Hello, my lovelies. Is it just me, or is this pace becoming too much? Genuinely asking. Because lately I’ve been running on a kind of autopilot that looks productive from the outside but feels like a lot on the inside. Back to back, task to task, one thing bleeding into the next, and somewhere in the middle of all of it, I forget to actually breathe. And I want to be clear: I’m grateful. Truly. Being busy means things are moving, and I don’t take that lightly. But there’s a line between full and overflowing, and I’ve been standing right on top of it. Then summer shows up and does what summer always does: softens everything a little. The light changes, the mood lifts, and plans that actually feel fun start making it onto the calendar. It doesn’t fix the pace; in fact, it is a culprit of the fast pace, but it reminds you there’s a life happening outside the to-do list. What I keep coming back to, though, is balance, not the aesthetic version of it, not the “morning routine” version. The real kind. The kind where you’re allowed to be busy and also allowed to slow down without guilt. Where summer isn’t just a backdrop to more content but an actual exhale. That’s what I’m working on this month. And I figured if I’m feeling it, some of you probably are too.
While Paris had us glued to the runways, the region was having its own moment on a very different stage: Egypt and Morocco made a historic run to the World Cup knockout rounds before bowing out to defending champions Argentina and France. We are so proud of you!
F for Fun / Facts
What is lucky girl syndrome, how to afford a career break, are you a filler or a floater friend, and the broaden and build theory.
F for Fashion / Beauty
Paris Haute Couture Week was one of the most stacked couture calendars in years. With handovers, debuts, and a genuine sense that couture is having a real creative moment again.
Schiaparelli, Daniel Roseberry, with “The Call of the Void,” silicone bustiers, inflatable latex tentacles, real flowers embedded in dresses, baked fish scales, seashells. Iris Van Herpen continues her reputation as fashion’s resident scientist-artist, with the usual otherworldly silhouettes built through 3D printing and fluid dynamics-inspired draping. Georges Hobeika: A proud moment for us, the Lebanese couturier opened the week’s Beirut representation with his signature romantic, heavily embellished eveningwear. Dior, Jonathan Anderson, just a few days after dressing Taylor Swift for her wedding, unveiled his sophomore couture collection at the Musée Rodin, built entirely around sculptor Lynda Benglis. Pleated metallic gowns modeled on her poured sculptures, silver netting skirts recalling chicken-wire art pieces. Chanel, Matthieu Blazy‘s sophomore couture outing, “Gaby and the Beanstalk,” was inspired by a book of fairy tales he found in Coco Chanel’s personal library. Held at the Grand Palais with the whole space wrapped in giant vines, the collection reimagined Chanel’s own life as a fairytale, an orphan girl who became fashion royalty. Buttons shaped like a boot or a swan, heels made to look like pea pods and golden eggs, a bridal look that gave way to a little black dress instead of the traditional gown finale. Giorgio Armani Privé — Silvana Armani‘s second couture collection since taking over the house, titled “Boudoir,” moved into softer, more sensual territory, lace teddies under tuxedo jackets, near-black tones with hidden greens and reds, subtle animal print worked in tone-on-tone crystal. Stéphane Rolland took over the Olympia theater for a collection dedicated to Dalida, marking 40 years since her death, a sculptural lineup, finished with delicate stone embroidery and a surprise live performance from Tunisian singer Oumaima Taleb. Ashi Studio‘s Victorian heroine wandered further into darker, fae-tinged territory, leaning into a “Wuthering Heights” mood and referencing the legendary 1972 Surrealist Ball. Balenciaga, Pierpaolo Piccioli‘s first-ever couture collection for Balenciaga, the collection leaned into craft over spectacle, hand-molded leather panels hidden inside cashmere coats, a lab-grown silk alternative making its couture debut, one gown covered in over 24,000 hand-shredded gazar petals, and Gigi Hadid closing the show in a mass of hand-set feathers. Jean Paul Gaultier, Duran Lantink‘s actual couture debut. The show opened with his take on the cone bra, then moved through sharply tailored coatdresses, a dress that reads as normal from the front and reveals a twist from behind. Elie Saab presented “The Ball of Untamed Dreams,” leaning into masquerade glamour, black lace, oxblood velvet, feathered flourishes, and deep reds. Zuhair Murad went full Belle Époque, channeling the swishing brushstrokes of painter Giovanni Boldini, burnout velvet, chiffon, and satin cut to catch the light like the dresses were mid-swirl in a society portrait. Tony Ward’s “Whispers of the Dunes” translated the movement of desert sand into fluid gowns, sculptural tailoring, and hand embroidery that caught the light like sunlit grains of sand. Manish Malhotra became the first Bollywood couturier ever on the official Paris calendar, and he used the milestone to honor his mother, Sudarshan Malhotra, who passed away just months before he received his invitation. Titled “Maa”, the collection folded zardozi and resham embroidery, sequins, pearls, and rich velvets into French couture silhouettes, pulling color inspiration from the sarees she wore in the 1970s. Viktor & Rolf titled their show “Gilded Age 2.0,” staged as a mirrored bedroom scene where two models moved in near-perfect unison, pulling looks from boxes and garment bags. Pairing pieces in matching silhouettes but wildly different fabrications, so a gold-sequined minidress had a “modest” twin finished entirely in frayed fabric and hand-embroidered French knots instead. It closed with the words “Restraint” and “Decadence” spelled out in 3D lettering across the final two looks. Fendi, Maria Grazia Chiuri took her first Fendi couture collection home to Rome, showing at the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea rather than Paris, a full-circle moment since she started her career at the house under Karl Lagerfeld back in 1989. On the runway: black-and-cream stripes on sheer, diaphanous dresses, Art Deco swirls and silvery graphics, leather piping, fur-entwined embroidery, and soft, body-skimming tailoring that favored ease over spectacle. Rami Al Ali‘s collection moved from dawn to dusk in a palette of pearly whites and golds, sliding into grays and blacks. The opening gown reworked the ghutra, the scarf traditionally worn by Gulf men, into geometric, mother-of-pearl-embellished folds, which he described as a symbol of resilience when worn by a woman.
F for Fitness / Health
Could GLP-1 drugs make you live longer, what is Ferritin and why is it important for women,the eating habit that is hurting your brain, the difference between heat exhaustion and heat stroke, and life changing sunburn.
F for Food
Seeded tahini and chocolate bar, high-protein cheesecake oat, pancake mistakes to avoid, and what to cook for your next picnic.
Until next week, InshAllah.
Stay Fabulous and updated; reach out to book your styling service and to collaborate. Subscribe to my blog, my Instagram, and my YouTube channel, and follow my Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, threads and X pages. Don’t forget to shop my favorites from Revolve and Fwrd.
With all my love and a well-curated wardrobe
La Petite, Hanine
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