Lebanese Fashion Designer Shortlisted For the Prestigious 2021 LVMH Prize

One more time, Arab women prove that they can shine in any road they take in life and shatter the glass ceiling, and young Lebanese designer Cynthia Merhej is a great example of success, focus, and determination.

The founder of Lebanese sustainable fashion label Renaissance Renaissance has been shortlisted to the list 20 semi-finalists for the 2021 LVMH Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in the fashion world, becoming the first Arab woman to be nominated among the finalists for this award.

Cynthia Merhej is an illustrator and fashion designer currently based in Beirut. She studied graphic design at London’s prominent Central Saint Martins art school and Visual Communication at the Royal College of Art in London. She then worked on a diverse range of projects for clients such as Thames & Hudson, Rookie, and the Man Repeller.

Cynthia comes from a family of designers, her great-grandmother and mother both had fashion ateliers, and the young woman launched her brand Renaissance Renaissance in 2016.

Her label is a great example of her feminine, edgy, fearless and strong style. And despite the pandemic, the economic collapse in Lebanon and the uncertainties the country is facing, the success of Cynthia Merhej and her brand Renaissance Renaissance is the proof of Lebanon’s endless resilience and limitless creativity.

Should she win the LVMH Prize, Cynthia will receive a grant $356,724 that will help her develop the label.