Bags Carrying the Memory of a Country.. A Designer Celebrating Lebanon in Its Toughest Moments

- From the Rock of Raouche and the Cedar tree to the old Beirut tourist posters, Lebanese designer Sara Baydoun revives images from Lebanese memory in her latest collections, transforming familiar symbols and places into bags and accessories based on handicrafts and glass beads. Baydoun begins her discussion about one of the standout pieces of the collection, the "Grotte Aux Pigeons" bag, by reflecting on her fascination with vintage bags, particularly the small bags with intertwined metal closures, known as "reticule."

In an interview with Ofoq News in Arabic, Baydoun explains that she wanted to revive this old shape from a contemporary perspective, inspired by the Rock of Raouche, one of the most prominent landmarks of the Lebanese capital, transforming it into a beaded embroidered scene that embodies in her memory the image of the city and its period of prosperity, noting that the bag-making process takes about 22 hours of manual labor. The owner of the brand Sarah’s Bag states that this type of bag gained popularity among the European elite during the "Egyptomania" wave that swept Europe in the 1920s, where it was adorned with designs inspired by the pyramids and ancient Egypt.

From this visual heritage, she moved to Lebanon, replacing foreign scenes with the image of the Rock of Raouche and giving the design a contemporary local reference. The story does not stop at the design; Baydoun believes that preserving, developing, and presenting local crafts in a contemporary format is an essential part of her brand's approach.

In terms of execution details, she explains that the team began transforming the image of the Rock of Raouche into a precise bead pattern, carefully selecting colors of the sea, sky, and natural scenery. After testing multiple techniques, the work settled on a technique inspired by the movement of waves, relying on precise counting of beads to create a gradient effect that gives the surface of the sea a vibrant, dynamic appearance.

Subsequently, the bag is assembled and completed with a metal closure frame, a process that requires exceptional skill and precision. As for the materials and colors, Baydoun clarifies that part of the collection was inspired by old tourist posters, presented with permission from the Philip Jabr Foundation, and reproduced with the approval of the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism.

Based on the colors of these labels, the printed fabrics and hand-embroidered glass beads were chosen to reflect the warmth of Lebanon, its memory, and its Mediterranean spirit. In selecting the symbols, the Lebanese designer states that she turned to landmarks that hold personal significance for her, before re-presenting them with the brand's signature through playful design, precise embroidery, and vintage labels.

Born in a time of war, this idea takes on a deeper dimension when Baydoun talks about the timing of the collection, which began "Love, Lebanon" before the war and continued to develop during this period. As Lebanon entered a new phase of pain, continuing to work on it became more important to her, considering that the creative process had transformed into an act of resilience and a way to celebrate the country in its most difficult moments, as well as being an expression of love, hope, and belonging.

In a broader context, these meanings connect to her approach to handbag design in general, explaining that each bag she creates carries an emotional charge, whether it is based on Middle Eastern culture or revives a craft that is fading away and evokes the memory of a piece that was made in the past by grandmothers. From Baydoun's perspective, these pieces are inseparable from the human story behind their creation.

The bags are handcrafted by artisans whom the brand trains and supports, making the acquisition of the piece, according to her, transcend mere ownership of a product to contributing to the preservation of crafts and joining a broader path of empowering women.