We caught up with him at his store in the centre of Rome, just around the corner from the Pantheon in Via del Seminario 115!
There is no secret at all, it’s all about passion and commitment, having a dream and committing to it every day is a key to success.
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HALABY ENVELOPE BORSA |
Well I can write down 50 pages and never finish writing about my inspirations in Rome, anyhow to make it short I’ll tell you about a small simple square, it’s Piazza delle tartarughe “piazza Mattei” one of my favorites in Rome, The colors the dimensions the shape and the proportions of the square and it’s fountain is just enchanting!
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HALABY BELLE EPOQUE Necklace |
So much! The Arabic, Ottoman and French influence has gave me a great gift of a huge cultural package, as well as a very warm human contact experience.
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HALABY CLEO API NECKLACE |
What do you miss the most about Beirut?
My family, it’s people and the warm welcoming always and the big big smiles, the sea the small villages around Lebanon the archeological sites that I loved and most of all my childhood.
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HALABY MISTY |
It’s true and I have much more now that I lost the count.
So far I realized more then 180 designs and I’m working on my FW13-14 collection count around 40 to be alive very soon.
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HALABY CLOTILDE PICCOLA |
It comes from movies books music and most of all the master designers of the 50s
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HALABY BELLE EPOQUE Bracelet |
What has been your greatest ‘find’ to date?
My love and my dearest friends that I dedicate the 3 bags in my FW12-13: ALELUNA, ILE and ROWY
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HALABY ILE |
What were the greatest challenges you faced when you first started out in the fashion/luxury business and what are your greatest challenges today?
Gaining the trust of my artisans, since I don’t come from a fashion school I had to fight my way in the most precious ateliers and suppliers in Italy.
Today my challenge is me and the ideas that I have on daily basis, things are getting bigger and I have to follow up on every single inspiration that passes my mind.
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HALABY ALELUNA |
The Autumn Winter Bag collection offers an extreme selection of looks: from the the delightfully classic ‘Aleluna’ with intricate pleating of the leather the result of exquisite craftsmanship, the serious and more ‘practical’ Clotilde’, the fun and young ‘ Ile’ and ‘Rowy’ , and the totally rocker meets Harajuku Girl ‘ (SPIDER). What was the inspiration behind the collection?
The FW12-13 is all about good and bad, if you see the mix of the colors, dark and then bright in each piece and the collection itself.
I believe that good always dominates the bad and there is always brightness if you know how to look for it.
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HALABY Clotilde |
Which one do you believe represents Halaby best and why?
The big “CLOTILDE” in fact I made for myself in a very light cream glace calfskin with grey metallic accessories and printed in black.
The Autumn Winter 2012-‐13 Jewellery Collection appears to have a strong Classic Greco‐Roman feel to it. Could you tell us more about it? What precious stones have been used in this collection and why? What was the inspiration behind it?
As I mentioned for the bags it’s all about Good and Bad, and in the jewellery you can see it clear, the mix between Tabou animals and insects and the good ones, the mix of the two metal colors, the very dark grey dominated by the bronze gold, and the mix of the colors of the stones, dark and then bright orange and red. It’s all about brightness from dark.
Interpreting this Marriage of good and bad I used as usual the designs of one of the époques that I love the Greco- Roman with the metallic stamps.
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HALABY TENNIS EARRINGS & OTTOMAN RING |
How would you define yourself as a designer and as an individual?
Gosh!! As a designer I don’t know, I only enjoy what I do and you can see it in my work.
As an individual I’m a kid trying to play his game of life.
Christian Dior
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HALABY MEGA |
It’s outside loud, the strong look of the shapes and forms, they don’t need to be sparkling it’s only a matter of proportions, Of the Fw12-13 the ROWY ,the MEGA the Spider The MONI piccola.
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HALABY ROWY |
Curious, discreet selective and very attentive to details.
Come with me one day to one of my artisans and have a look at his eyes when he’s completing a bag or realizing a model, It’s passion and only passionate people can do this job right.
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HALABY GIL CATENA – GRANDE |
So far HALABY is in more then 52 stores and I’d like to see it where the buyers believes in my vision and knows how to describe it to their clients.
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HALABY DEMETRA NECKLACE |
It’s all about the pantheon, I believe it have a magical energy I searched and searched for a store nearby and finally I found it.
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HALABY MONI BORCHIE |
Courtesy and satisfaction.
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GILBERT HALABY |
Creating and keep creating, I’m working on my first three Haute couture dresses and a capsule of perfumes and a lot more to come.
Should you wish to visit the Halaby boutique where you will probably get the chance to meet with the designer himself then pop onto a plane (or train) to Rome or you can purchase a selection of his collections on Luisa Via Roma