About Milia Maroun

Treading the line
between fashion and art


Milia Maroun is the designer behind Lebanon-founded womenswear label milia-m.

The work of this multi-disciplinary designer crosses the boundaries between art and fashion.

 

Born and brought up in Beirut, Milia Maroun studied fashion design at Esmod in Paris before becoming a lingerie designer, subsequently launching her own fashion label in 2000. She is a pioneering female fashion designer from the Middle East – choosing to start directly in the domain of ready-to-wear rather than couture; placing accessibility, comfort, and femininity at the centre of her designs. Her client base can now be found all over the world. Having lived in Beirut, Paris, Damascus, Istanbul, and London, Milia Maroun’s travels have provided a constant source of inspiration.

Between 2004 and 2016, the Milia M flagship store was located in Beirut’s Saifi Village. Collections were shown at the launch of Abu Dhabi Fashion Week in 2007 and at Milan Fashion Week in 2008.

Meanwhile, Milia Maroun’s designs and conceptual work have been featured in exhibitions including the International Design Biennale at Saint Etienne (2004); The Future of Tradition – the Tradition of Future at the Haus der Kunst, Munich (2010); and the Boghossian Foundation exhibition Art is the Answer at the Villa Empain in Brussels (2012).  In 2015 The Beirut Art Centre exhibited her solo show Now/Here, and in 2017 she showed Object Permanence – Objeu Collection, at Beirut Design Week.

Kimabayas created with various collaborators have been exhibited in galleries and boutiques around the world.

In 2016 Milia Maroun set up a studio in the UK from where she evolves the two strands of her activity as a designer: conceptual works and limited edition Kimabayas which are sold through private sales and exhibitions; and the perennial ready to wear Millia M collection which is sold through her webshop.

 

 

1999

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2003

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2007

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2010

2011

2012

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2015

2016

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2017

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1999

Starting collection

2000

Moving into workshop

2003

Soi Soi Exhibition, National Museum Beirut

2004

Opening of milia m boutique

2006

Don’t Forget – Remember. Milia m boutique, Beirut.

2007

Fashion show, opening of Abu Dhabi Fashion Week

2008

Fashion show, Milan Fashion Week

2010

Kimabaya in Haus Der Hunst.

2011

First Kimabaya Exhibition, Brussels, Villa Empain.

2012

Collection, Saint-Etienne, France.

2014

Kimabaya X Bojka Exhibition, milia m boutique Beirut.

2014

Milia M X PS Lab.
Collection Installation.
milia m boutique Beirut.

2015

Panta Rei Eveyrwhere/Nowhere Exhibition, BAC.

2016

Green Studios, Beirut Design Week, milia m boutique Beirut.

2016

Kimabaya in Institut Du Monde L’Arab, Paris, France.

2017

Kimabaya in Aamarees, Newport Beach.

2017

Objet Permanence In Collaboration With Leila Pazooki,
Beirut.

2017

Kimabaya in AI Ostoura, Kuwait.

2017

Kimabaya in Geneva, Espace Muraille.