Paris Fashion Week: Spotlight on Charbel Abou Zeidan the prodigy artistic director of Octogony, where architecture meet fashion design. (c) Octogony.
Just when it felt like architecture would be the last of the arts to fully embrace fashion, Charbel Abou Zeidan set out to prove otherwise. CEO & artistic director of Octogony, Charbel will seduce you with minimalist, pure, and inspiring creations. The brand wants to be timeless and elegant. From architecture to fashion design, Charbel and his team will know how to embellish you with their unique creations. They for sure seduced me with their new beautiful collection at Paris Fashion Week, where they invited us at their presentation at the Délégation Générale de Wallonie-Bruxelles.
A Lebanese architect by training, recently settled in Belgium, Charbel worked for 17 years in the world of Haute Couture and ready-to-wear. Fascinated by brutalism and the refined constructions characteristic of the 1960s, love at first sight is instantaneous when he encounters the building with its imposing octagonal windows. For Octogony : ‘’The brand symbol, the octangle. Half oval, half rectangle, is found in every detail: the monogram, the buckles specially created for the brand, the finishes of the shoulder strap, the shape of the flaps. But beyond the aesthetics, the functional appearance of Octogony is also the subject of special attention: No accessory is really accessory. Everything has meaning and a function. Several even. Each model has been imagined with its secondary bag, and the accessories accompanying them. It’s humble luxury. Which is anchored in everyday while magnifying it. Which settle over time. High quality materials, timeless style. Minimalist and modular. Clean, modern geometric lines. A luxury with a sense of reality and responsibility, considered for daily use. And more basically, for a lifetime.’’
A Lebanese architect by training, recently settled in Belgium, Charbel worked for 17 years in the world of Haute Couture and ready-to-wear. Fascinated by brutalism and the refined constructions characteristic of the 1960s, love at first sight is instantaneous when he encounters the building with its imposing octagonal windows. For Octogony : ‘’The brand symbol, the octangle. Half oval, half rectangle, is found in every detail: the monogram, the buckles specially created for the brand, the finishes of the shoulder strap, the shape of the flaps. But beyond the aesthetics, the functional appearance of Octogony is also the subject of special attention: No accessory is really accessory. Everything has meaning and a function. Several even. Each model has been imagined with its secondary bag, and the accessories accompanying them. It’s humble luxury. Which is anchored in everyday while magnifying it. Which settle over time. High quality materials, timeless style. Minimalist and modular. Clean, modern geometric lines. A luxury with a sense of reality and responsibility, considered for daily use. And more basically, for a lifetime.’’
Interview Charbel Abou Zeidan
Paris Fashion Week: Spotlight on Charbel Abou Zeidan the prodigy artistic director of Octogony, where architecture meet fashion design. (c) Octogony.
- Can You introduce yourself ?
I am Charbel the artistic director of Octogony since 2020. I was born in Lebanon and I am living in Belgium for 12 years.
- Can you tell us all about your history, do you remember the very first piece you create and the moment you decide “This is it, I’m gonna create my own dress/luxury brand”?
It starting with a meeting with Marie Mys (Head of Business at Octogony) about a general project. And the meeting was in Fosbury & Sons building done by the architecte Constantin Brodzki's from the 60’s. It is a beautiful BRUTALIST building, with vertical module which are the windows. We were in the waiting room, wioth one window in front of me.I was watching it and this was the moment I was thinking “yes, the inspiration is here in front of me, it will be a nice homage to the architect especially, to this estatic architecture, I have appreciation for it.” And that was the start of everything.
- Why did you choose to create bag specifically?
That was one of the requirements I was call for, to create a bag company, and it is an experience I never had fully. I designed couture. Bag was never my main job but that was an opportunity to go full on, to experiment and to see how I could translate my vision. Now it suits me perfectly. This is very weird because in life I never wear accessories or anything but this is the best way for me to share my artistic point of view, in an accessory I would never think about of before.
- What's your favorite part about being a fashion designer, what is your strength ?
I think to have a base as an architect give you a different perspective on different aspect of art. I see thing in a different angle, as an architect angle. So, this is what give me strength with fashion but at the same time, lot of people don’t understand the fact than an architect can be a fashion designer. Most people don’t get the idea that architect are like cameleon and multifaced. To be architect and fashion designer make sense. This is the same thing for painting, for sculpture for example. The vision, the starting point are the same, we observe life and what it is around us and you can translate to different aspect of art. For me doing the bag or painting, or doing sculpture is the same process. You just need the knowledge of “How to do it” and you can do any of those things.
- What inspired you the most when you create?
Architecture and art are definitely my starting point. I am always looking for beautiful architecture, mostly brutalist, minimal. I follow art, I study art so I am always looking at different types of art. I never limitate myself in one style of one inspiration, I am very open to see everything happening to get the best of everything happening and then I got my own style automatically.
- If your collection was a person how would you describe it?
I would say somebody unpredictable. Somebody that had a classic value but has his own way of living. With a lot of contrast or somebody who valued tradition but at the same time modern. Somebody rich on the heart from different inspiration from different experiences.
- What do you love the most about working in this passion/job?
I love my job because it allowed to free, at the same time to adapt, and this is a challenge to always have to adapt. And for me I appreciate this challenge. I love to be put my mind into somebody’s head so for me the fact that you have freedom to design, to be inspired. This is what I love the most.
- Do you think true invention in fashion is still possible?
Actually, I know a French quote “Rien ne se perd rien ne se crée tout se transforme’’. In english it means Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed. So this is correct 90% of the time, but there is always the 10% that surprises you which will be how to put things together how to use the materials, how to assembly the idea together, this is the surprising part.
- Your favorite memory so far and why? The first memory of Fashion I thought, it is a photoshoot made by Richard Avedon with Nadja Auermann. And looking at this picture was an opening mind I was like “Wow this is so strong, and beyond fashion. And I think this is my first good memory about fashion.
- What can we wish you for the future?
To continue as long as possible my work in fashion, to have more opportunities to create, to do mistakes and to learn from them and do better.
I am Charbel the artistic director of Octogony since 2020. I was born in Lebanon and I am living in Belgium for 12 years.
- Can you tell us all about your history, do you remember the very first piece you create and the moment you decide “This is it, I’m gonna create my own dress/luxury brand”?
It starting with a meeting with Marie Mys (Head of Business at Octogony) about a general project. And the meeting was in Fosbury & Sons building done by the architecte Constantin Brodzki's from the 60’s. It is a beautiful BRUTALIST building, with vertical module which are the windows. We were in the waiting room, wioth one window in front of me.I was watching it and this was the moment I was thinking “yes, the inspiration is here in front of me, it will be a nice homage to the architect especially, to this estatic architecture, I have appreciation for it.” And that was the start of everything.
- Why did you choose to create bag specifically?
That was one of the requirements I was call for, to create a bag company, and it is an experience I never had fully. I designed couture. Bag was never my main job but that was an opportunity to go full on, to experiment and to see how I could translate my vision. Now it suits me perfectly. This is very weird because in life I never wear accessories or anything but this is the best way for me to share my artistic point of view, in an accessory I would never think about of before.
- What's your favorite part about being a fashion designer, what is your strength ?
I think to have a base as an architect give you a different perspective on different aspect of art. I see thing in a different angle, as an architect angle. So, this is what give me strength with fashion but at the same time, lot of people don’t understand the fact than an architect can be a fashion designer. Most people don’t get the idea that architect are like cameleon and multifaced. To be architect and fashion designer make sense. This is the same thing for painting, for sculpture for example. The vision, the starting point are the same, we observe life and what it is around us and you can translate to different aspect of art. For me doing the bag or painting, or doing sculpture is the same process. You just need the knowledge of “How to do it” and you can do any of those things.
- What inspired you the most when you create?
Architecture and art are definitely my starting point. I am always looking for beautiful architecture, mostly brutalist, minimal. I follow art, I study art so I am always looking at different types of art. I never limitate myself in one style of one inspiration, I am very open to see everything happening to get the best of everything happening and then I got my own style automatically.
- If your collection was a person how would you describe it?
I would say somebody unpredictable. Somebody that had a classic value but has his own way of living. With a lot of contrast or somebody who valued tradition but at the same time modern. Somebody rich on the heart from different inspiration from different experiences.
- What do you love the most about working in this passion/job?
I love my job because it allowed to free, at the same time to adapt, and this is a challenge to always have to adapt. And for me I appreciate this challenge. I love to be put my mind into somebody’s head so for me the fact that you have freedom to design, to be inspired. This is what I love the most.
- Do you think true invention in fashion is still possible?
Actually, I know a French quote “Rien ne se perd rien ne se crée tout se transforme’’. In english it means Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed. So this is correct 90% of the time, but there is always the 10% that surprises you which will be how to put things together how to use the materials, how to assembly the idea together, this is the surprising part.
- Your favorite memory so far and why? The first memory of Fashion I thought, it is a photoshoot made by Richard Avedon with Nadja Auermann. And looking at this picture was an opening mind I was like “Wow this is so strong, and beyond fashion. And I think this is my first good memory about fashion.
- What can we wish you for the future?
To continue as long as possible my work in fashion, to have more opportunities to create, to do mistakes and to learn from them and do better.
Paris Fashion Week: Spotlight on Charbel Abou Zeidan the prodigy artistic director of Octogony, where architecture meet fashion design. (c) Octogony.