Designer spotlight: Georges Hobeika

Georges Hobeika discovered his passion for fashion design while helping out at his mother’s atelier in Lebanon and the engineer-turned-couturier refined his craft in Paris and Beirut. Today his fans include A-listers and royalty, and collections span haute, RTW and exquisitely made bridal gowns

Georges Hobeika is a designer with an increasing following, both among brides and red-carpet-event goers. Having dressed stars as diverse as Jennifer Lopez, Marion Cotillard, Zhang Ziyi and Emily Blunt, Hobeika has an eye for what flatters the female form. While his style is elegant and feminine, there’s always an edge.

Born in Beirut, Georges helped out in his mother’s dressmaking atelier from childhood – showing huge talent for sketching out designs. At university he trained as a civil engineer, but then left for Paris where he spent a year as an intern at a variety of haute couture houses – notably training with Chanel – before returning to Beirut. He opened his first atelier there in 1995.

Georges Hobeika’s move into bridal

The reputation of Georges Hobeika’s atelier grew steadily, as did his client list, and by 2001 he was creating wedding gowns alongside day and eveningwear for clients. In the same year, he began showing his collections in Paris, opening a European headquarters there in 2010. Today his design house employs more than 150 people and, alongside couture, it produces bridal RTW, plus two additional RTW collections spanning day, resort and eveningwear. In 2017, Georges Hobeika was made an official guest member of Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, a mark of both the refinement of his designs and his contribution to the world of high fashion.

Bridal collections have many of the trademarks that people have come to associate so closely with his work – fine hand embroidery and embellishment, refined cut and a flash of edgy contemporary styling. Here is a designer capable of producing both fantasy ballgown shapes and sharp slimline gowns or on-trend bridal pants.

Fabrics and finishes are exquisite and the hand embroidery and hand finishing that have always been a part of his signature are shown to great effect against purest whites, ivories and creams. Everything is produced in-house, giving scope for bespoke additions for clients and a much higher level of quality control.