Bil Arabi reflects beauty of Arabic letter

Lebanese designer Nadine Kanso is an artist photographer, a jewelry designer and a cultural entrepreneur. She represents the bi-coastal reality of many Arabs today — a reality that informs her work as both a photographer and a jewelry designer.
Kanso is someone who likes people and is inspired by them. She is creative; you will find her constantly looking for something different all the time and thinking out of the box. “I am a woman who is proud of her identity, language and heritage, and who has strong sense of her Arab nationalism,” she said.
In 2006, Kanso started her jewelry-designing career with a one-off experiment that merged Kanso’s background in design, her love for typography and predilection for all things bling bling. The result was the Arabic “noon” or the equivalent of the letter “N” in Arabic. Using 18-carat gold and embellished with semi precious stones, the ring — entirely handcrafted and designed — was a hit and soon enough, one letter led to the whole alphabet, which evolved to complete words and eventually full phrases. People began expressing themselves in Arabic and that’s what she named her brand, Bil Arabi, Arabic for “In Arabic”.

We spoke to Kanso to learn more about her jewelry line, the brand and her future plans.

What first got you interested in jewelry and fashion?
I am interested in fashion because I love designs, the stories of designers and the thinking process. I am not a fashion designer, I am an artist, a photographer and happened to become a jewelry designer after creating my line Bil arabi, meaning literally In Arabic.

Tell us the story behind Bil Arabi.
Bil Arabi was established in 2006, it was a way of expression and still is until today. I had a statement to make and found my voice after my first solo show at B21 Gallery in Dubai after being invited to showcase at the Victoria and Albert museum in London. It had to be different and making my first gold ring with my initials was the way to many other letters and words.

What inspires you when designing your collections?
The beauty of the Arabic calligraphy is an inspiration in itself. Having said that, many factors and events come into play and become inspiring as well. The desire to spread my language and heritage are also a big driving force. I want to show the world that we should not be judged and stereotyped.

Your pieces have been shown in an art gallery. Why did you choose to showcase your jewelry along with creative artworks?
I am the person behind my photography and my jewelry line, I am creative as well as an artist, who brings these two mediums together in a complimenting way; they also have the same line of thought. My latest body of work in photography “What If” had gold pieces as part of the work. Combining both is a natural evolution of my work and the way I see my projects taking form in the future.

Walk us through the process of making your beautiful pieces.
A lot of thinking and sketching goes into that, this is what is the most time consuming aspect of the process. My mind keeps on working even if I am not working until it sorts of all gels together in my mind. From there it is easier, as we try some prototypes and then try them on and approve them or tweak them.

You have just launched your first men’s collection. Talk to us about your inspirations and your work with the brilliant Samer Alameen.
It is a great journey and am very happy to work and collaborate on my first men’s line with Samer as we see eye to eye when it comes to design, fashion, art and many other things.
The inspiration is obvious, it is the Arabic letter in a new approach, a contemporary one, slick, chic yet classic. Samer and I worked on the font for few months and finally decided on this one as it portrays the man of today.

Who do you see wearing Bil Arabi?
Bil Arabi is worn by people who appreciate the beauty of the Arabic letter, have a connection with the language and identity regardless of whether they are Arabs or not.
The women’s line is curvy, feminine and round while the men’s line is more simple, slick and classic.

What are you working on right now?
Other than just having launched the men’s line, I am working on a capsule collection that is also a collaboration, which at the moment I cannot reveal much about. It is scheduled for March. The future brings surprises and I will be waiting.

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