> 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

> 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!
SaveSave

Less is More JAUNE rebranding campaign

I know I always shared sneak peeks of my work before they went public but this time, given the ultra confidentiality i could not. I waited for the shops to open and the look book to be sent!
But now we can share it with the world:-)

As you know, Rectangle Jaune has been on the market for 28 years, strong with their high end quality DNA, they shifted to a smaller name, JAUNE, in order to reach more and go global.
To embrace their new design motto "Less is more", we decided to remove the pocket label and use only the yellow threads on the second button as signature:

Fun, right?
Also we brainstormed for weeks for the best concept to explain this uplifting and came up with these films, created by myself, directed by Ghassan Koteit and produced by The Filmhouse :



And this one starring Maya from Playing With Fashion:



In a nutshell, we are saying that while we are proud of our heritage, "change is the only constant"! So we simplified our approach to be more minimalist and enhance our essential qualities, which is in the current Zeitgeist...

Above a picture from the TRENDS wardrobe: new structures and patterns, with closer cuts.

On the blue background, a picture from the ICONS classic wardrobe.

And this last one is from the ACTIVE palette, with bold colors and nautical themes.

To celebrate the new branding and to present the collections into their perfect setting, BLEU design renovated our flagship boutiques. The elegant mix of rough wood and dark steel with bright yellow convey an atmosphere of boldness & warmth, portraying perfectly the style codes of the modern gentleman.

As you see, rebranding a landmark is not an easy step and it involves every possible aspect; for instance the website Jaune.me developed by ActiveWeb follows the same "Less is More" spirit:

Which is also conveyed in the publication:

This barely sums up the works did in every field to boost this launch, but more reports and posts are coming very soon so stay tuned! ~M

> Composing a picture gallery wall

 If you look around you these days, many homes, restaurants and fancy boutiques feature a beautiful wall of pictures in their deco. 

This vintage trend is not so difficult to recreate, and gives a personal and cozy touch to your home.

Here are a few ideas to inspire you...

You can keep it simple and sleek for a fancy symmetrical look, all frames are alike of course in this case:

Or draw an imaginary line in the middle of your wall and compose over and under, still fancy but a bit more dynamic. 

Frames are alike but of different sizes:

My absolute favorites are however eclectic & whimsical walls with all sorts of frames and objects:

If you like the whimsical option but are afraid to compose, here is a pattern for example:

Let your inspiration flow, and don’t be afraid as there is no wrong or right in this. It’s all about your own taste.

Look at this last fun example, beautiful ceramic plates scattered unevenly, giving a huge effect:

Simple yet with bold character!

You can check all those picture sources and much more ideas in a pinterest board I created especially for you right here. Enjoy, and start creating...

"On the road" fashion editorial ~ RJ sneak peek

You've read the book, or at least seen the movie...

If I ever want to travel through the US, it is merely for a road trip on the Mystic Iconic Route 66, but only as Jack Kerouac described it. Maybe because this time is long gone, or was never real... maybe because it only exits in our imagination and in the poems of the Beat Generation.

Here's our Kerouac inspired shoot, on a route you all know, in a valley not so far from here...
Enjoy!

Thanks again to all the RJ team & to Imad El Khoury, this editorial was shot in difficult conditions.

> TOKYO FEVER : RJ new catalogue blossoming soon

I cannot hold back anymore, i have to share this with you...
The new RJ catalogue is an ode to Tokyo, its manga culture, its smashing color palettes and its vibrant lifestyle!

Kawaii, isn't it?

> New Christmas Wrapping : Rooly Booly

Just a cute project I just finished for Rooly Booly, the new design of the wrapping papers:

Thank you Joe for the beautiful photos!

> From one season to the other: RJ minimag

This post means that I took too much weeks off from blogging, and I'm here to fix that!
I've got a lot to show you and will try to do that at least once very week.
Let's start with the new RJ catalogue for which I worked on the concept and art direction:

Warm colors, lots of blue, black and navy denim, as well as a lovely sweater collection...

Shot at Imad El Khoury Studio, Bouyouti & the Shouf Cedar Reserve.

Full Catalogue here: