Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke, B&B) and her real-life partner, Dominique Zoida, had no idea that their casual lunch in Florence, Italy, with designer Hicham Ben Mbarek, better known as Ben, would result in a transatlantic partnership with his latest Benheart store, located in the heart of Beverly Hills.
Soap Opera Digest: What was it about Ben that prompted you and Dom to want to go into business with him?
Katherine Kelly Lang: Ben’s story is so inspiring. It’s a long story but when he was younger, he had a heart transplant. He was lucky enough to get a heart and when he woke up, he felt like, “Wow, this was amazing. This was a gift given to me and so now I want to give to the world.” He had a vision of doing that, so he started making belts and selling them on the sidewalk, and he grew quickly to having his own small store. It was like a closet but from there, it just kept building because everybody just loved what he did. His work has got a lot of his heart behind it. It’s not just like, “Here’s a piece of clothing.” It comes from somewhere else: his passion, his love for life and people, and his gratitude, and I think you can feel that in the product. It’s more like a way of life and not just a fashion plan. That’s the idea behind it. Digest: What does Benheart carry? Lang: We feature leather hand-tooled jackets, belts, shoes, handbags and wallets. The pieces are 100 percent handmade in Florence. Benheart is not just a fashion brand; it’s a lifestyle. We knew a store like this would do well in Beverly Hills. It’s very much an L.A. type of store.
Digest: Describe your own passion for fashion.
Lang: It’s something that is an extension of yourself. It shows your mood that day. It should be an extension of who you are.
This story is from the March 16, 2020 edition of Soap Opera Digest.
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This story is from the March 16, 2020 edition of Soap Opera Digest.
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