In the brink of the last few months, the world of fashion has suffered its hardest hits. The explosion in the Lebanese capital of Beirut earlier this week has pulled down the well acclaimed fashion house —Zuhair Murad with the devastating destruction of its headquarters.
Zuhair Murad is a fashion house celebrated throughout the world for the brand’s iconic innovation in fusing contemporary design with traditionalism and cultural heritage. The Lebanese designer first made headlines in late 90s and has flourished ever since with stores scattered in the high end districts in major cosmopolite European cities such as their showroom at Via Borgogna in Milan. With faces like Jennifer Lopez and Blake Lively adorning opulent gowns, the fashion house is no stranger to celebrity walk troughs and red carpets.
On the 4th of August, two explosions rocked the city of Beirut after there were failed attempts to control a fire breakout at the city port. Though the fire itself and the first explosion were harmless for on lookers and those nestled in their apartments a few hundred meter away, disaster struck just moments later when a massive explosion erupted with a shockwave comparable to any nuclear warhead. This shockwave traveled throughout the hustling and bustling streets, destroying anything in between.
The Zuhair Murad Headquarters located right of the main road connecting the port was evacuated as the fire continued though the explosion was unprecedented. Moments later the wild shockwave rushed through the buildings closest to the port. Consequently, the headquarters was struck with full force and the wave ravaged through every inch of the structure.
With windows completelyshattered and the interior cascaded with flying debris and smoke, not much could be said about the damage but as the air settled around Beirut and it was safe to step outdoors, it could be seen that the entire façade of the building had completely been destroyed.
The damage from the inside was greater as no material or equipment was salvageable while nearly 80% of all the archives from the fashion house had been destroyed in the explosion, only a few pieces remain locked in the brand’s offices in Paris.
On the brighter side, the team at Zuhair Murad escaped harm’s way through evacuationprotocols put on time. Though the headquarters itself is no more than just a skeleton of its former glory, Muardposted a statement that he was glad to see that no lives were lost in the process.
Later, the team met with the designer at his house in Beirut to discuss the future for the brand. With all hope lost, it’s good to see that the brand is still optimistic in making its way forward in days to come.
We, the fashion community, stand by the brand in these trying times and wish them all the luck for the future.
