KULLI ATELIER Honors and Celebrates: 100 Years of Marilyn Monroe
Some people enter our lives without ever meeting us.
Marilyn Monroe was one of those people for me
CREDITS:
Creative Director and Photography: Elias Feghaly
Model: Cleo Heine
Dress: The Nitty Gritty on Baxter
Hair and Make-up: Carrie Foster
Location: Mellwood Art Center and KULLI Atelier
Special Thank You
Ruth from It's a Stitch
Ziad Feghaly
When most people think of Marilyn Monroe, they think of the blonde hair, the red lips, the movies, the glamour, and the fame. They think of one of the most recognizable women in human history. But what has always fascinated me most about Marilyn wasn't the icon. It was the human being behind the icon.
She reminds us that people are rarely what they appear to be.
Behind the beauty was a woman searching for belonging. Behind the smile was a woman searching for love. Behind the fame was a person trying to understand who she was.
And perhaps that is why her story continues to resonate decades later.
She reminds us that we are all works in progress.
I remember when I was in college in Chicago. One night, my friends and I were having an incredible time together. We were young, carefree, and completely immersed in the magic of being alive.
As I was leaving my friend Emily's apartment building, I saw this beautiful framed photograph of Marilyn Monroe. Hired by Redbook magazine, Ed Feingersh shadowed Monroe for a week from March 24 to March 30, 1955. The actress, alongside her new business partner Milton Greene, specifically requested Feingersh for the job. He took a candid, documentary approach—shooting without flash, using a quiet, handheld Nikon S2 camera, and following her around the city
I was admittedly very intoxicated.
And for reasons I still don't fully understand, I took the photo.
The next morning I woke up feeling absolutely terrible about it. I called Emily immediately and apologized. I explained what had happened and told her I would return it.
Instead, she laughed and told me I could keep it.
That photograph followed me for more than a decade.
Every apartment.
Every studio.
Every creative space.
Every chapter of my life.
Marilyn was always there.
Watching.
Reminding.
Inspiring.
At the time, I didn't realize how important that photograph would become.
Years later, when I began creating what would eventually become KULLI Parfum, I found myself asking a simple question:
What do I want to leave behind?
What do I want people to feel?
What do I want to remind people about themselves?
The answer had been hanging on my wall the entire time.
I wanted people to remember that there is magic inside them.
I wanted people to remember that they are allowed to evolve.
I wanted people to remember that they do not have to stay trapped inside the stories others tell about them.
That became the foundation of KULLI.
KULLI means "All of Me" in Arabic.
It took me many years to embrace all of me.
The artist.
The dreamer.
The filmmaker.
The immigrant.
The Lebanese side.
The queer side.
The sensitive side.
The ambitious side.
The playful side.
The wounded side.
The healing side.
All of it.
When I finalized the formula for KULLI Classic in 2023 after seven years of development, I knew I wanted the perfume to become more than a fragrance.
I wanted it to become a reminder.
A reminder that authenticity is luxury.
A reminder that vulnerability is strength.
A reminder that the magic is already inside of you.
That idea eventually evolved into the Muses Sessions.
The Muses Sessions are not about recreating famous people.
They are about celebrating the qualities they awakened in us.
Every session pays tribute to an artist, performer, icon, or visionary who inspired us to dream bigger, create fearlessly, and embrace ourselves more fully.
Through fashion, photography, perfume, storytelling, and community, we gather together to create something beautiful.
Not because we are trying to become someone else.
But because we are becoming ourselves.
Marilyn Monroe remains one of the greatest muses of all time because her story reminds us that beginnings do not determine endings.
A difficult childhood does not determine your future.
Heartbreak does not determine your future.
Fear does not determine your future.
You can still shine.
You can still create.
You can still become.
That is what this Muses Session celebrates.
Not perfection.
Not celebrity.
Not fame.
Transformation.
Because every single person has a story.
And every single person has the ability to become something greater than the limitations they inherited.
Just like a diamond.
Pressure is not the end of the story.
It is the beginning.
So wherever you are in your journey, keep going.
Keep creating.
Keep believing.
Keep embracing all of you.
And keep shining.
The magic was never in Marilyn.
The magic was never in the perfume.
The magic has always been inside of you.
Muses Sessions by KULLI Parfum and KULLI Atelier
Creative Director and Photography: Elias Feghaly
Model: Cleo Heine - The Voice Tribune
Dress: The Nitty Gritty on Baxter
Hair and Make-up: Carrie Foster
Location: Mellwood Art Center and KULLI Atelier
Special Thank You
Ruth from It's a Stitch
Ziad Feghaly
