Rad Hourani was recently home in Montreal between jaunts to Paris and New York City to shoot his Spring 2012 look book and video. I popped by his all-white Mile End atelier to find him perched in all black behind two tripods—both focused on the iconic model Kirsten Owen, who drove in from Toronto that morning.
Alternating between Ice Queen and Alien, Owen quietly unravelled before the lens, each flash igniting a fierce thunder in her eyes. Between takes, Hourani and I chatted about his personal inspiration. I discovered his name Rad means “thunder” in Arabic and “clothing” (how serendipitous) in an African language. The designer also added, “Le Rad in Paris is the last bar of the night that is open—a cool bar. It’s not trendy.” If you know anything about Hourani’s avant-garde philosophy, you know it’s not a stretch to make the connection. And, well, I don’t think I have to tell you what “rad” means in English. Here are more snapshots of our conversation.
