{"id":12828,"date":"2021-10-14T11:24:42","date_gmt":"2021-10-14T11:24:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/me\/?post_type=articles&p=12828"},"modified":"2022-04-27T10:20:49","modified_gmt":"2022-04-27T06:20:49","slug":"dana-hourani-fourth-cover-this-issue-balenciaga","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/me\/articles\/dana-hourani-fourth-cover-this-issue-balenciaga\/","title":{"rendered":"Dana Hourani Graces The Fourth Cover Of Our Latest Issue Dripping In Balenciaga"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Lensed by Vladimir Marti with fashion direction by Anna Castan, singer Dana Hourani wears Balenciaga<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dana Hourani<\/a>\u2019s earliest musical memories were the Arabic anthems of Fairuz, Sabah, and Umm Kulthum her mum used to play on the car ride to school. The Sharjah-born, Beirut<\/a>-raised, Dubai-based songstress is the daughter of artist Diana Hourani Zeineddine so creativity runs deep both in her nature and nurture. \u201cOf course, being surrounded by art when you\u2019re growing up subconsciously feeds you, but it was an advantage in a way you wouldn\u2019t expect,\u201d Dana reflects.<\/p>\n

Dana describes her sound as honest, melancholic, emotive, melodic, and a bridge between east and west. Ironic then for an artist to whom freedom is so intrinsic, shortly after she released her debut single Ella Enta in April 2019, the world plunged into lockdown. \u201cActually, I was a lot more productive during the pandemic,\u201d she admits. \u201cI released almost all of my singles, and it actually gave me some time to focus on music, because a lot of noise around it was eliminated.\u201d The risk paid off as her singles Lahza, Enti Ana, and Yay blew up on streaming platforms, and her version of the Arabic ballad Zuruni even hit the number one spot in Lebanon. \u201cHow starting my music career during a pandemic affected me in a negative way was that live shows weren\u2019t an option for me. That\u2019s all.\u201d However, Dana\u2019s hoping this will change with the release of her first album Ensanein in November 2021.<\/p>\n

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Lensed by Vladimir Marti with fashion direction by Anna Castan, singer Dana Hourani wears Balenciaga<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIn this album, I speak to these two beautifully opposing souls that live inside each and every one of us. The souls that make us feel sensually shy, courageously weak, and confidently insecure,\u201d she reveals. \u201cNot everybody should be under just one certain category,\u201d she argues. \u201cI get asked this question all the time, \u2018What do you do?\u2019 I never know how to answer because I can never say \u2018I\u2019m a singer\u2019, because I\u2019m more than that. I can never say, \u2018I\u2019m a mum\u2019, because I\u2019m more than that. Why do we categorise based on what we\u2019re going through in the moment, when we can be so many things? We can go through so many different phases and we can be all of these people.\u201d There it is again \u2013 Dana\u2019s refusal to be boxed in that recurs like a leitmotif.<\/p>\n

Indeed, this duality is a sentiment that is also deeply felt by Demna Gvasalia, Creative Director of Balenciaga<\/a>. \u201cI was bullied when I was young, so I dressed in a scary way when I was a teenager so people would not come close to me,\u201d he revealed in an interview with WWD. \u201cI was actually a fragile, hopeless romantic deep inside, but I didn\u2019t look like that and it helped me to survive really\u2026 I realised that\u2019s what fashion is for: It\u2019s for yourself, first of all, and the way it makes you feel.\u201d Dana can relate. \u201cI feel like by nature, I\u2019m more of a shy introvert at first. I mean, I\u2019m confident but I\u2019m shy. The only place I feel like I could really show my personality is through my clothes, because I\u2019m not the type of person that is very outgoing. I don\u2019t leave the house when I\u2019m not working. And when I do, I\u2019m not a very sociable person, because I\u2019m an introvert. So I feel like I love to make up for that with the way that I dress. Does that make sense?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Lensed by Vladimir Marti with fashion direction by Anna Castan, singer Dana Hourani wears Balenciaga<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She certainly made up for it in the leafy parks and kitsch caf\u00e9s of Paris wearing Balenciaga Winter \u201921 for the Middle East exclusive cover of the GRAZIA 7 Senses series. \u201cI\u2019ve grown to be more classic over the years but there is always some sort of a unique twist happening when I put basic pieces together \u2013 like unique cut-outs or a simple idea with an interesting slant. Balenciaga is the definition of basic with a twist. There\u2019s always an oversized silhouette or something exaggerated in it, but it stems from a basic piece.\u201d And perhaps this is Dana at her most authentic: not constrained by clothes, boundaries or expectations. Her mother\u2019s art features haunting ghostly figures and according to Dana, \u201cShe paints her feelings in a very abstract way,\u201d seemingly oblivious to the echoes of her own ethereal melodies, process and purpose until this moment. \u201cThat\u2019s amazing. You just gave me a brilliant idea to use one of her paintings as cover art for one of my songs! I never thought to make the link.\u201d<\/p>\n

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@grazia_me<\/a> <\/p>\n

Behind the scenes footage of our shoot with cover star Dana Hourani dressed in @Balenciaga for our #7senses<\/a> issue #Balenciaga<\/a> #DanaHourani<\/a><\/p>\n

\u266c original sound – Grazia Middle East<\/a> <\/section>\n<\/blockquote>\n