Maison Georges Hobeika 

By Adele Cany

This col­lec­tion is a first for the Mai­son – inspired by and pay­ing homage to the Arab world. It ref­er­ences the glam­our and beau­ty of Mid­dle East­ern women, the joy­ful and cre­ative aspects of the region’s cul­ture, and the sense of com­pas­sion and care dis­played through­out the Ori­ent. Ele­ments of child­hood nos­tal­gia meld with the spir­it of the 50s, 60s and 70s to echo the joie de vivre of the eras’ par­ties, while a sense of stream­lined mod­ernism brings a con­tem­po­rary edge to the designs. Colour­ful sil­hou­ettes and play­ful details express the warmth of the Arab spir­it, trans­lat­ing a feel­ing of hope and com­pas­sion. For Co-Cre­ative Direc­tors Georges and Jad Hobei­ka, this col­lec­tion is a love let­ter to the women and the cul­ture which nur­tured them, and con­tin­ue to influ­ence them. 

True to the care­free, glam­orous atti­tude of Beirut in the 1960s, sil­hou­ettes are poised and ele­gant, the mod­els impec­ca­bly coiffed, as if step­ping out of the salon on their way to a par­ty. This sense of fun and hap­pi­ness is evi­dent not only in a vibrant colour palette in shades of red, green, pink, pur­ple and blue, but also in light-heart­ed inspi­ra­tions from Ara­bi­an cul­ture. The quin­tes­sen­tial cof­fee cup, cen­tral to Lebanese social occa­sions, is rein­vent­ed as an ear­ring, while the swirls of its grains – used to pre­dict good for­tune – are worked as prints and motifs across flaw­less col­umn dress­es. Tapes­try and rugs are also a key fea­ture, whether as dress­es or skirts, they inge­nious­ly wrap the mod­els’ body. Also, fringed bor­ders and intri­cate details reflect the ori­en­tal feel on shoes and bags. The spir­it of the 1001 Nights is present in the shim­mer­ing motifs and translu­cent designs, with a coat as if craft­ed from glass, and mag­i­cal tulle and mous­se­line gowns which appear to float, as if sim­ply sus­pend­ed on the body. Details from child­hood mem­o­ries – a trea­sured gar­den, a backgam­mon board – appear in the intri­cate embroi­deries which are a Mai­son GEORGES HOBEIKA trade­mark, along­side high­ly detailed thread work with a con­trast­ing tex­ture, repli­cat­ing the tapes­try and fringes of a rug: the house’s unique savoir-faire placed at the ser­vice of emotion. 

Also, evi­dent through­out the col­lec­tion is the con­trast between sen­su­al­i­ty and mod­esty, as dress­es twirl in an entranc­ing chore­og­ra­phy inspired by Ori­en­tal dance. Curves are at once enhanced and revealed, yet hands remain cov­ered through­out, with the gloves becom­ing a quin­tes­sen­tial ele­ment, a dégradé begin­ning at the fin­ger­tips and gen­tly shift­ing through the spec­trum of colours. Ornate bags are worked to match the gloves, con­tin­u­ing the sense of play­ful­ness and atten­tion to detail evi­dent in the whole collection. 

Cel­e­brat­ing the joy­ful spir­it and open mind of an entire region, Mai­son GEORGES HOBEIKA offers a time­ly reminder of its cre­ative roots.