
The Lebanese Christopher Esber, gifted and discreet. (Credit: Person photographed)
He was only eight years old when he watched his aunt sewing. He helped her cut patterns. She had the talent, he had the passion. Christopher Esber is an Australian designer of Lebanese origins, whose parents emigrated at the start of the war in 1970. He enrolled in the Fashion Design Studio of East Sydney TAFE under Nicholas Huxley’s mentorship. Huxley is a renowned professor at the Design Institute of Australia which the media and fashion magazines use as a reference.
Esber then trained with a tailor for 12 months before starting the brand in 2010. In 2015, he was named Vogue Italia’s most talented young designer. Soon after, he won Australia’s prestigious Woolmark Award.
This year, he has just been selected among the finalists for the prestigious ANDAM Award. Esber is a gifted designer seeking to ensure a pure concept before each collection, focusing on his career path.
Structure, sensuality and a link with nature in every collection. (Credit: Christopher Esber)
Never disappointed
Esber is most proud of being invited to a show at Paris Fashion Week in September 2023, and convincing his lifelong muse Carmen Kass to shoot for the Resort 2024 campaign.
A pragmatist, he never perceives his failures as disappointments, but rather as lessons that will help make things better in the future.
“Everything [that happens to me], good or bad, leads to the next opportunity,” he said. Like most first-generation children of emigrants, he began his career in the family workshop, and from an early age, he was surrounded by handicrafts.
Watching his mother and aunt work in their small community workshop in Sydney, he was fascinated to see a garment come into being. “It sparked [in me] a curiosity in design that has led to a passion that is my brand today,” he said.
Mixing office wear and beach culture
When reflecting on the spirit of his brand, Esber spoke from his background in tailoring. “Pairing structure and drape with a playful nod to beach culture and ideas of escapism: I mix structure, sensuality and a connection to nature in every collection,” he said.
Australian culture, like the Lebanese, is all about the beach and the great outdoors, where work and vacation are never far apart.
“I’ve always had this idea of women in the office daydreaming of a holiday or escape and creating a world for her. Mixing ideas of office wear and beach culture has always been an interesting tension for me,” he said.
Esber said subtracting, deconstructing and reconstructing garments are three key steps “to arrive at the purest version of a concept.”
“It’s what isn’t there that makes it unique: Working with the idea of negative space and using cutouts to create this new idea of relaxed glamor,” Esber added.
Making dreams come true
Esber learned he was nominated for the ANDAM Awards a few weeks ago. “I received the news via e-mail at dinnertime here in Sydney. It was such a surprise! What an honor to be selected by a jury whose work and careers I have admired for such a long time,” he said.
“To receive the support of the ANDAM Awards jury and broader network will be invaluable, and a big support in helping us to fulfill our global ambitions. Paris plays such an important role in the future expansion of the brand. I’ve been traveling to Paris for over 10+ years, showing four collections a year, and last September, we debuted on schedule at Paris Fashion Week for the first time. The award will no doubt make a significant contribution toward helping us to realize our dreams for the business and brand, internationally,” said the designer.
Dua Lipa wearing the Odyessa Crystal Top for her Radical Optimism tour. (Credit: Christopher Esber)
How does Esber reconnect with his Lebanese roots?
ANDAM is the jury that propelled Martin Margiela (its first prizewinner), Viktor&Rolf, Jeremy Scott, Iris van Herpen and more.
Esber said “Each [of these designers] has such a unique vision and approach, and I too am forging my own path. There are elements from each of their journeys that I could identify synergies with. What an honor to be recognized alongside these names,” as part of the ANDAM alumni.
As for his Lebanese background, “It’s an important part of my identity. My parents migrated to Australia in the ‘70s, and I was born and grew up in Sydney as a first-generation Australian. I reconnect with my culture when I’m with family, and through food,” said the discreet and humble designer.
ANDAM: Ensuring a dynamic Parisian fashion scene
ANDAM was founded in 1989 by Nathalie Dufour with the support of the French Ministry of Culture and the DEFI as institutional partners. It aims to identify emerging talents in contemporary design and offer them, through its awards, the means to parade at Paris Fashion Week, develop their brand internationally and establish themselves permanently in France, thus ensuring the dynamism of the Parisian fashion scene.
Every year, through its five prizes, the ANDAM Fashion Award offers financial and logistical support to fashion designers and entrepreneurs after a selection process of several months, thus ensuring the vitality and sustainability of the creative fashion industry.
Still headed by Nathalie Dufour, ANDAM is chaired by Guillaume Houzé. Members of the 2024 jury include fashion designer Emmanuelle Alt, Carla Bruni, Bétrice Dalle, Virginie Despentes, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Rossy de Palma, K-Pop singer Rosé, Augustin Trapenard, Hermès CEO Guillaume de Seynes, Kering Chairman François-Henri Pinault and LVMH Chairman Sidney Toledano.
The jury will meet on June 27. The nominees will have five minutes each to present their next collection. In September, presentations by the winners of the fashion and accessories awards will take place, marking major events of Paris Fashion Week.
This article was originally published in L'Orient-Le Jour and translated by Joelle El Khoury.