Show Me Your Teeth

Images by Yasmina Hilal

Words by Therese Raffoul, Edited by Jameela Elfaki

A fashion editorial by London based emerging Lebanese designer and creative director Therese Raffoul and photographer Yasmina Hilal. Creating a distinct path forward with her dark, thought provoking, sculptural designs; we get a first look at Therese’s debut visuals for the collection and a deeper understanding into the inspiration behind the work.

“It's always important to shoot my clothing in Lebanon, but this time more than ever I knew that the essence of “Show me your teeth” could only be truly captured there, worn by the women who mirror the concept it was created around. We shot at an area by the sea surrounded by hotels rumoured to harbour illicit activities. We found the cheapest room we could get and shot at sunrise.

My graduate collection from my MA at Central Saint Martins is heavily inspired by how predators [animals] reveal their teeth when they anticipate or perceive a threat, it is a form of communication, confidence and combat. However this collection is about women showing their teeth, it's about barking and biting back.

At its essence, my collection is an exploration of an Arab woman's shadow side, an expression of what some would say is a ‘less attractive’, ‘less marketable’ portrayal of women highlighting darker emotions like aggression, fury and revenge. The editorial was shot by long-time collaborator Yasmina Hilal, and this shoot portrays a cohort of women, following their own chain of command, very ready for battle. It was important for me to show the antithesis of the belly dancing seductress stereotype and move away from conventional notions of female identities.

We arrived at the location at 3 am in pitch black with the electricity being out, neighbours yelling from their window in the dark suspecting us of questionable behaviour. Our room didn’t have any electricity until 6 am, so the glam team did the hair and make-up in the dark, just using the flashes from our iPhones. Despite the stress it was a lot of fun and added to the reality and spontaneity of the moment. It wasn’t rehearsed, or highly produced, it was just our creativity in an old rusty hotel room. This was never a story of glamour or excess, this is why the images are rugged, shot on film, and feel in the moment, showcasing the women around me as I know them to be, animated, unafraid and raw.

A big inspiration was Nawal El Saadawi’s “Woman at Point Zero” which recounts the life story of an Egyptian sex worker, Ferdous, the day of her execution. I started thinking about what Ferdous would look like in my imagination, and carried that energy into the making of the collection. My initial research consisted of Boccioni and Duchamp’s sculptures and paintings, as they are frozen in time, as are some of the clothing; elements of time and motion were added to the construction, giving the looks a stop-motion effect. This is also expressed through protruding elements and optical illusions. 

Key references were the works of Kamel Yahiaoui and Ali Ajali, whose use of Arabic calligraphy as structure inspired the construction of some pieces in the collection; it also allowed for hiding words within the design, giving the garments a secret to tell. Combat images and bullet proof jackets were also referenced to further accentuate the military aspect.

Thank you to all involved with this project. I will never forget it, and I am so thankful for the amazing team that was so generous and kind.”

See more from Therese Here

Creative Director : Therese Raffoul 

Photographer : Yasmina Hilal
Camera assistant / Gaffer / Second camera : Tarek El Daccache
Make up : Andrea Najarian

Talent : Carla Habib, Celine Dagher, Elissa Sophia Assaf