Georges Hobeika was born in Baskinta, Lebanon, one of eight children. The story starts with Marie, his mother, who was a seamstress. At this time, this was a business and truly creative career, and she encouraged her children to assist in her boutique atelier. Monsieur Hobeika was the one who especially felt a connection to his mother’s work, but he actually studied civil engineering at university and, like some other successful designers — Gianfranco Ferré, for example — also studied architecture. The Civil War drove him to Paris, where he worked as an intern for several Parisian fashion houses, including Chanel. After returning from Paris, Georges Hobeika launched his own house in 1995, with his first collection shown in Beirut. His mother gave him her full support and shortly after closed her own business, referring her clients to his house. This was followed in 2001 by his Paris couture debut, whilst in 2010 he opened a Paris headquarters in the prestigious rue Royale. In 2017 he was invited to be a guest member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture.
Today, the main atelier in Beirut has more than one hundred and fifty people across all the skills needed for a couture house, from embroiderers to tailors, press officers to interns. The house works with amazing couture fournisseurs such as Maison Lesage, Jakob Schlaepfer, and Swarovski. It is a true haute couture house, combining the great traditions with modern design, elegance with creativity, and the past with the future.
Indeed, today, Jad, the son of Monsieur Hobeika, is answering our questions. Having grown up with the house since his training at the famous and prestigious École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne in 2022, he was announced as Creative Co-Director of the business. He brings a different generational approach to fashion, couture, communication, and creativity; all this in partnership and harmony with his father.
You are the third generation in fashion. How important is continuity?
Being part of a fashion house that has a long history is so important and so valuable to me. The archives, dating from the end of the 90s through the 2000s and into today’s modern era, are immensely inspiring. Witnessing this evolution is truly motivating, and I’m very grateful for this.
Your grandmother, Marie — her skills would have been “old school”, so that was passed down to your father, which I think is a wonderful continuity. Does he still remember things she taught him and mention them?
Old-school skills are crucial to our house and its continuation. Couture skills haven’t changed at all when it comes to creating a garment, moulding, and even small technical details; we still sometimes have to go back in time to create our pieces.
I note you studied at the École de la Chambre Syndicale in Paris and spend lots of time in Paris, but where’s home?
Home will always be the country where I was born and raised, in a house that values creativity and fashion from the second I open my eyes. This environment has been incredibly inspiring to me.
The terrible ammonium nitrate explosion in Beirut in 2020 has been largely forgotten outside Lebanon. How is it going in terms of the great couturiers based there?
From a young age, we have been taught to be resilient and to fight for our rights and the rights of those we love and care about. Lebanese designers have proven to be among the most resilient in the midst of the wars and problems we have faced. We never gave up on what we loved, nor on our passion for fashion and art. Through our creations, we send a message to the world, telling stories about our lives and asserting our presence.
Last season you explored Arab culture specifically. How important, amongst your mix of clients, is the clientele from the Arabian part of the world?
This collection has a special place in my heart. I always wanted to discuss and celebrate our culture and share our story with clients from all over the world. We can definitely not deny the amount of support our clients have shown us from the beginning until now. Their love and support for the brand has shaped our identity and taken us to places we never dreamed we would reach.
Is the growth of Vogue Arabia important or useful to you? It seems very strong as a fashion player.
Vogue Arabia has played a huge role in highlighting and giving a voice to Arab designers, becoming a leading player on the international stage. We are immensely grateful for their support.
Can you tell me a little about one of my favourite looks — the pale grey slouchy blazer and silver-embroidered trailing skirt?
The grey jacket and skirt with the silver embroidery was a take on mixing two worlds together. The very structured yet effortless fall of the jacket, paired with the sophisticated mermaid-cut skirt, is a pure portrayal of the house’s identity, reflecting our exploration of masculine and feminine elements and the fusion of diverse influences.
I was obsessed with the black man’s suit with the black masses of flowers on the back. Can you tell me a little more about it?
Menswear has played a huge role in the progress of our collections, where we can explore what a couture man can look like. With the black suit, we wanted to elevate the visual by adding the 3D flowers that were originally planned for a dress, taking the suit to a couture level.
Do you try on the menswear?
Of course.
I have been seeing Hobeika collections since the beginning in the 1990s, and for me it’s not simply about fashion or trends, but truly about beautiful clothes women want to wear — and indeed clothes men want to see women wear. Would you agree that couture is a fashion laboratory, but at the same time it’s a business and also has to offer a product people want to spend substantial amounts of money on?
Couture is not necessarily a piece of clothing that is easy to wear or needs to be commercialised for people to appreciate it. It’s part of the bigger picture of fashion, creativity, and art. It offers people a show that inspires them and takes them to places they wouldn’t normally see on the street or in their everyday lives. The people who worked and inspired us to become the designers we are today are those who challenged the ideology of fashion and how it can be worn. We are inspired by so many aspects of life that can sometimes be considered inappropriate or uncool, yet they show the potential and future of fashion. That’s how people evolve when it comes to everyday wear and fashion in general.
