One Last Thing: Sarah Hermez on room service, bad music and hating questionnaires
Sarah Hermez has spent more than a decade proving that fashion can be a vehicle for something greater. A Parsons graduate, the Lebanese designer and educator returned home and, in 2011, co-founded Creative Space Beirut , a tuition-free fashion school created to give talented young people access to an industry that might otherwise have remained closed to them. The journey has not been…
Sarah Hermez, a Parsons graduate and Lebanese designer, has dedicated over a decade to proving that fashion can serve a higher purpose. In 2011, she co-founded Creative Space Beirut, a tuition-free fashion school aimed at providing opportunities to budding talent in a field often inaccessible to them. Despite numerous challenges, including Lebanon's economic collapse, the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2020 Beirut port explosion, and regional conflicts, Hermez managed to sustain the school.
Many of its alumni have since launched their own labels and received accolades from the fashion industry. Recently, Hermez herself was honored with a place on The Business of Fashion's BoF 500, further solidifying her influence on the global fashion scene.
For our One Last Thing questionnaire, we spoke with Hermez. When asked about her favorite time of day, she replied, "When I’m asleep. Because I’m asleep." When it came to dining, her preference was room service. Reflecting on her childhood, she confessed, "I’m still convinced they’re not" [referring to her parents being human]. Her aspiration is to feel "Free." When it comes to hidden talents, she claims to be "very smart, but it's very hidden."
Her favorite book is "Facebook," and she despises the music of her husband. What puts her in a bad mood? Questionnaires. If she could not live without anything, it would be ice cubes. When it comes to a dream dinner, she would prefer not to cook but rather sit on the sofa or out with friends. A particular smell that transports her back to her childhood is cigars, and a food that does the same is escalope.
Regarding her city of affection, Hermez mentioned Paris while clarifying she wouldn't want to live there. As for musical instruments, she said, "No. I married a musician instead." She has been on a motorcycle, but declined to answer the question directly. Her words to live by are "Trust the process." The one Arabic word she adores is "Merci."
When asked about a niche YouTube watch, she left it open-ended. How she takes her tea is in a teacup. The act that makes her cry is keeping her emotions bottled up until her eye starts twitching. As for social algorithms, they think she's interested in design, babies, dogs, AI-generated short films, and falling-over videos. Finally, she revealed that her Assyrian background from Iraq and Armenia is something most people would find surprising.
Written by urgent.news from The National Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
