In a city that lives between collapse and creation, Eleven Dragons emerges as a pulse of creative defiance, a performance where fashion, movement, and sound merge into ritual. Born within Hunna, a sanctuary for mother artists and collective growth, the project reimagines what it means to create amid crisis. Through upcycled garments and gothic-medieval grace, the show becomes an invocation of defiance — an act of rebellion that chooses tenderness over despair.
Eleven Dragons transforms fashion into movement and ritual. What inspired you to merge performance, upcycling and storytelling into one experience?
I feel like the whole point of fashion design is to express what’s beneath the surface. I like my garments always telling stories because I always feel like there’s a lot to say, specially in times like these. It is my first time working with ucycling and it’s been truly eye opening. The simplicity of creating from what is already a creation is genuinely satisfying. The act of piecing together scraps of forgotten beauties felt like pouring something out of my heart. I will never stop upcycling now or talking about it.
For this project, I didn’t want a traditional catwalk, I want people to step into my story for a moment. The performance felt like the only way to communicate my message the right way.
The show carries a medieval-gothic-maiden energy, how does that aesthetic speak to the tensions of Lebanon today: collapse, resilience and imagination?
What we’re witnessing and living in Lebanon every day is something none of us were prepared for. And yet that collective resilience is what makes me want to keep going.
When I started creating this collection, I honestly just let it flow. I wasn’t trying to stick to a specific style or theme. I simply imagined what I wanted the pieces to look like, I knew the cuts, the colors, the accessories and the ancient energy just appeared on its own.
The aesthetic carries a certain darkness, not entirely gothic but deeply emotional. And come to think of it, that darkness reflects what lives inside us here. It’s the duality of Lebanon: never being at peace yet still finding an unexplainable peace in your heart in every corner.
Hunna has been described as both sanctuary and spark. How has this space and its community of mother artists shaped the creative process?
The first time I visited Hunna, I felt a certain familiarity, a sense of belonging that I rarely every feel, especially as an introvert. Flavia, the founder, and her two twin girls carry an energy that stays with you, they’re not just people who pass by.
The whole community of mothers coming together to create, is to me one of the most powerful things this planet will ever witness. Talking about it gives me goosebumps every time. It’s the merging of motherhood and creation, the very essence of life itself, forming something that words can barely describe.
That force, that shared energy of women creating from their nature, from their core, is what truly inspired me. It reminded me why I do what I do because that’s what the world needs from me right now.
Every element in this performance – from the music to the garments – feels like a conversation between strength and softness. What emotion do you hope lingers with the audience?
I want the audience’s first reaction to be a kind of gentle shock, not disgust or fear, but a moment of discomfort that makes them question what they’re seeing. I want them to pause, to notice, to feel something shift inside.
Through that mix of sound, movement and garments, I want people to experience the duality that exists within us all, strength and softness, chaos and harmony. It’s something I’m also learning to embrace within myself.
Art in Lebanon often becomes survival. What does it mean for you, right now, to create beauty out of what remains?
When I first started designing, I created out of pure love for creation. Back then, it felt like I was embracing the little girl within me, the one who loved Disney dresses, colors, and that sense of magic and majesty.
But growing up in Lebanon changes the way you create. The more your scratch beneath the surface, the more you see the unfairness, the injustice and the constant questioning. And for people like me, you can’t help but feel deeply and reflect, that reality becomes impossible to ignore.
So now I am, in the whole sense of the word, creating beauty out of what remains, transforming old garments into something alive again. This project in particular feels like pouring my heart out. All the unexpressed emotions, the rage, the grief, they’ve all found their way into fabric and form.
And maybe that’s what art has become for me. Not just survival, but liberation. My own way of freeing myself.
Eleven Dragons feels less like a brand and more like a living organism. Who stands behind it, and what deeper purpose does it seek to serve?
Eleven Dragons started as a way for me to feed stray cats and dogs. At the time I was heartbroken by how much I wanted to help but how little I could do. That helplessness is what pushed me to finally create what I always knew I wanted: my own brand.
But I never wanted Eleven Dragons to be just a brand. I wanted it to live and breathe, to stay human, to stay kind, to remind me and others of what truly matters. This for me is not about fame or money. It’s about contributing to my community, creating change, planting seeds, and improving the lives of both people and animals around me.
Who stands behind Eleven Dragons? I do, with every piece of me. But I’d like to think that behind it also stand all the people and souls who need a bit of light, a bit of hope. My purpose has always been to serve, to do good, to make life here a little more bearable, a little more beautiful.
I’m here because the world still needs sincerity.
Stephani Moukhaiber
Stephani Moukhaiber is the founder and CEO of Al Rawiya, a media company amplifying voices from the Levant and its diaspora. She also leads Al Rawiya Studio, the creative and strategic arm of the company, providing branding, content, and media services to clients. In addition, she serves as the Director of Programs and Operations at the 2048 Foundation, overseeing program strategy, communications, grants management, and operational excellence. Originally, Stephani worked as an organizational development consultant specializing in workplace strategy, including roles at global tech and consulting firms.
- Stephani Moukhaiber
- Stephani Moukhaiber
- Stephani Moukhaiber
- Stephani Moukhaiber
- Stephani Moukhaiber
- Stephani Moukhaiber
- Stephani Moukhaiber
- Stephani Moukhaiber
- Stephani Moukhaiber
