director ;-)


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> New ZARA F/W 2016 campaign directly inspired by painter J W Waterhouse

Browsing through my fav blogs, I started discovering images of the new ZARA lookbook for the coming fall:

Photographer Mario Sorrenti & Stylist Francesca Burns named it the "Disco Forest", but it seems to me this is much more a Victorian Forest coming right out of the paintings of John William Waterhouse (1849-1917), from the Pre-Raphaelite movement:

Here, look again:

Same palette, same poses, same mood...

Don't get me wrong, I love being inspired by paintings or literature for my work, just like Hockney, Warhol or Wilde,
in fact sometimes I am afraid the art direction is stronger than the collections I am displaying. But what puzzled me in this particular story is that they did not mention their inspiration anywhere, not in press releases, not in articles.. unless i did not find them?

I am aware that sometimes I go far in my settings, but I do love real inspiration and story telling that invites my viewers to go the extra mile, whether they actually do it or not.

My two favorite JW Waterhouse paintings: Boreas, Lamia & the Soldier

What about you? Were you ever confronted by the importance of package v/s content? Art direction v/s fashion collection? 

> Adios Lookbooks... Hello Fashion Videos!

If like me you are a lover of all things pretty, even if you don't work in fashion, design or online marketing, you must have noticed the shift in mediums lately.
Of course "Print is NOT dead", in fact the book industry is doing quite well, and even if everyone is on kindle, many still love the touch and feel of paper.. Personally i even love the smell! However since I try to be eco-friendly I try to keep my books and magazines virtual, & I treat myself to an actual hard copy from time to time as a guilty pleasure...

But something is actually dying, hence our title today, and it is the Fashion Catalogue! 
It's a century old industry and even though we are still addicted to consumerism and fast fashion, we consume less and less catalogues. 
Why? Because Fashion Video is the new Music Clip! 
Even lookbooks are now tiny portions of moving images, as if from snapchat, just remember those Mango Cara + Kate Led screens at the beginning of the season...

Even when there is no particular story telling, the shift is here and it is beautiful eye candy! 

But when it actually tells a story, oh my, that's ART for me:



And will you look at that too:

Pure quintessence of all arts: fashion, graphics, composition, music, art direction, film direction...

The trend is also for fun, user friendly videos, where everyone can identify, like for example these videos for the brand I work for, Superga Italian sneakers:

This is the unique Man Repeller...

And here's one from our very own Lebanese bloggers, Elsa O & Bubblegum Fashion Face, for a workshop we organized together:


Fashion videos are even messing with other worlds, like cinema for example, and the great Kingsman X Mr Porter Collection
where the boutique from the film was actually a real pop up on Savile Row (I wrote about it here on Joesbox...)

Or Fashion meets Gastronomy by Mr Porter :


Of course, you have tutorials stars, like our youtuber & Leb Sweetheart Maya from Playing With Fashion,  or fashion event reports or many other styles..

In conclusion, you can do whatever you like, keep it around 1 minute, think of the details ( idea, composition, light, VO...) and the world is yours!

I leave you with an NSFW video by fashion guru Alvaro della Herran, for GQ men's fashion magazine, Spain:

Kinky isn't it? The theme is euuh, used and abused, if you permit me saying so ;-) but it is wonderfully interpreted and shows off suits quite well..

Hope u have good internet to enjoy all these,
love xx
M

> Old is the New Gold!

Some things simmer quietly here and there, with no particular connection, until one day they perfectly merge together into a blog post that says: write me now, write me now!! Have you ever had that feeling?
Allow me to tell you more:
A few days ago, Rana,  my designer friend, delighted me with beautiful collector gifts from the Iris Apfel x Le Bon Marché exhibition in Paris. 

Iris Apfel is a 94 years old fashionista, who refurbished the White House for 5 different presidents, and wandered around the planet for eclectic deco items and glorious personal accessories. She has a unique sense of style and a unique sense of humor. She calls herself the "Geriatric Starlet" and says that she'd rather be happy than well dressed...

Second simmering story: I am really eager for Season 2 of my favorite Netflix show to start: Grace and Frankie.
Jane Fonda & Lily Tomlin are in their sixties when they find out both their husbands are sleeping together, and have been doing so for years... They have to reinvent their life at 60! Show is hilarious, actors are amazing, and writing is exceptional: Highly recommended!

Third simmering story:
Yesterday, I was lounging and browsing, enjoying my last vacay day, and I stumbled upon a post by my stylish elder friend Rebi, showing these pictures:

 

After some digging, I discovered they were from a blog and book named "Advanced Style" by Ari Seth Cohen, an ode to the confidence and beauty of fashionable ladies and gents who are enjoying their later years with grace and panache...

And coincidence of coincidences, Ari just published (Saturday!) his new book: "Older & Wiser", and is currently on the launching tour.

Connecting these dots together, it seems that 70 is definitely the new 40! And according to this article in my fourth casserole, we are all gonna live more than a hundred years: so if you're going to flaunt it, do it with style, or many different styles.

I leave you with this thought from Iris again: "More is More and Less is a Bore" which is the direct antithesis of my last campaign ;-D but it only applies to the over 60 !!

> Subdued: Soon in Beirut!

If you know Subdued, you'll be thrilled to find out it's opening in very few days in Beirut!!!

And if you don't know it, here's the pitch : Subdued is a brand for teenage and 20 something girls but since we are all young at heart ;-D we're rushing to the boutiques (2 locations in Beirut) to get our hands on the accessories, backpacks, funky sweaters, lovely jewelry....

The Subdued girl has a playful and effortless style, she is a free spirit and is not afraid to speak her mind spontaneously...

With 30 to 50 new arrivals each month of bodysuits, bikinis, funny socks, ripped jeans, tons of shorts, flower dresses, (and i'm not even getting started!), AND mostly cool affordable prices, we now have a new reason to go shopping!!

Now i don't know who's most glad about this, my 2 teenage girls or me...

Oh and you should like their page now, cause there's a contest and a chance to win lots of outfits :-)