On the back, a four-meter cape hand-painted with a cedar, an authentic work by the artist Najla Hobeiche. (Credit: Patrick Sawaya)
Overlooking the sea and partially destroyed by the Aug. 4, 2020, port explosions, Sursock Palace is slowly recovering as it awaits its grand revival. Beneath its paneled walls, still protected by safety nets, signs of renewed activity are emerging. The checkered white-and-black marble floors, the columns, and the empty walls — where the presence of Lady Yvonne Cochrane, the palace’s late matriarch who was mortally wounded there, still lingers — set the stage for a fashion show by young Lebanese-Panamanian designer Omran Osman.Braving the biting northern wind on this late February evening, guests arrived bundled in fur coats, only to shed them in favor of off-the-shoulder gowns, plunging necklines, and high slits — heels teetering on the palace’s slippery marble. The show started an hour and a half past the scheduled time, after an...
Overlooking the sea and partially destroyed by the Aug. 4, 2020, port explosions, Sursock Palace is slowly recovering as it awaits its grand revival. Beneath its paneled walls, still protected by safety nets, signs of renewed activity are emerging. The checkered white-and-black marble floors, the columns, and the empty walls — where the presence of Lady Yvonne Cochrane, the palace’s late matriarch who was mortally wounded there, still lingers — set the stage for a fashion show by young Lebanese-Panamanian designer Omran Osman.Braving the biting northern wind on this late February evening, guests arrived bundled in fur coats, only to shed them in favor of off-the-shoulder gowns, plunging necklines, and high slits — heels teetering on the palace’s slippery marble. The show started an hour and a half past the scheduled time, after...