The Tamesis
In a week marked by record-breaking snowfall on the East Coast, Vogue 100 escaped the freezing cold and stepped into the pearly gray haze of Paris, a city with a traditionally balmy climate, to celebrate the Spring 2026 Haute Couture show with couturier Georges Hobeika and his son Jad Hobeika; two elegant architects with a focus on structure and precision.
From its first studio in Beirut thirty years ago to large salons in Paris and beyond, the family-run mason Always dedicated to the pursuit of beauty and decoration as an art form. This remarkable performance was witnessed by Vogue100 from the front row of the fashion show held at the American Church in Paris. Under the soaring Gothic nave, the crowd sat transfixed as beams of light illuminated each look as they drifted along the dark arched aisles, illuminating the sway of fabric, the flash of embroidery and the designs of dramatic silhouettes. The results were simply mesmerizing—and the fashion show was just the beginning.
Later this week, Vogue100 gathered at the Hôtel de Crillon to host a dinner in honor of Georges and Jad Hobeika. Guests arrived resplendent in a collection of couture garments that brought the catwalk into the room. George and Judd were polite, attentive and extremely gracious, greeting each guest like old friends and setting the tone for an evening that was both intimate and grand.
There are few addresses in Paris that rival Crillon, and the grandeur of Salon Marie-Antoinette takes on new life as it is packed with friends from the Vogue 100 and Paris fashion houses. With champagne flutes in hand, guests weaved their way through the crowd and through French doors to a colonnaded terrace overlooking the city’s vignettes, with the Eiffel Tower gleaming in the distance.
Georges breezed through the grand salon for presentations, admiring the draping of dresses and tracing the inspiration behind details: bows and floral patterns here (a nod to Coco Chanel, whom he’s long admired), a silhouette inspired by Valentino there. Judd welcomed the room with heartfelt words and discovered an immediate kinship with Lilia Zeldris, who wowed in a striking red leather dress – deep cut and intricately embossed with flowers and lace. Stefania Magidson’s look was equally sophisticated, and the pair did what any sensible woman in Paris would do: laughed, linked arms, and posed for a twin photo as if it was planned. Lisa Sher-Chambers wore a beaded tulle dress embroidered with flowers and fringed with crystals; the beads shimmered with every move, while Fumi Lee shimmered in a strapless gold corset with a sculpted bodice and a flowing pleated skirt that softened—two very different interpretations of Hobeika’s allure. The conversation moves effortlessly from the brand’s beautiful runway shows to the juiciest gossip from Fashion Week.
Dinner was held in the Salon des Aigles, whose gilded ceiling is older than the Republic itself and represents the eagle’s eternal flight—a room that has witnessed centuries of ritual and is a splendid canopy. Tonight, however, it was purely a celebration: two long tables lit by candlelight and filled with flowers, filled with lively conversation. The menu starts with sea bream ceviche brightened with citrus and caviar, continues with mushroom and spinach cannelloni, served with herb salad and lovage foam, and ends with chilled cocoa meringue and chocolate mousse.
Between plates, George and Judd walked around the table, laughing and friendship multiplying. George’s other son, Marc Hobeika, and his fiancée, Camela Ishac, were also present, a reminder that the house was shaped not just by vision but by family. In a world of fashion forever chasing the next new thing, this father-and-son duo of creative directors make a different case—a brand and pedigree committed to looking toward the future while simultaneously committing to excellence and craftsmanship.
Of course, Fashion Week will go on – more shows, more dinners, more reasons to rush elsewhere – but tonight, under the gilded eagle, no one wants to leave the company of the Hobekas. The glasses were refilled, the conversation continued, and the party continued late into the night while Paris waited outside.
