Beirut Brand Flying Turtle Proves Slow & Steady Can Win the Race

For Lebanese designer Nadine Bou Arbid, fashion isn’t about speed — it’s about how far you choose to soar. Her label, Flying Turtle, founded a year and a half ago in Beirut, moves at its own rhythm, grounded in purpose but unafraid to take flight.

Flying Turtle began with a single accessory — socks — an unconventional yet intentional choice. “They’re small, accessible, and necessary,” Bou Arbid told SceneStyled. “Socks say a lot about a person, whether long, short, white, black, printed or not.” Each pair bears the brand’s retro logo on the sole and comes in two- or three-toned colourways that mirror one another, like the ‘Red Love Me Do’ and ‘Wine Love Me Do’ styles. The designs are playful but deliberate, with the both of them having white text on the ankle that reads “Love Me Do”.

For the first six months, Bou Arbid only produced socks. Then she added hats and headscarves. “I love headscarves because they give an attitude,” she said about her paisley, animal print, and floral caps. In turtle fashion, the label offers varieties of head and neck coverings in the form of hoods and turtle necks. Bou Arbid wants people to feel comfortable in her pieces, so she stays away from polyester, opting for quality materials like cotton and modal. 

Flying Turtle evolved naturally into ready-to-wear — ribbed tanks, cropped tops made from socks, hooded turtle necks, and oversized t-shirts that move with volume, evoking a sense of flight. The brand’s aesthetic is gender-neutral, rooted in a palette of greens, reds, blacks, whites, and greys — colours that suggest versatility over trend. They’re not femme or masc. They’re for anyone who likes to play with form and comfort.

The fashion designer produces everything in Beirut, her hometown and her current base. She waited to start Flying Turtle until after the pandemic and the country’s economic crisis eased, events that devastated Lebanon. She has worked with local trailblazing designers like Roni Helou and Emergency Room Beirut, experiences that instilled a desire in her to stay based in the country.

“Creating and maintaining a business in Lebanon is not easy, but it feels meaningful here,” she said, crediting the support of her friends and community for making Flying Turtle possible. “Many people told me to leave Lebanon and work elsewhere, but even with all the challenges, there’s something we have here that doesn't exist outside. I did an internship in Paris and couldn’t wait to come back.”

In 2017, Bou Arbid won the La Maison Méditerranéenne des Métiers de la Mode (MMMM) competition in collaboration with the Dior house in Marseilles to attend a workshop in the French city. The competition sought 10 fashion students from the Middle East, and Bou Arbid was chosen to represent Lebanon as a first-year.

Before they announced the winner of the competition, she was pinning fabric on a mannequin, taking her time with each adjustment. Her teacher approached her. “You’re slow,” she said, “you should go faster.” But then the teacher took another look at her and laughed. “Well, the turtle won the race.”

Bou Arbid didn’t know what her teacher meant until an hour later, when they crowned her winner. 

“Since then that sentence hasn’t left me. Flying Turtle is about exceeding expectations: not other people’s, but the expectations you set for yourself,” she said. “When they said I won, I felt like the world was pushing me, even though I didn’t believe in myself.”

After that moment of validation, Bou Arbid feels like she has only been pushing past her own limits both as a fashion designer and founder. Most recently, she has ventured into new territory through custom orders, working with clients to bring their vision to life in suits and dresses. A Flying Turtle Instagram post from early August showcases a custom light pink suit. The model sits on a stool, hands crossed loosely over his lap, between two flying turtles staged against a sunset.

“The intended Flying Turtle customer is someone silently present,” she explained. “Not loud, but you feel their presence.”

While she currently only sells in the city, she is looking to expand her sights within her community and outside of Lebanon.

“I see Flying Turtle as a whole world, maybe even a coffee shop one day,” Bou Arbid said. “A universe for people who want to challenge themselves.”