Memphian Lina Dweik launched her fashion brand in June 2021, and by year’s end, she has had her work shown in the Turino Fashion Week in Italy, received an official proclamation from Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, and is set to showcase her collection at Memphis Fashion Week (MFW) in 2022.
Dweik always harbored a passion for fashion. “It really started off ever since I was young, feeling a little left out in the fashion world,” she says. “I’ve always liked high-quality fabrics and elevated designs. At the same time, I wanted to remain modest. I always felt a little isolated. It was either high fashion that was revealing or very modest clothing that was so bland, so out-dated.”
That being said, Dweik never really imagined herself designing clothes professionally. In fact, she earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and is currently working toward her master’s in public health with a concentration in social and behavioral science at the University of Memphis. But, she says, “I’ve always been into sketching things I wanted to see or to wear.” And with that spark of inspiration and a desire to “dabble” in the fashion world, she applied to 2020 Memphis Fashion Week’s Emerging Designer Project, where designers have six months to make their designs runway-ready.
Unfortunately, with MFW planned for March 2020, Covid intervened. “It wasn’t your typical runway. We had to put our clothes on hangers and not models,” Dweik says. “It was still a great experience. Those six months showed me that this was something I really wanted to continue as a career.”
For her first collection, which she designed for MFW and is now for sale on her website, Dweik says, “I was really inspired by all things luxurious, and that’s why it’s called the empress collection. … For that collection I was really inspired by the women being so majestic and so royal.”
In the collection, Dweik blends the use of delicate high-end fabrics like silk and satin with structured cuts that emphasize a feminine boldness. The colors are regal with jewel tones and pastels, embroidered in intricate patterns that don’t shy away from drawing attention while still remaining modest such that each design is opaque and makes the wearer feel covered. “The whole brand purpose is to redefine modesty,” Dweik says. “Just because you’re covered, it doesn’t mean that you can’t express yourself, that you can’t express your personality. So with this collection you can pick and choose what reflects your personality.”
Dweik’s goal with each of her garments is to make the wearer “feel glamorous, empowered, and spoiled. … I think that goes back to my interest in psychology. I have this interest in helping people,” she says. “My whole reason for starting this brand is wanting to help women like myself.
“I want to break misconceptions, even in my own head, that modest wear is only for the Middle East. But moving so often, living in the U.S., Canada, overseas, I’ve come into contact with numerous women from different religions, races, backgrounds, and they have that same mindset of wanting to dress modestly.”
Modesty, to Dweik, has no borders, so it’s no wonder why she was asked to be a part of the Torino Fashion Week this November. Due to Covid, the fashion week was virtual, but Dweik had the opportunity to send her garments and models to Italy to film her collection though she couldn’t attend in-person herself. Even so, because of her involvement in the Torino Fashion Week, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris awarded the designer a proclamation for representing Memphis as a creative hub.
“Living here for so long, for over 20 years, Memphis has a special place in my heart,” Dweik says. “I really wanted to show that Memphis is a beautiful melting pot of cultures, and I wanted to emphasize that through how diverse the designs are. … We got great feedback from women who don’t look like me, and it was beautiful to hear them saying thank you for doing that and for showing the beauty of modesty and starting the conversation.”
Her next collection will be released in fall of 2022, but before then, Dweik is hopeful for her first actual runway during Memphis Fashion Week in April.
For more information, visit linadweik.com.