Milia Maroun and her unforgettable smile. (Credit: Photo taken from her Instagram account @miliamaroun)
In 2016, she confided to L’Orient-Le Jour that she no longer wanted to “be a victim of this frenetic race, to take the time to think, feel, compose, meet, present, and not just represent myself.” That is how she lived: working, leaving, returning, setting down her suitcase in Turkey, London, Beirut or elsewhere before this final departure — free and serene.
Lebanese fashion designer Milia Maroun, who later became Milia M, lost her long battle with cancer, which she faced with remarkable calm, strength and wisdom, but without submission — like everything she did.
This petite woman, whose white mane became her trademark before her illness, loved deconstructing knitwear, fabrics and silhouettes, infusing them with understated elegance.
After studying at ESMOD, she collaborated for a time with NafNaf, first as an intern, then as designer for the brand’s lingerie line. Her “firsts” included a debut collection in 1999, followed by her first runway shows in Milan and then Paris in 2002.
In 2004, Milia presented her pieces in Saifi Village, in a striking space designed by architect Raed Abillama, before leaving Lebanon in 2016 in search of new horizons.
When she discovered the magic, sensuality and endless possibilities of kimonos and Japanese fabrics, she created her “Kimbayas”: coat-works presented in galleries, boutiques and international exhibitions. “I love clothes in motion, clothes that aren’t formal,” she said. “It’s their lightness that gives them their value.”
Milia, who hated being described as “cute,” as she once said in an interview, drew her immense energy from her mother Hoda and her deep maturity from her father Nabih, owner of La Gondole, the legendary pastry shop of Beirut’s golden age. “Optimist, maybe not. Positive, certainly.”
In a final interview with Fifi Abou Dib on Feb. 25, 2025, she spoke at length in these pages about her passion for her kimonos, both fragile and powerful, describing her latest collection as a dialogue between past and present, in a language blending cultures. She concluded: “Never, ever stop. Always try to find that opening that makes us wake up in the morning saying: ‘I want to do this, and I’ll do everything to make it happen.’ That’s what moves us, not preconceived ideas.”
Milia Maroun’s journey ended too soon, last Thursday, April 30. She leaves behind a legacy of colours she so masterfully shaped, and a radiant smile…
