Jenny and the City Exclusive interview with Lisseth Villalobos-Azab founder & Managing Director of Create Twenty Two Agency.

WHAT IS CREATE TWENTY TWO?

CREATE XXII is a specialty showroom in the heart of Hollywood. We specialize in bringing Middle Eastern designers to the US for special projects, celebrity placements, red carpets and sales opportunities. We are a full service showroom with hand-selected designers that have something unique to introduce to the US market.

HOW DID YOU START YOUR JOURNEY WITH INTERNATIONAL DESIGNERS? I started my journey with a handful of designers from the MENA (Middle East and North African) region. I split my time between Dubai, Saudi Arabia and the US for over a decade now and have always wanted to be the bridge between east and west in the fashion / creative space. Initially, we only brought designers during the red carpet season and then slowly grew to ready to wear, accessories, beauty etc. and created a home for these brands in our LA showroom.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE THE MOST ABOUT FASHION? I love the creative process learning about the designers and the brands. We only take designers and brands that have a unique story and creative process. I love that we are part of the growth and journey of the brands/ designers.

HOW IS A DAY IN YOUR LIFE?

A day in my life is always interesting, not one-day is ever the same. I travel quite a bit so that is always a starting point. My day will depend on what city I am in. My home is in Parkville MO right outside of Kansas City MO. A day there is usually very typical. I usually have a few calls scheduled from the Middle East between 2am and 5am then wake up again with all the mom duties to my lovely girls Yasmine 13 and Sara 9. Breakfast, school runs etc. Then head to the office to take more zoom meetings with my clients and/ or schedule meetings with members and sponsors of Fashion Group International where I sit as Regional Director to the Kansas City Chapter. In LA, I am usually on “LA time” taking meetings with creatives, photographers, celebrity stylist and buyers. I can attend 2 to 3 events a week for networking and spend all my free time at the showroom, strategizing and building up our process and procedures.

In Dubai and Saudi, I am dedicated to my designers, event production and management of several clients and taking meetings with potential designer clients and media contacts.

WHEN DID YOU OPEN AND WHY IN LOS ANGELES? I started the process in 2016 and opened our first showroom in 2018. Since then we have moved to a new location in the iconic Hollywood Athletic Club on Sunset overseeing the Hollywood sign and the beautiful view of the hills. We re-launched the showroom in April 2023.

All our designers are exclusive to our showroom:

Nida Lu - Turkey descent but from Kansas City

Sandbox - Jewelry – Egypt

Sara Tamimi - Abu Dhabi – Luxury ready to wear

Arak Studio - Jordan – Saudi Arabia – unisex luxury ready to wear Deuxlans - Luxury handbags – Lebanon

Mardini - Couture – Lebanon

Indira- Jewelry - Egypt

Zaid Farouki - Menswear and Unisex - Dubai

WHAT IS DIFFERENCE THAT YOU SEE BETWEEN U.S DESIGNERS FROM MIDDLE EASTERN DESIGNERS? The most obvious difference between US designers and Middle Eastern designers are the homage the Middle Eastern pay to their heritage and culture through their designs. Middle Eastern designers take pride in their culture, regions and religion and it shows through their designs, colors, shapes and garment details. Craftmanship is a big deal in the region most gown designers or couture designers have in house ateliers, embroidery, and hand sewn beading.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE WHO ASPIRES TO BE YOU? Never aspire to be anyone but yourself. We all have something different to offer, it can be in our professional field, within our communities, families, network etc. Never strive to be like anyone other then the best version of yourself. One thing that has helped me not to derail from my vision is not looking over the fence so much, I believe with so much access we have to each other and the vast influence we receive on so many platforms, it is very easy to get stuck overseeing some ones else’s accomplishments, successes and notoriety but if you spend all our time looking over we forget to stay focused on our mission and vision.

Social Media: @createtwentytwo, Website: createtwentytwo.com

KNOWN FOR: Amazon Freevee’s “Casa Grande” SOCIAL MEDIA: @katemansi

YOUR IDEA OF PERFECT HAPPINESS: PEACE. When your insides match your outsides and vice versa.

YOUR CURRENT STATE OF MIND: A New York one since I’m currently here.

YOUR GREATEST EXTRAVAGANCE: Wellness weekend with my girlfriend in Arizona last year. THE QUALITY YOU LIKE MOST IN PEOPLE: Authenticity.

YOUR MOST TREASURED POSSESSION: My grandmother’s custom made kitchen table that my father and his siblings ate every meal at and is now mine.

YOUR LATEST PROJECT IS: Very excited the world gets to experience Hunter in Casa Grande now!! #huntingseasonCG

YOUR DREAM PROJECT IS: Working with Mike White.

KNOWN FOR: One of the conjoined twins on “Good Doctor,” “Tiny Beautiful Things” and “American Auto.”

SOCIAL MEDIA: IG and Tik Tok: @elizabethhinkler, Twitter: @ElizabeeHinkler

YOUR IDEA OF PERFECT HAPPINESS: Petting my puppy Ellerie as she sleeps on my lap.

YOUR CURRENT STATE OF MIND: Hopeful- the people who know me joke that I am hopeful to a fault sometimes, but it’s just who I am. So I guess currently I feel extra hopeful.

YOUR GREATEST EXTRAVAGANCE: Hmm, I’m really not that extravagant. I bought $70 worth of chocolate one time because buying more made it more of a discount. It was totally worth it- it had cherry and chilies in it!

THE QUALITY YOU LIKE MOST IN PEOPLE: Compassionate understanding.

YOUR MOST TREASURED POSSESSION:

When I was five years old, my grandpa bought me a small gold bracelet that had “Love, Grandpa Joe” engraved on the inside. I told my grandpa that he didn’t have to buy me anything- I knew he loved me, and he replied that someday when he was gone, this will remind me of him. Today, I finally understand.

YOUR LATEST PROJECT IS: “Tiny Beautiful Things” on Hulu, with the beloved Kathryn Hahn.

YOUR DREAM PROJECT IS: to make my two-person play, My Sister, into a film. This play holds a special place in my heart - it was written specifically for my identical twin Emily and I by playwright Janet Schlapkohl. The story centers around identical twins in 1934 Berlin; one is an aspiring cabaret performer, and the other, a home-bound writer living with Cerebral Palsy. We won the Hollywood Fringe’s Duende Distinction Award for Best Acting and a Stage Raw nomination for Best Acting, and had four month run at the Odyssey Theatre.