You know when you see an Amir Al Kasm gown.

Billowing fabric coils around the body, anchored by precise corsetry and scattered with petals that bloom like flowers from the skin. The garments seem to move even in stillness.

It reminds me of when I first witnessed Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne sculpture, depicting the mythological climax when the Greek god Apollo frantically pursued forest nymph, Daphne. In her fear and refusal to be caught she transforms into a laurel tree. Bernini’s stone captures this moment of metamorphosis, Daphne’s fingers turning to leaves, toes into tree roots, caught mid scream.

As I stood in awe in front of the sculpture, I almost felt the whip of wind that Daphne would have created in her transformation. Behind me, the museum guide shared that the mark of a good sculptor is when a seemingly static piece of rock begins to move in front of you. That line lodged itself in my mind and has followed me into other spaces, far from the museum.

It’s the same sensation I get with Amir Al Kasm’s gowns. They live in this interplay of motion, where fabric starts to find its own rhythm, like sculpture in motion, caught at the brink of becoming something else.

For Al Kasm, he describes his own practice as a play of contradiction, when softness meets rigidity. That tension makes sense when you trace where he’s coming from. Born in Talkalakh, Syria, Amir Al Kasm moved to Lebanon and continued to pursue design at Creative Space Beirut’s School of Design. His most recent collection, “Mother of Pearl, Father of Dust,” is his reflection on finally returning briefly to Syria, the place that raised him. As he describes, “The walls stood in silence, a hushed testament to all that had been lost. Yet within the inlaid Mother of Pearl, I glimpsed the traces of life that could not be erased. Nizar Qabbani’s verses came back to me, reminding me that memory endures even when everything else has faded. This collection is woven from that longing: a tribute to vanished spaces, to fragile beauty, to love that survives absence.”

Each garment is also accompanied by a chosen poem from Nizar Qabbani, distilling the contradiction in loss, nostalgia, and beauty

“And if you opened my veins in your city,
you would hear in my blood the voices of those who are gone.” -Nizar Qabbani
و لو فتحتم شراييني بمدينتكم
سـمـعـتُمُ في دمي أصواتَ من راحوا
-نزار قباني

To show how that poetry of fabric and feeling plays out in real life, in this week's SELECTS Amir Al Kasm styles his favourite pieces from his collection with accessories that complete the look.

LOOK ONE
The Obsidian Set: ‘Minimal Drama’
Maison Margiela Leather Tabby Ballerinas
Chanel Gloves
Schiaparelli Earrings

LOOK TWO
The Pearl Remains Dress: ‘Soft, sculpted, & luminous’
Messika Jewelry Set
Messika Ring Set
Balenciaga Heels

LOOK THREE
The Heartshed Dress: ‘Volume meets attitude”
YSL Heels
Self Portrait Earrings
McQueen Clutch

LOOK FOUR
The Structured Silence Tailor Jacket: ‘A classic, always’
Jimmy Choo Shoes
Bottega Veneta Bag
Balenciaga Jeans
McQueen Earrings

LOOK FIVE
The Whispers of Pearl Dress: ‘Black gown, endless elegance'
The Row Heels
Erdem Earrings
Simone Rocha Bag
LOOK SIX
The Still Blooming Dress: 'White, weightless, and dreamy'
Jimmy Choo Heels
Oscar De La Renta Earrings
Valentino Gloves