Beirut. Everyone has heard about this city. In the minds of almost everyone, this is a city of ruins. This has not always been the case. Lebanon was the pearl of the Arab world. Culture, art, beauty, fashion. Yes, fashion!

My grandfather Georges Habre was a haute couture designer in the Arab world 60 years ago. He loved his job, he dressed the ladies with a taste and moderation, he created elegance that I didn't even suspect.

My grandfather was left an orphan at the age of 11, he lost his father. At that age, he had to start a job to support his family and drop out of school. He started as a construction assistant. It was difficult for him. Every day he walked 10-15 km to his work and back home, but he knew that his family's sustenance depended on him and that gave him strength.

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After few years, his friend helped him change job, and so my grandfather began working as an assistant tailor. He learned the craft. He grew up, married my wonderful grandmother and set up his own studio, where he began to sew women's clothes. About 20 people worked for him at the time.

He started traveling to Europe 4 times a year to get acquainted with fashion trends. He was interested in the art of the greatest fashion designers - Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel. He bought high-quality fabrics, from which he created unique clothes. He also created his own collections. Initially, he began sewing dresses for the princesses of Kuwait. He was the only foreign man allowed into the princesses' rooms to take measures of them. Then the sewn clothes were sent by plane to Kuwait.

Thus, my grandfather, with a lot of work, consistency and love for fashion, established himself as a haute couture designer throughout the Arab world.

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My creative path began in 2017, when one day I felt that Colour Analysis and Personal Style were the direction I wanted to follow. I didn't know where to start, but my path led me. I found a style academy in London, enrolled, got trained, I organized the work process and then I started. Everything I needed was in front of my eyes, in my hands. I just had to ask for it and it appeared. So it is to this day. As if an invisible force is always behind me and helping me, maybe it's him, my grandfather.

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In 2018, I decided to go to Beirut to visit my relatives. I love this people. Then I wanted them to tell me everything they remember about my grandfather and most importantly - I wanted photos. I wanted to see what clothes he created, what style, how they were sewn. I got a lot more. My grandmother allowed us to unlock the closets that had been locked for years. There she kept her memories. Memories of a great love. I found photos, but I also found clothes. Unique patterns, amazing fabrics that have been preserved for decades. And how they were sewn ... I remember looking at the clothes, I didn't dare to touch them. I absorbed every image in my head, caressing them with my eyes.

For a while before I left for Lebanon, I worked on writing my name and logo. I chose a font that I showed to friends. It was beautiful. And now my story goes back there, in front of the wardrobe with the clothes that my grandfather had sewn for my grandmother ...

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I took off a few of the hangers and started looking at them. Something seemed to be leading me. I frantically searched for a label ... and found it. Habre - written in the same font I had chosen a few weeks ago to write my name, for the job I loved. I don't know how to describe what I felt at that moment. How was that possible? Tears welled up, and I literally fell on the bed and cried. At that moment, I knew - this is my job, my mission. I am on the right path and he supports me, even though he is no longer alive.

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From then on, there is no force to stop me. I love my job. I do it with love. I want to be part of the transformation of my clients. Colour analysis and Personal style are the change in appearance, but I know that those who trust me will go farther and deeper - to themselves. Why? Because I'm searching. I look for the reasons why the client avoids or does not see 'her/his' colours, 'her/his' style, himself. In this sense, I work not only with the appearance of the person, but also with her/his soul, of course, if she/he allows me to. I haven't learned about it, but I feel it. I have a strong intuition and I can explain to my client why she/he has avoided things related to her/his appearance and why it is difficult for her/him to accept the change. For this reason, my work with the client does not end after the consultation. I'm next to her/him in the change, even if it lasts a year, but the results are stunning. Unbelievable women and men are revealed, dressed in style, shining with colours, connected with their personal strength and achieving inner balance, ready for the next challenge and change that awaits them.

That's why I love my job. Because it is beautiful, transforming and deep.

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With love,

Anna Habre