BEIRUT TALORING ACADEMY (BTA) IS A (TUITION-FREE) SCHOOL OF BESPOKE TAILORING OFFERING THREE SPECIALIZED TAILORING PROGRAMMES AND FUTURE CAREERS IN BESPOKE FOR YOUNG PERSONS HAILING FROM DISADVANTAGED SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS.
ROOTED IN THE ARTS OF BESPOKE TAILORING, BTA STRIVES TO FOSTER A VERSATILE ENVIRONMENT THAT SUPPORTS THE REVIVAL OF LEBANESE SARTORIAL PRACTICES, DESIGN, AND THINKING, AS WELL AS YOUTH- AND TAILOR EMPOWERMENT BY WAY OF BESPEAKING A UNIQUE NETWORK OF STUDENTS AND TEACHERS WHOM THE ACADEMY HIRES TO BECOME ITS IN-HOUSE TEACHERS AND TRAINERS.
THROUGH PRACTICAL, THEORETICAL, AND EXPERIENTIAL APPROACH TO BESPOKE, AND AN EXTENSTIVE SUPPORT SYSTEM FROM CONTRIBUTORS IN THE FASHION AND BESPOKE SECTORS, BTA TASKS ITSELF WITH PROVIDING ITS BENEFICIARIES - (STUDENTS AND TAILORS) - THE TOOLS NECESSARY TO NAVIGATE COMPLEX SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS WHILE SUSTAINING AND MODERNIZING AN ENDURING ARTISANAL PRACTICE.
"BTA AIMS TO PROTECT, REVIVE, AND MODERNIZE LEBANESE TAILORING AND RAISE THE VALUE OF LOCAL BESPOKE BY TRAINING YOUNG PERSONS TO THE HIGHEST ATTAINABLE STANDARDS OF TAILORING ARTISANSHIP."
BTA IS A FRENCH-LEBANESE NGO FOUNDED BY ALI JABER.
BTA’S MEMBERS
ALI JABER
FOUNDER
A LOVER OF EVERYTHING SARTORIAL AND AN UNREPENTANT OWNER OF TOO MANY JACKETS AND TIES, ALI JABER COMMERCED FOR A DECADE NOW WITH NUMEROUS BESPOKE MAKERS HERE IN LEBANON AS WELL AS RENOWNED ATELIERS AND SARTORIAS IN LONDON, NAPOLI, AND MILAN DURING HIS TIME IN LONDON WHEN HE RAN A BLOG COVERING THE WORKS OF THOSE AFORMENTIONED ATELIES, AMASSING IN THE PROCESS IMMENCE KNOWLEDGE IN THE WORLD OF BESPOKE.
ALI’S UNIQUE ACCESS TO LEBANESE TAILORS, WORKSHOPS, AND FACTORIES ENABLED HIM TO ASSESS EVERYTHING INVOLVED IN THE LOCAL SECTOR AND GRANTED HIM KNOWLEDGE IN THE local and international CHAINs OF fabric MERCHANTS. ALL OF THIS ALLOWED HIM TO DEVELOP CONCRETE AND INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS WITH VARIOUS LEBANESE TAILORS AND WHICH EVENTUALITY CONTRIBUTED TO HIS DESIRE TO START BEIRUT TAILORING ACADEMY.
HE IS A PHD CANDIDATE IN PHILOSOPHY AND FILM STUDIES AND A PROFESSOR ON FILM, FASHION, AND CULTURAL STUDIES.
ÉMILIE DUVAL
ÉMILIE DUVAL IS A FASHION DESIGNER AND ACADEMIC. SHE TRAINED AT THE BELGIAN LA CAMBRE NATIONAL SUPERIOR SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS IN BRUSSELS IN THE BAUHAUS TRADITION OF CRAFT AND CONCEPTUAL EXPERIMENT. SHE HAS DEVELOPED AN ARTISTIC AND FUNCTIONAL PRACTICE OF CLOTHES MAKING.
AS AN INTEGRATED DESGINER IN SEVERAL LUXURY FASHION HOUSES AND STUDIES, SHE MANAGED TO DEVELOP READY-TO-WEAR AND COUTURE COLLECTIONS FOR COMPANIES SUCH AS MARTIN MARGIELA, BALENCIAGA, KENZO, AND DIOR.
AS AN ACADEMIC, SHE HAS FOUNDED AND DIRECTED THE FASHION DESIGN SCHOOL AT THE LEBANESE ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS IN BEIRUT. SHE CURRENTLY TEACHES AT THE DUBAI INSTITUTE FOR DESIGN AND INNOVATION.
CONTRIBUTOR / ACADEMIC ADVISOR
CHANTALe FAHMI
CONTRIBUTOR / VISUAL DESIGNER
Chantale Fahmi is a Lebanese photographer and a photography instructor based in Beirut. She obtained her Bachelor degree in photography from the Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts in 2014. She is pursuing her master’s in Art Criticism and Curatorial Studies at Université Saint Joseph de Beyrouth.
Since 2014, she has participated in many group exhibitions in Lebanon and internationally.
Fahmi is the curator of many photography exhibitions such as Day 1, Behind the lens of displacement, Akkar through her eyes, Revolt, and the latest one Lebanon then and now in 2020 in collaboration with Middle East Institute in Washington and Institut du monde arabe in France.
Much of her work is about the memory through which she shows the importance of the past and its impact on the person's life.
MORGANE djafer ward
Morgane is committed to ensuring that individuals disproportionately affected by economic hardship have access to inspiring, rewarding and dignified career opportunities.
In an attempt to support social change throughout her work, she has collaborated with international and local organizations, focusing on the development of vocational training projects. Her expertise includes project planning and management, stakeholder engagement, impact measurement and evaluation, and fundraising.
For BTA, she ensures that strong relationships are built with partners, stakeholders, and communities to guarantee that all voices are heard and that the needs of our program participants remain a priority.
Morgane studied political science with a major in development project management and geopolitics in the MENA region.
PROJECT MANAGER