This was a commissioned editorial shoot for indie Arab fashion magazine JDEED. Titled "Blending in," the collection is an exploration of identity, specifically mixed identity. All the featured models are half Lebanese, and they are shown blending into their surroundings, a colorful backdrop, but sticking out like a sore thumb against the wider context of the city.
"This was one of the days I felt the most hopeful about Beirut. We were shooting these 6 half Lebanese young people in Mar Mikhail for an editorial on the theme of "Blending in." I had made it my mission to share their stories of belonging and identity that a lot of us in Beirut can identify with. I'm only half Lebanese; I had never lived here before I left everything I had and everything I had ever known to settle down in beautiful Beirut almost 4 years ago. I felt hopeful because all of us had chosen to be in Lebanon over any other place, and sometimes against all odds. And if we did it's because we know that Beirut is irreplaceable," says JDEED magazine founder Cynthia Jreige of the shoot. The theme stems directly from her personal experience as a local foreigner, never Lebanese enough for her home country, too Lebanese for any other.
Photography by Hadi Afif
Art Direction by Cynthia Jreige at JDEED Studio
Assisted by Rabih Arasoghli & Tiffany Murr
Art Direction by Cynthia Jreige at JDEED Studio
Assisted by Rabih Arasoghli & Tiffany Murr